Sat, Sep 23 2006 - Primrose and the Boyne River Valley (View Original Event Details)
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First of all, a big raspberry to those fair weather hikers who backed out due to reports of inclement weather: Pffffffft! At least two people were honest enough to admit they were backing out due to the rain, but from an original 24 hikers, we ended up with 12 hardy souls and one excited dog.
The drive to Primrose is short and easy, but as is usual for TOC events, one carload got lost and my carpool got distracted by JL's egg needs. We stopped for a breakfast at McDonald's where Elliot pontificated on the exact nature of what an egg mcmuffin actually consisted of - fake eggs? fake sausage? fake english muffin? But he was not being snotty as he happily munched down some hash browns. Whereever Elliot is, food will be near by. Then I missed the turn off to the 410 and figured I'd just go north on Hurontario when I got stuck in Brampton and everyone was waiting for us by the time we arrived to Primrose
The sun was shining, the ground was mostly dry. The first section of the hike is the Primrose area and is forested with lots of apple trees that are just ripening now. Zoran and Ljiljana picked out some fantastic apples for us that we snacked on during this short loop.
Crossing back over the concession road, we entered the Boyne River section. I pointed out to Elliot the spot where we'd be eating lunch, so he forged on ahead with the rest of the group, while I waited for JL and Melanie to catch up - they found a fairy ring of mushrooms and stopped to take pictures. The forest emptied out into a field of long grass and one huge hill - and a gorgeous view from the top. We climbed to the top of the hill and sat there for lunch. Wendy found a nice comfortable rock to sit on while the rest of us lay down on the grass, or used raincoats to sit on, since it was clear that we wouldn't need them today! I have my thermarest trail seat which was admired by many.
During lunch we relaxed and got an eyeful of the scenary. Melanie and Linda admired each other's sandwiches while Elliot ate about 5 tofu weiners and a loaf of bread. Rocky did his usual lunch time hard luck story, but he wasn't getting any offers - just some apples which he spit out. Elliot offered some tofu sausage and much to Chuck's amazement, Rocky loved it. He ate a whole sausage to himself! Chuck, Karin, Melanie and Elliot got into a long discussion on vegetarian options and TVP. Jim rested, I took some photos and Wendy chatted with a couple that were checking out an area for a future Scout outing. After lunch, Rocky and JL goofed off for a bit and we headed out for the rest of the hike.
the terrain is quite up and down in this area - past corn fields that were dry and unharvested and down through the river valley which was very green, and out again, along the road and back to the Bruce Trail. As we walked along the trail with pastures to one side, Rocky zipped out over the broken fence and through the electric fence (and zapping himself in the process). He found himself on a field full of cows and within 30 seconds he had them all rounded up and herded them into the next field. He wasn't listening to us, despite our calls of 'cookies here' and 'come get a treat' - Rocky has been dying to get close to cows forever and he wasn't going to give up this chance! Chuck saw where he went and he hopped the fence to collect him. JL, being a fast runner followed and I figured I had to go just because Rocky occasionally listens to me. The field was much much bigger than first imagined and there were no cows in sight! Eventually I saw a few coming out of a wooded copse, and knew that where there were cows, there would be a dog. Sure enough, out comes Chuck and JL with a very self-satisfied Rocky. He had driven the herd to a pond and went swimming while the cows stood in confusion. It's all very funny in hindsight, but all I can do is thank GOD the farmer was not around or I would have been in a very deep pile of cow patties!
The only disappointing part about an otherwise fantastic hike route is the last bit that you must walk along busy hwy 89 and back to the car. Kind of disappointing ending to a great hike. But we were thankful for the weather and good company. Seven of us ended up at the Goose afterwards, although not Elliot as he was off to his boss' house for dinner, and I'm sure he was starving, as it had been 2 or 3 hours since he last ate. Too bad, since Melanie, JL, Elliot and I were having a fantastic conversation in the car that always seems to happen in carpools. But the company was still worthy and Diane insists that her version of Jim's last event was the correct one!
Shana tova!
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.