Recap: End-to-End on the Thames Valley Trail

   Just about a week ago, I hiked the last remaining section of the Thames Valley Trail. It had taken me slightly over a month to complete the 110 kilometer trail and involved nine separate hikes, averaging about 12K each.
   When I began the quest, I really had no time frame in mind---all I really knew was that I wanted to get it done by the end of the year, as doing so would make me eligible for the Thames Valley Trail End-to-End patch. The thought of walking the whole thing was a little daunting, both distance and time-wise, and this would be my first real experience at hiking so I wasn't at all sure what I was getting myself in for.
   As you can imagine, it was quite the learning experience. It seemed as though every time I set out I learned something new which would better prepare me for the subsequent hikes.
   

Sample of a map and some of
the directions (hope no copyright
broken....)

The first section, from Southdel Road to Sharon Creek, started under threatening skies and stayed that way right until I got about 2K away from the end and the heavens opened up. I had brought a rain jacket with me but it barely covered me with a backpack on and did nothing whatsoever for my legs. I was wearing shorts and I don't mind wet legs but what happened was that all the rain water flowed into my hiking boots. My boots are Merrell Moabs and are waterproof. This is only really good, though, if the water is on the outside. If the water is on the inside, it just stays there. After that first hike, I made a trip to Canadian Tire and bought waterproof rain-gear, both tops and bottoms. And, of course, it never rained again! I also got eaten alive by mosquitoes on that first hike and so purchased insect repellent with Deet. Hopefully this would also provide protection from ticks, as this has been a particularly bad season for them.
   I combined the following two sections as they were shorter and also tacked on an extra bit from the first section, because I had missed a turn near the end and wanted to be able to say I'd walked the whole thing. This was part of a tactical error on that day and I later on found myself in some reasonably serious trouble as I'd totally miscalculated the water I'd needed. It was about 34C (93F) that day and substantially before the end of the hike I found myself feeling dehydrated and sick to my stomach and out in a forest with no true way of getting help in a hurry, if things got any worse. I did

Marriage of humans and nature

eventually make my way out of the woods but by this time thigh cramps had started to set in, making it a very gingerly trip to my car. HUGE learning experience here, both about fueling and hydration and what your body is (or isn't) capable of. The result of this, and of hikes to come, was that I spent some time musing over the safety issues of hiking solo. There are numerous times on the trail when a slip or a trip might send you tumbling into some rocky ravine and I often imagined myself at the bottom of one of them, tangled in underbrush and unable to reach my phone. I think hiking solo may continue to require some careful consideration.
   On subsequent hikes, I learned how to marry the maps and the guidebook a little better, how to keep my hat on my head, how to keep my food cooler, how to be patient and wait for the blazes to appear, and how to check both sides of the road for trail markers.

The badge and the guidebook

   The end result of all this is that I did finally get my End-to-End badge! I contacted the Thames Valley Trail Association, gave them a link to this blog so that I could certify that I'd actually completed it, and was able to pick up the badge from Paulette Renaud, the Association's Activities Director, just a day later. Also had a wonderful chat about the Trail while we were at it!
   Where I go from here, hiking-wise, is kind of up in the air. There is no shortage of amazing places to hike here in Ontario, if you are so inclined, and perhaps I'll check some of them out. Doralyn is not a hot weather person so maybe once fall arrives the two of us might be able to get out and do a little exploring together.
   One of the things I do need to do, though, is get back to running. This was to be a trail-running summer for me but that was derailed back in the Spring when I did something to my knee and the doctor said WALK. The knee, for the most part, is starting to feel better and I think it's time I started thinking about hitting the trails once more!