Sun, Jun 12 2005 - Mono Cliffs Provincial Park (View Original Event Details)
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I'm a little late with my write up, so I can only hope to remember everything!
The day started early...with rain. Meeting at the parking location proved to be problematic for some people but they had the car, so we had a bit of a late start for the day, but once we were up and running (and caffeinated!) we headed out on to the highway and to the beautiful Hockley Valley area. If you are ever driving in a car pool, I must recommend taking Dima with you - he is an extraordinary navigator!
The parking lot, which I read would charge a small fee, was actually a $10 per vehicle fee! Thank goodness for car pooling! We 'suited' up - which for me meant all my gear, water, dog stuff and poles, but for others consisted of a water bottle. Amateurs! We headed onto the trail only to discover early on that the map that I had provided was not very well detailed and we were lost early on so we didn't see much of the sights that we expected to see, but nevertheless, the walk was gorgeous.
The bugs were out in the early part of the hike, but Kara and Adam were prepared with bug spray. Rocky didn't even flinch. At the first pond we passed by, Rocky had to show off his new swimming skills. Then he found the woman in the other group with the white pants- and shook off the excess water. Not a very polite dog
eventually we trekked to the lake and sat down for lunch. Rocky did some more swimming. It was hot and sunny, not too muggy - everyone agreed it was just nice to be out of the city. The bugs seemed to have calmed down. After lunch there was some confusion as to which direction we should go, and we must have gone the right way as we seemed to head back along some familiar sounding paths and eventually a fork in the trail that looked quite familiar. Some braver members stopped a hiker to ask for directions and we followed that path until we eventually found our way back to our cars.
Our Hike ended up a doable 3 hrs not the 5hrs suggested on the website, but nonetheless, all agreed it was a good start to the hiking season. We were sweaty and bug bitten and dirty, but felt like we had 'accomplished' something good.
Back in town we ended off our day with a pint and a great meal at the Foggy Dew. The city was humid and grey and muggy and we realized that by leaving the city we ended up spending the day where the weather was truly summer-like and gorgeous, and a few bug bites meant nothing if we avoided the humid, heavy air of the city for a few hours.
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.