Sat, May 10 2008 - SLOWPOKES: Royal Botanical Gardens - Borer's Falls CA (View Original Event Details)
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So far we haven't had much luck with our slowpoke hikes. Whether it be thigh high snow, threatening rain and washed out trails or a TTC strike, it's been difficult to get into the groove. Saturday started out with lots of sunshine and lots of promise. We had a large group to meet at the carpool and *almost* everyone showed up with time to spare. Luckily I held out for a little longer and we managed to grab Anita, and still make it to the event with time to spare. We even had a slight detour because we missed highway 5, but we got to turn around at the dinosaur/garden gazebo shop. (hard to explain, but we took pictures...)
We met everyone eventually at the Borer's falls parking lot, and luckily we took some time getting ready and allowed a few more latecomers to catch up with us before we left on our hike
Matt, as usual, was totally on the ball and started our LARGE group of 20 towards Borer's Falls. Slowpike hikes are not about setting a slow pace, but about allowing everyone to hike at a pace that is comfortable and not feeling that they are holding up the group, or taking time out to capture that perfect shot. Those who just can't slow down wait for the rest of us on the trail, and spend the extra time drinking water and getting to know the others on the hike. At lunch, we took a bit longer to eat and digest food which made some hikers a bit restless, but others, like Cenan settled down for a relaxing suntan session. Some members went into the nature centre to check on the huge snapping turtle. We would have liked to check out Raspberry House, which is the headquarters of the Bruce Trail org, as well as a general store, but it is only open on weekdays!
After lunch, we travelled along the edge of the Hamilton Harbour on the Captain Cootes trail. It is all part of the royal botanical gardens, so the trails were well maintained and there are many regeneration projects going on.
On the way back to Borer's Falls, we ran into some mountain bikers who were enjoying the ride down into the escarpment and back out the other side. They were asked if there was a way out that was less steep than the way in, but it turned out that we took the less steep route! So some of us were not looking forward to the way back! Those were some steep stairs! Luckily for us, there was a large group heading down so we got to take a breather before the last stretch.
Soon we were all back in the parking lot, some of us a bit sore (I was nursing some mega blisters!), some a bit eaten by the bugs, some a bit redder than they started out. All in all, I think everyone had a good time! It was the first time we did this hike and I think it's a good hike for future TOC events!
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.