My 2017 Year- In - Review!

   

It's been a long time since I've done one of those "year end reviews" that are so popular this time of year. It never really seemed as though I had anything terribly interesting to tell people about and I don't really set goals for myself so it never was possible to tell people whether I actually achieved them or not. So, this year, once again I wasn't going to bother with the re-cap process.

Medway Valley ESA

   Then I stopped and thought about what kind of a year I'd had. It occurred to me that, for a change, I had done some things I'd never done before and I actually had set some goals throughout the year and then attained them! Because of this, the thought of going back and doing a little rehashing seemed more enjoyable than it usually does. So here I go!
   I spent most of the early part of 2017 getting acquainted with the trail systems right here in London, Ontario. At the end of 2016, my interest in trail-running was piqued and I promised myself I would spend as much time out on the trails as I possibly could, as soon as I could. 

Sifton Bog ESA

   To this end, I made it a goal to visit each of London's seven Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) and run the trails there. This past winter was a mild one for this area and getting out on the trails was relatively easy and more or less painless. On the weekends and whenever I had a day off I would simply visit the next ESA on my list---I was already quite familiar with the ones at my end of town and had already run them many times. Eventually, it took a little over a month (parts of February and March) to get all seven ESAs properly run. I even ran a couple of them twice.
   

Meadowlily ESA

It was during this time that I also had the opportunity to try out the new Camelbak I'd gotten for Christmas. At the end of 2016, I'd run into hydration issues while out on the trails (I sweat a lot) and I knew that if I was going to spend as much time running the trails as I really wanted, then I would need a more viable form of hydration. The Camelbak worked just fine and I was excitedly looking forward to the Spring and Summer.

Westminster Ponds ESA....can you spot the teddy bear??

   Spring finally came and early in April I decided I would go out for a street run and see just where all this winter trail-running had taken me, in the way of endurance. I started out from my house and ran about four houses down before I heard a pop in my knee and felt the pain. Thank goodness I was that close to home and was able to limp my way back.
   I was actually able to get into my doctor the following day and was diagnosed with a strained or pulled gastrocnemius muscle. This is one of the long muscles which travels up the back of your leg and connects in under your kneecap. He prescribed a couple weeks of rest, a couple of weeks of walking and then a couple of weeks of light running.

Thames Valley Trail

   I did the resting. Then it was time for the walking. Back at the end of 2016, I had heard about something called the Thames Valley Trail. It was a 110

Thames Valley Trail

kilometer trail which started about 30K southwest of London, worked its way up through the city and then on to the town of St. Marys, northeast of London. I had already been intrigued with the idea of hiking the Trail and when the doctor told me that walking would become part of my knee's recovery process, things just seemed to fall into place.
   I then spent slightly over a month hiking all 15 sections of the trail. Several times I was able to hike more than one section at a time so, altogether, this came to nine different outings.

Thames Valley Trail

   It was quite the learning experience! I learned a fair bit about what my 64-year-old body was capable of (and sometimes what it wasn't) and I walked it entirely on my own, which also made it a very contemplative experience. There are many such trails here in Ontario and I now have the yen to hit more of them!
   September came and, after a couple of setbacks with  my knee, I was finally able to try actual running again. I had tweaked my knee a couple of times while out hiking and playing golf and because of

Thames Valley Trail

this it took me this long to actually tentatively run again.
   My plan was to get out the first time and run 1 kilometer. As long as things were okay, the next time out I would run 1K farther and so on, back up to a respectable mileage. Eventually, through September to early December, I worked my way back up to running 9K. 
   At that point, winter and Christmas hit and, if I had any free time that I could have used for running, I spent it shopping, or some other Christmas activity. 

Thames Valley Trail

    Round about this time, however, I started going back to the gym again! I had had a Goodlife membership for about two years and hadn't used it once. Totally ridiculous, obviously, and so I more or less forced myself to get back into it. Having done so, however, I found I rather enjoyed it and am looking forward to getting back to it in the new year.
   So, this is my re-cap of my 2017. When I looked back at it, I realized that I actually had made several goals and then followed through on all of them.

And ME---at the END of the
Thames Valley Trail!

   I had a goal of running all of London's ESAs and I had done that. I had a goal of hiking the Thames Valley Trail and I had done that. I had a goal of getting back to decent mileage during trail runs and I had done that. I had a goal of getting back into the gym and, lo and behold, I had done that as well!
   I am now wondering what 2018 will bring. For sure, I want to explore more hiking trails in Ontario and I have to admit that the Bruce Trail is high on my list. Part of me even wants to hike somewhere with a tent strapped to my back so I can spend the night and then keep on hiking in the morning. I definitely want to run more, and longer, trails. There are some snowshoeing experiences that await. There are more trips to the gym in my future and, at some point, I really need to get out and play some ball hockey with the younger guys.
   So I guess all of the above are my goals for 2018 and, having stated them here, I will now be able to go back around this time next year and tell you all how many of them I was able to attain. In the meantime, I hope that 2018 brings only happiness and self-fulfillment to you all! 
   Cheers!

Runs and Ruins-A Photo Dump

   Since I (apparently) transitioned over to trail-running at the end of last summer, I have subsequently found myself in places I have never been before, doing things I have never done before and seeing things I have never seen before.
   I have come much closer to the damage done to rotting tree stumps by pileated woodpeckers, the unmistakable mark beavers leave on the woodlands, the high and unreachable  nests of bald eagles and occasionally the sad and lonely passings of the beasts of the forest.
   These things were all new to me but, at the same time, I was not surprised---it's not like I had no inkling of some of the marvels of nature.
   What did surprise me, however, were all the times I ran across the remnants of human life and habitation, half-buried and almost un-noticeable in the woodlands. Pretty well every time this happened, for some reason I felt compelled to to stop and visually document my findings. Many of those pics ended up on these pages, quite a few didn't. The following is a bit of a photo-dump, each with its own description, of some of the ruins I ran into.

I came across these abandoned pipes
at the eastern end of Komoka
Provincial Park. I'm gonna guess
they're still there...

This was by the trail in Kains Woods
and I ran past it a couple of times
before I realized it was actually
there. Bunch of stones and mortar
and also pretty far away from
habitation.

Not really a "ruin" but definitely
a sign that a human had been messing
with things.

Not even sure what this is, part of a
sewer system? Seemed pretty
old and it was in the middle of
the Sifton Bog.

Ran past this makeshift grave in
Kilally Meadows. Hope it was a pet...

After my run in the Sifton Bog, I was
exploring the old section of Hyde
Park Road. I noticed an open field
which looked as though it had
some kind of a laneway running
through so I went exploring.
I soon discovered I was in the middle
of where someone's farm used to be.
This and the next two pictures
were taken there.

Bits of concrete and a pipe sticking up
out of the ground.

Not sure if this was the remnants
of some kind of well or something.

I came across these concrete steps
while running through the Westminster
Ponds. Not the usual kind of steps
London uses in their environmentally
significant areas. Pretty sure they
were built so that the war vets
could access the Ponds from
Westminster Hospital, back when
it was in service

One of the abandoned buildings that
formed part of the Westminster Veterans
Hospital. In a slow state of decay...

Got off on an unmarked trail at the
western end of Komoka Park. Guessing
it used to be for cattle.

At this point was totally lost in Komoka
Park and was hacking my way
through underbrush and came across
the remnants of an old fence,

Another bushwacking adventure had me
coming across a ladder into a tree. This
was on the outskirts of Meadowlily
Woodsa. Think it might have been
a deer blind at one time.

Probably my favourite thing I've run
across. This was about the size of a large
matchbox and contained the remains
of "Nathan", who I assume was likely
a goldfish. Found this at the base
of a tree in Warbler Woods.

   So there you have my photo dump! I hurt my knee about a week and a half ago, otherwise this would have been a bunch of (likely) boring pics from my latest trail run. Instead, you got these awesome ones!! Hopefully, back to the boring ones soon!

Hitting the Sifton Bog

   If you've been following at all, then you know I'm off on Mondays and lately when I've been off on Mondays I've used that time to hit the trails. Well, today was Monday so guess what...?
   Yep, I cancelled my chiro appointment (no fears, I'll re-schedule) and I hit the trails at the Sifton Bog, another one of

I always enjoy the unexplained
signs of man

London's environmentally significant areas (ESAs). After today, I only have two other ESAs in London to hit, Kilally Meadows and Westminster Ponds/Pond Mills.
   I've been to the bog a handful of times over the years, it's one of those areas that attracts school trips and the varied wildlife and plant species are always educational. There is a long boardwalk which takes you out to a large pond in the middle of the bog. At this point there is a thick layer of sphagnum moss surrounding the lake and most school kids visiting there have a memory of actually bouncing on the floating moss.
   In spite of its reputation, it's not really well-known as a

All sorts of little ponds
and boggy areas.

trail-running destination and I had really no idea what I was in for when I went. There are a variety of entrance points but parking seemed to be an issue at the first couple I picked so I ended up parking in the subdivision across the street and walking in from there, not too far really.
   As is my habit, I took a look at the trail map they provide online and it indicated that there were trails well south of the bog itself so that's where I headed.
   This past weekend, the temp was -4C and today it was 12C so a huge difference! It also made the trails very muddy in parts and the screwshoes were useless a lot of the time. The fact that where I was running took me through low-lying bog land didn't help things either.
   

Some paths take you
back to civilization

The worst part about new trails is that you're never quite sure where you're actually headed and what to do at junctions. Makes for a lot of "eenie meenie minee..." time, on top of a lot of backtracking. 
   I also wore too many layers. I could very easily have left the jacket at home and probably would have been fine in shorts, to boot. I rolled up the jacket and slid it through the CamelBak and just made do after that. 
   I am sick of mud. Spring and summer can't come fast enough (I know I'm not alone in this) and I'd almost rather run on snow and ice (none of which come home with you). I keep telling myself that mud means summer is coming but it's not really working.
   So I ran and I ran, taking every side trail I could find.

Found myself in the
main parking lot

Eventually I found myself on a trail in a direction that I didn't remember from the online map. It seemed to follow along the edge of new housing and it was relatively dry so I was happy to run it. Before I knew it, I had popped out onto the parking lot for the people who are just there to visit the pond in the middle of the bog. There was no indication on the map that this trail even existed. On top of that, the large map in the parking lot indicated it quite clearly, although being fairly old it didn't indicate the new housing I'd been running along.
   Seeing as how I was that close to the bog unexpectedly I decided to run on the boardwalk and go take a look at it. This is the first time I'd been to the bog in the "winter" and it was strangely beautiful in a different way than the summer. Eerier, in a way, but not threatening. It's a fairly short run through the forested part and then you pop out into the open pond area. The colours there at the moment are amazing, all sorts of purply red mixed with green and it was quite amazing.

...and out onto the pond

   

The boardwalk through
the forested area...

From there, I more or less backtracked til I got to the main road. From there I just took a walking tour til I made it back to my car. In terms of actual running, all I got in was 5K. Much of that was hill work and that is always beneficial. To have gotten in any real miles, I would have had to have done much backtracking and/or knew the trails like the back of my hand, which I didn't. This is all okay, though, because today I was just exploring and knocking another ESA off my list!