I went back to Dunnville and found the spot where I had left off last week and resumed my walk from there. I did things a little differently getting there, though.
Rather than parking my car near the beginning, hiking and then arranging a taxi to take me back to the car, I drove my car to the end point, parked it, and then called a cab to take me back into Dunnville. Doing it this way was Doralyn's idea and it was an awesome one---I was totally exhausted by the time I got to the end point and the idea of having to wait there in the middle of nowhere while a cab was trying to find me was quite unappealing. So---thanks to my Sweetie! It was a pretty good day for hiking, with temps around 23C (73F) and lots of sunshine. It is also Canada Day weekend in these parts and Dunnville was hugely busy with people either already celebrating or getting ready to. It's a pretty little town right on the Grand River near to where the river empties into Lake Erie, and the waters were busy with boats and fishermen everywhere. It is also on a highway going through town so this meant lots of traffic---the first thing I had to do was cross the street and this took forever!
Eventually, I was out on the country roads and motoring along on my own two feet. In the first 40k of the trail, there are only about 3K worth of hiking through forest area, the rest is all highway. Having said that, though, yesterday's small section of forest walking was quite problematic.
There is a un-named section of dirt path which cuts a corner between two intersecting roads. It started out dry and dusty but then became wet and boggy. At this point, the horseflies (deerflies?) took over. Not anticipating a section like this, I hadn't done any form of bug protection. I did have bug netting with me but knew it was only a short section and so figured I would just power through. But then I hit the really boggy areas. There were sections of the path which, because of all the rain in these parts, were under water. The fact that there were tadpoles and frogs in them lends me to believing they might be under water most of the time. I took out the trekking poles and was almost able to make it to the end of the swampy area but then I lost my balance and my right foot went into the muddy water, almost up to my knee. There was no pulling my foot out and keeping my shoe attached at the same time, so I ended up crouched over this mini-pond with my arm in it almost up to my elbow, trying to find and fish out my shoe. Eventually, I did so, and then spent the final 9K of my walk in a soggy running shoe! It would have been a worse experience with a hiking boot, however, so I was glad of that.
The rest of the hike was simple roadway walking, which I was sort of grateful for, as I was getting exhausted. By the time I got back to the car, I had traveled slightly over 16K (10 miles) and was now at the 25.6K marker of the Grand Valley Trails system! And now for some pics to prove that I walked the walk!
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| Just about to leave Dunnville--- pretty little town! |
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| Fishermen on the Grand River |
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| Passing by the Byng Island conservation area. The cab driver told me the camping area here is booked up pretty well every weekend. |
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| "Baaa!" I said. Sheepishly.... |
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| My view for most of the day. |
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| The "un=named dirt road" which eventually became very boggy and caused.... |
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| ...THS! This was after I'd poured all the muddy sludge out of it... |
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| Just after the boggy section was a pretty random trailer sitting there, where people had been dropping off their used electronics |
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| Go ahead, pick a rut! |
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| Turning on to River Road, and the final LONG section. |
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| My smile kind of belies how I was feeling at this point. |
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| Small lake (pond?) I passed by. Note the wind turbine, they're all over the place in the Dunnville area. |
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| Random barn I thought was picturesque. |
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| Was able to see my bright red Honda from almost a kilometer away. And never so glad! |
