| In the car on the way back from this event, Tanja emphatically told me that bad things come in threes... and that we'd had our three for the day! Fortunately, this proved to be correct - please read on... |
| It started as a perfectly ordinary hike, from just west of Duntroon, heading north up the Bruce Trail toward Pretty River Provincial Park. A not bad day for this summer, overcast and humid, but not too terrible. The group quickly settled down into a comfortable routine, everyone found the right place in the line for their own walking pace, and we all made frequent stops to have everyone regroup, have a drink of water, catch their breath, the usual routine. We decided to make a detour along the Standing Stones and Cave side trail, which proved to be one of the highlights of the day - fantastic rock structures resembling a Mayan fortress being overtaken by a tropical jungle were our reward for getting down a steep climb and scrambling over large boulders. The temperature in among the rocks was noticeably cooler than up top on the trail proper, and provided a very welcome relief from the mildly oppressive humidity. About 2/3 of the way through the hike, we crossed the Pretty River, at a bridge that allowed us to get right down to the river, so we were able to splash cold water over our faces - delightful! At around the 13km marker, we planned to leave the main trail and head off along the John Haigh side trail, which would take us back to the parking lot where we'd left Sandra's car, at one end of the car shuttle. Which leads us to... |
| Bad thing #1: People hike at different speeds - this is normal. Faster people don't always check that they are still within sight of the group behind them - this is also normal; they figure the group will catch up. Faster people don't always pay attention to what's going on around them - sadly, this is also normal. Instead of waiting at each intersection of the main Bruce Trail with a side trail, Bashir steamed on ahead at his quasi-Julian pace, with Daniel not far behind him, both well out of sight of the main group. Including past the turn-off point to the John Haigh side trail. When the main group got to the intersection, no sign of either Bashir or Daniel. We whistled. We called. Daniel heard us and came back, with the observation that he thought Bashir might be 20-30 minutes in front of us. We whistled again. We called again. We tried phoning (there's no cell signal in the Pretty River PP). We waited. By now it's no longer just humid, it's actually raining. After about 15 minutes with no apparent success, Daniel volunteered to go up the main trail to catch up with Bashir, hopefully meeting him on his way back. The rest of the group headed up the side trail toward the car, as we had a 40 minute round trip to retrieve the other vehicles from the hike starting point, and figured Bashir and Daniel would be back with the group in about that time. |
| Bad thing #2: After driving out to the start point, two of the three drivers headed back to the end point to meet the group. Sandra was very low on fuel, and we had enough seats without her car so she headed back to Stayner to fill up, having agreed that she would then go to Tim's and wait for us there (there's only one in Stayner). See you in about 45 minutes we thought. Jane and Alison drove back to rendezvous with the rest of the hikers. Upon getting there, there was still no sign of Bashir or Daniel. We started doing some number crunching. If Bashir had managed to get 30 minutes ahead of Daniel, and Daniel had gone for about 10 minutes past the side trail turnoff, then it would take them at least an additional 30 minutes to get back to the turn off point. And then another 20 minutes to get to the cars. The main group had originally arrived at Sandra's car around 4:30. So we were looking at about 6:00 before we could reasonably expect Bashir and Daniel. At 5:55, the two of them come off the trail into the parking lot. Finally, all bodies accounted for. Everyone got sorted out into the two remaining cars, and we got ready to head back to Stayner. Ignition on... click. Ignition on... click! Guess what? Alison has a flat battery. Fortunately, Alison travels with a full car kit so we hooked up the jumper cables and Jane kindly provided a boost start. And finally we're on our way. |
| Bad thing #3: Sandra, meanwhile, has been sitting in Tim's in Stayner all this while, waiting for us (we assumed - incorrectly as it turns out). Remember the 45 minutes we estimated? It's now an hour and a half since we parted company! After a minor false start (which I shan't go into here) we were on the road to meet up with her. Turn at the lights in Stayner (there's only one set) and there's Sandra, standing beside her car in the Tim's parking lot, hood up. What's wrong we wonder? Flat battery!! And she's not in an ideal location, having driven forward into a parking space so difficult for someone to their battery close to hers. Fortunately, Alison's jumper cables were long enough to reach, once the two cars were sitting an inch apart, and we got Sandra's car started too. What are the odds of having two flat batteries on the same trip? We only had three cars with us! |
| The post-event BBQ at Alison's went off without a hitch - didn't run out of propane, burgers weren't charred (too badly), plenty of food and drink for everyone. Looking back, we were able to have a good laugh at what had happened. Bashir has been advised that he'll be hiking between the #5 and #7 people on the next event. Thanks to everyone involved for their patience and good spirits. What could potentially have been another 911-situation has simply provided us with good stories and yet another TOC event that will stick in everyone's memory. |
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