Perfect late-winter weather brought out a good-sized group of hikers for this hike along a part of Sixteen Mile Creek. Jane took us on a short detour to see a hitherto-unknown "cascade" on Shannon Creek, enlivened by the recent heavy rain.
Sixteen Mile Creek was flowing like we seldom see. 
A perfect late-winter day
And it was another great day for a hike. Seven hikers joined Brian for this walk from Webster's Falls, along Spencer Creek and around Christie Lake. It was cold enough that the expected mud was still fairly firm.
The bridge picture Webster's Falls was roaring and there was an occasional rainbow sighting in the mist.
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| Icers were required on the north facing slopes |
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| Water levels were high so a strategically placed rock helped keep feet dry. |
We hit the sweet spot today: blue skies, warm breezes, soft ice, and little mud (yet). Sid set a gentle pace for the 15 hikers, and treated the hills and hikers with great respect. Finally, there appears to be serous work underway on Griffin House -- if being wrapped securely in tarps is any indication.
Headed up yet another hill, as seen by Susan M. 
"You are here." 
Soft ice and sunshine 
At the Hermitage 
Will there be a test?
Sixteen Pathfinders registered for this hike and 13 showed up, a sign of the weather. While yesterday was sunny and warm, today was blustery and cool -- some would say cold. It must be Spring! Regardless, Hattie did a fine job of leading -- from the front, middle and rear -- and safely marshalled us across many streets.
Some parts of the path were bare, but for the most part it was soft snow. We decided that was worth 1.5 x the nominal distance. 
Taplow Creek, or maybe it was another of Oakville's numerous creeks.... Can you spot 4 mallards here? 
Hattie appeared to be taking attendance at every road crossing. She finished the hike well within the 10% loss allowed to all Pathfinder leaders. :)
It was a spectacular day for a hike. This is arguably one of the toughest Pathfinder hikes, but we took our time and stopped often to enjoy the sights and catch our breath.
Practicing the selfies...glad to have glasses on this sunny day. The trails were perfect...hard-packed snow Clearing off the bench for elevenses.
Note the depth of the snow around the bench.
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| Apres hike...coffee and dessert sampler at the Black Birch. The lemon tart was the hands down favourite. |
The sunny and cold weather continues -- does this make March a lamb or a lion to start? Michael led and 15 others followed, apparently willingly. Another gorgeous winter day.
It was another day of pleasant surprises -- wintry conditions but no real ice to speak of. Sid led a good turnout of 16 on a very pleasant local hike.
Urban explorers, playing it safe 
Some stairs ARE maintained in the winter. Thankfully. 
Where next? There seems to be some discussion.
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| Winter conditions don't get much better than this. |
Temperatures hovered around 0 and there was a light dusting of snow from the previous night.
Six hikers joined Hubert on Spring Creek Trail, Bruce Trail, beside Spencer Creek and along rail trail.
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| The light dusting of snow made the scenery spectacular |
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| Elevenses in the dugout |
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| With all of the precipitation last week, Spencer Creek was raging |
Apres hike it was a visit to the local Timmy's to rehydrate and refuel. Sadly, there were no 'Roll up the Rim' winners today.
Two hikers joined Ann on this new version of an old hike. The new hike features much less rail trail and road, and more Bruce Trail and side trail.
The temperature hovered around zero with the occasional sun sighting!
The trails were mainly hard-packed snow with some 'sandy' bits.
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| Stepping off the hard-packed treadway resulted in a knee-deep posthole. |
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| In St Jude's Cemetary photo credit - Karen Nourse |
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| Climbing up to the Tannery Hill Beacon. photo credit - Tom Stephens |
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| Homecoming Trail in Lakeside Park. Trails were hard-packed snow, no ice. Shortly after this pic was taken, 4 hikers had to leave early for an important appointment. |
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Back at the cars, we discovered that the important appointment was with some hot cross buns at Cobs |
