Sun, Dec 3 2006 - Long Sault Conservation Area (View Original Event Details)
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The weather forecast called for near-freezing temperatures and scattered snow flurries. Ok, so I take back all those things I said about the weather people; sometimes they’re right. It was a cool day but not a bad one for a vigorous hike. And although the skies were generally cloudy, the sun did poke through occasionally. The snow flurries also held off until just after lunch when they came down lightly enough to dust the ground and create a pleasantly wintry atmosphere.
In this eastern part of the Oak Ridges Moraine, the ridges are relatively high and the first part of the trail ran along the tops of them, giving great long views of the valleys on either side. From the central parking lot, we followed the Bluebird trail, which looped through the southwestern quadrant of the conservation area. We then took the Wild Turkey trail, keeping an eye out along the way for the lethal gobblers, which have been known to take down stragglers and the unwary. On this section of the trail, Jim was observed keeping closely to the middle of the pack, surrounding himself with others whom he probably hoped would make for better turkey fodder.
After a lunch stop, we continued on and did the Barren Owl loop, which brought us back to the parking lot (and washrooms for those who were too . . . chicken to go into the woods alone with those ravenous turkeys lurking about). Since it was too early to stop with any sense of honour intact, we continued walking for another 40 minutes or so and did the Bluebird trail which loops around the flatter eastern section of the area. By 3 PM, though, we were done hiking, at which point we drove a few miles south to Tyrone Mills where hot cider and cider donuts awaited us. Unfortunately, the place was rather small for such a large group and so, with nowhere to sit down, we sorted out the carpool expenses and set off for home.
PS. A few of us did manage to find a Timmy’s on the way back where we diverted ourselves by comparing cameras (turns out we had four generations of Canon SDs amongst us)—ok, so we were tired and didn’t have much else to talk about. An even smaller group of us (names withheld to protect the identities of those who clearly had nowhere else to go) ended up at the Miller Tavern on Yonge Street—cheap beer before 6 PM, good burgers and tasty calamari too. General note: good après-hike hangout, just down the road from the York Mills subway station. And, no, I don’t get paid for saying that!
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