Sun, Oct 9 2022 - Thanksgiving Tommy Thompson ~15km/9mi (View Original Event Details)
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What a beautiful fall Sunday before the Thanksgiving holiday for a walk! Imran, Ron, Peter, Frances, and I set off from the Starbucks meeting point as Kelly, Mara, Liz, and Leona were terribly delayed by a streetcar snafu. We caught nice views of the lake despite the construction fencing on the Ashbridges Bay side (Peter explained that the city is infilling the area. A sign indicated that we can pray to be hiking along the waterside again in...2025!).
The eastern side of the spit is always quieter, and we followed a singletrack to a couple good views before arriving at the little lighthouse. Soon after a short break, we ran into the 4 delayed group members and completed our tour of the Spit with them. We dipped in and out of the bushes on the western side for views of the skyline and some mild bushwacking.
One section usually blocked off during nesting season (Apr-Sep) for birds startled us with many (dozens and dozens) of dead cormorants. The bald, barkless dead trees characteristic of their nesting areas (their guano kills vegetation) combined with the half-skeletal remains of so many birds made for a pretty spooky sight.
The final section on the paved bike trail (and on a small singletrack paralleling it) back to "civilization" went by quickly. Some of us enjoyed the use of the fancy new bathrooms, and then we went our separate ways. Hope to see many of y'all on the trails again soon!
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.