This Week-The Waters Recede

    I decided to bite the bullet yesterday and drive to Komoka Provincial Park, pay the parking fee, and go for a quick hike.
   A couple of weeks ago, I actually walked all the way there and back (no parking fee!) but was exhausted at the end. My bum right knee was also a little the worse for wear and basically, I overdid it. Last weekend, I walked through Warbler Woods and Kains Woods as they are much closer and, afterwards, I wasn't suffering quite as badly.
   In fact, I almost decided to try running just a little bit yesterday but then common sense overtook me (this rarely happens, ask my wife) and I ended up opting for another hiking session. So off to Komoka I went!
   It was a beautiful day for a hike and the parking lot off of Gideon Drive was already pretty busy when I got there. The lot is situated somewhat in the middle of the park and I decided to head east and walk to one end and then simply turn around and walk all the way to the other end and then I would be done.
   The woods yesterday were even more green than two weeks ago and this is increasingly a welcome sight. What's even better is that the trails have almost totally dried out, except for three or four spots. Much more pleasurable!
   Much of the trail follows along the Thames River, sometimes high above it and sometimes right along beside it. Two weeks ago when I was here, London and all of eastern Canada had just been suffering through many days of constant rain and flooding. I took a couple of pics back then and promised I'd take the same pics the next time I was there and that's what I was able to do yesterday. Here they are, two weeks ago on the left and yesterday on the right!

The same stream, flowing
through all the water plants

This is a small stream entering the
Thames, which you can almost see,
off in the distance. The river was so
swollen, it flowed back up the stream!

It looked like an island, off in the distance
but the river had simply overflowed its
banks, making the little jut-out look
like an island

 

Really no island there at all!

  Once again, I had my trekking poles with me and I'm starting to realize how much of a difference they really make. It's so much easier doing the uphills with them---not only do I get the extra push but they also help, balance-wise. Now, Komoka Provincial Park does not for the most part get terribly technical and the vast majority of people you see there are just casual hikers enjoying the scenery but it is quite easy to see how much of a difference the poles would make if you were negotiating mountains!

   Apart from the poles, I had also taken along my CamelBak, minus the bladder, and just carried a water bottle in it. So I've got my poles and I've got the vest and the hiking boots and I'm walking along and then I meet this young family with their dog and three little kids, coming the other way. I stop and stand off the path so they can pass. The dad's in the lead, then the kids, with the mum bringing up the rear. The first two kids just kind of look at me but the third kid ( who I think was probably 5) looks up at me and says, "Are you a skfjdy?" Well, I didn't quite understand the "skfjdy" part so I said, "I'm sorry, what was that?". The boy replied, "Are you a skfjdy?" I looked at the mom and told her I hadn't caught any of that and she smiled and said, "It's okay, I don't think he's ever seen a real hiker before." I laughed and told her I didn't think I was a real hiker and then we all went on our way. Maybe I should try and look like a real runner one of these days!

   Not only was the forest full of people but the river was too. Lots of canoeists and kayakers. Two weeks ago, the river had been so high and fast that people were being warned away from it but now that it was its more benign self, people were able to get out and enjoy it. Such a huge resource!
   Okay, the next time I hit the trails I think I need to be running them. As much as I've enjoyed all the walking I've been doing the past few weeks, I still really miss the moving at a high (or at least slightly higher) clip. The knee's been feeling stronger and I haven't had it give out on me in quite awhile so maybe I'm good for a little light running. Time to get some fresh dirt on the new trail shoes!
    
  

   
  

Last Week-Under The Bridge And On Home

Into the first set of woods...

   Last week, I decided to hit the trails but wanted to stay a little closer to home as I think I might have overdone it a bit the previous week, hiking all the way to Komoka, hiking in Komoka and then having to make my way all the way home.
   There is a forested area about 200 meters from where I live so I hiked there and then made my way through it. You pop out into the subdivision but then a quick little jog to the right gets you to one of the entrances to Warbler Woods and you're off and running...well....hiking, actually, as running is a little way off just yet.

...and from there in Warbler.

   I hiked to the end of Warblers at the Commissioner's Road entrance. From there, I traveled a couple of kilometers of city streets til I got to the entrance of Kains Woods I wanted to use, at the end of Westdel Bourne. Then, finally, I was back in the forest again. Kains is beautiful this time of year and also not nearly so muddy as it has been. 

A couple of street k's later
and you're in Kains Woods.

   There is a spot where you can go right down to the Thames River and sit on the large rocks there and I had picked this spot as my resting point and an opportunity to munch the granola bar I'd brought along. It's quite picturesque but I'm pretty sure the rock I was sitting on was underwater last week!

My "munching" spot

   From there, I made my way to the end of the trail, near the Oxford Street bridge. Normally, I need to cross the street there to get home and I either have to wait for a break in traffic or walk all the way up to the light. Recently, though, I purchased a copy of the Thames Valley Trail guidebook and, while reading through the various sections I'd discovered that the official part of the trail actually goes

Beauty day in the forest!

underneath the Oxford Street bridge and comes out the other side. Who knew?! It's not terribly obvious that the trail goes there but if you take a closer look, you can see a a trail of stones and some 2x4 which has been laid down. This, then, takes you under the west end of the Oxford Street bridge. Watch your head! From there, you scramble up the other side, no traffic worries.
   From there, I headed past a catchment pond with a couple of geese and their three new goslings. I've named them all "Ryan". I wanted to take a pic but the last time I was near a goose with goslings nearby, I got attacked. I very slowly and carefully made my way past them and very slowly and carefully took a couple of pics. No attacks and I just made my way through the tunnel and out the other side.

Looking back up the little
hill which takes you down to...

   From there, I made my way back into Warbler Woods. This time, though, I actually took a walkway up behind some houses which more or less border the woods. From there, I made my way back through the forest, managed to find the set of woods nearby my place and I was home, think I did about 13K altogether. Nice little hike!

...almost under the
bridge and then...

   

The view from under the bridge

...you're under the bridge!

 
   

Scary Golf Course Geese, Swollen Rivers, and A Cemetery

   Okay, not much to have blogged about in the last two weeks, I'm still not running and the constant rain has even prevented me from being in the forest, convening with nature and then showing you the pics of that!

Walking along Westdel Bourne, on
my way to Komoka. There are a lot of
"Bourne" sideroads in this area but
they each have their own identity.
(see what I did there?)

   Actually, given my doctor's original timeline on when I could start running again, I should already be  back to light jogging but I suffered a bit of a setback a couple of weeks ago. I was walking down the 15th fairway at East Park a couple of Mondays ago when, all of a sudden, I sensed something behind me. I turned around, only to find an an angry, hissing, wing-flapping Canada goose chasing after me! There had been a warning in the pro shop about "aggressive geese" and I thought to myself that if I encounter any geese I would just take a wide berth. This goose, however, came out of nowhere and ambushed me! And, in an effort to both run backwards and dipsy-doodle my cart to keep it between me and the goose, I did my knee in again ("sad" emoji here).

Finally arrived at the Komoka
parking lot. I probably should have
just turned around at this point...

   It felt very much like back to square one, so I've started the whole recuperation thing all over again and am still at the "walking" phase. The constant rain, however, has even put a damper on that.
   Yesterday, however, was beautiful! A little brisk with unseasonably cool temps and a strong wind but amazingly sunny and, all in all, a great day for a hike in the woods!
   I decided to head to Komoka Provincial Park and I also decided to walk there. Normally, if I was headed there to run, I would drive and then be faced with the $7.50 to park in the lot. When I thought about it, though, why drive to somewhere nearby if the idea is to walk in the first place?So I gathered up my hiking clothes, threw half a Nuun into a Camelbak bottle (product placement here, folks), grabbed my trekking poles and headed off.
   

A marshy area, just off the trail.
LOVE seeing things come to
life this time of year!

I live near the western edge if London and after about 20 minutes I was out of the subdivision and on to "country" roads. I say "country" road because you're still walking past houses but there are no sidewalks and the cars are passing at about 80 kmh and, if you want to give them what seems like the right amount of room, you need to hop down into a ditch sometimes....
   Komoka is about 5K away and it actually took me an hour and 17 minutes to get there (what with stopping to investigate stuff, take pics and re-tie my boots). At this point, I was thinking I'd just had quite the little walk and I was going to have to walk all the way back when I was done so, really, how much hiking through the forest should I actually do? I decide to pick a spot on the trail, hike to that spot and then turn back, regardless of how much I might have been enjoying myself. As I headed out, I passed the parking machine I normally would have slid hard-earned coins into, muttered a very silent f**k you, and then went on my merry way.

A flooded creek, leading to the river
you can sort of see off in the distance.
Normally, this is just a trickle.

   This, then, led me to The Steps. If you go to Komoka Provincial Park and head west from the parking lot, staying on the White Trail, you will eventually come to The Steps. They are a multi-platformed set of wooden steps which take you more or less from the edge of the river back up to the top of the Thames Valley. I had decided I would hike to The Steps, sit down at one of the benches they have at the top of them there, eat my sandwich, and then head back.
   Along the way, it was hard not to pay extra attention to the Thames River. Due to the incessant rain the past many days, the river is swollen and moving very quickly, so much so that the local authorities have warned people to stay away from its edges and not to venture out on it. Much of the trail follows the river and I was constantly coming to areas where normally I could have ventured out maybe twenty yards onto the river bank and been on dry land still. Not so now. The water level was so high that even the tiny streams which empty into the river were themselves swollen. Just a little surreal and uncomfortable! 
   

Halfway up The Steps. A tree's
fallen across them since the last
time I was here and I almost
bumped my head coming up them!

The river itself had not flooded any portions of the trail but the constant rain lately had done its part to keep many parts of the trail slick and muddy. I've found that the trekking poles helped greatly with this. The poles are actually urban poles and were meant for pavement but I went to the store I got them from and picked up a couple of packs of trekking baskets and then converted them. Huge difference on the slippery trails and a lot more stability!
   After I finished my lunch at the top of The Steps, I headed back down them and made my way back to the parking lot. Normally, I am looking forward to being able to hop in my car and head for home but yesterday was necessarily different.

The very swollen Thames River. I
will go back and take the same pic
in about a month and show you
the difference.

   I got back out onto Gideon Drive and headed east, along the highway. I don't really enjoy being in such proximity to traffic moving so quickly and, honestly, every time a car approached I made plans for which direction I would have to throw myself to avoid it if it happened, for whatever reason, to swerve directly at me. I also tried to estimate whether or not I'd be able to leap high enough in the air to only make minimal contact with the roof of a vehicle as it passed underneath me, do a somersault, and then land safely on my feet. Because I think I saw this in a movie somewhere....
   Along the way, I stopped to take a stroll through Woodhull Cemetery. This is a fairly small cemetery on a piece of land once owned by the Woodhull family. The little bit of genealogy I've been doing lately has me believing that I'm partially related to the Woodhulls, at least by marriage, if not by DNA, so I thought it might be kind of cool to stop in for a visit. I also managed to find the grave of the husband of one of my wife Doralyn's best friends while I was there. We had never met so I introduced myself and let him know that his wife and kids are doing just fine (although I'm pretty sure he's already aware  of that!)

And a quick stop at the Woodhull Cemetery.

   After my little visit, it was back to another short highway stretch and then back into the subdivision and home.
   I might have overdone it. I ended up walking about 16K altogether and today I'm feeling it, particularly the injured knee. It's throbbing just a touch so I'm just about to go pop some Advil and ice it a little. What I've noticed lately is that it pops back fairly quickly after hard work so I really hope it keeps up the trend. It's actually quite strong as long as I don't get it into weird little positions and I'm hoping that soon I'll be back to running. Fingers crossed!