Because of the forecast, the originally scheduled Albion/Mt Brow/Felkers hike was changed to something a little closer to home.
 |
| Five Pathfinders joined Christine on today's adventure. Everyone came prepared with their rain gear. |
 |
| Walking through Kerncliff Park |
 |
| Checking the weather app....yup, it's raining. |
Our hike started on the Tom East Trail, with a steady incline then the trail leads into the valley. We followed along to pick up the Isabel East trail, and from there we looped around the Cam Snell trail. After some hills we turned onto the main Trail back to our cars. The weather did not disappoint, we had a beautiful day with lovely colours followed by a much earned lunch at The Black Birch.
 |
| Most of the leaves were down |
 |
| Thank you Marleen, Sandy, Andrea, Michele, Hubert, Brian, Barbara and Richard (photographer) for coming out. |
 |
| Apres hike..... a much earned lunch at the Black Birch |
Thank you to everyone who showed up for the Lakeshore Rd cleanup and especially to Richard for volunteering to organize.
 |
| Many hands made light work |
 |
| After the cleanup, those who wanted to, hiked around Appleby College and back to JCC |
 |
| Practicing selfie skills! |
 |
| Water is low this year |
 |
| Hike???!!! We just want to be in the pictures. |
 |
| On the boardwalk |
Brian and Ken joined Ann on today's long hike.
 |
| Enjoying the view from City View Park |
 |
| Shopping at the Iroquoia Seed Garden |
 |
| Great Falls aka Grindstone Falls aka Waterdown Falls aka Smokey Hollow Falls |
11 hikers showed up to walk off their Thanksgiving indulgences. The weather was cool and overcast and the going firm.
 |
| Still smiling, even after climbing the Kerncliff Park Side Trail😊 The photo (credit: Michael Agrell) demonstrates that City View Park lives up to its name. |
Susan Nash joined 19 seasoned Pathfinders hikers on a sunny, temperate morning with Liz Davies as Hike Leader, for some exercise and fellowship. Thank you Tom Stephens for the pictures below that show waves wiped up by wind over lake Ontario, a clear view of downtown Toronto across the bay, and a calm and inviting trail.
 |
| Six hikers joined Brian on this warm day in Boyne Valley. Linda is trying to travel incognito |
 |
| Murphy's Pinnacle did not disappoint |
 |
| Hitchhiker |
The amazing and scary summer weather in October blessed 21 hikers for this riverside romp, led by Sid. We did not see the salmon that were promised, but was the weather too hot and humid for sex? Maybe. But it was cool enough the night before for the grass to have a good coat of dew.
Ready to charge up our favourite hill 
The start of Fall colour, but no salmon 
At the bridge, traditional photo spot
 |
| Stopping for a break and to enjoy the view of the lake. |
 | |
| The lake, the view of which we all admired.... |
 |
| Jerusalem artichokes were out in abundance. |
Balls Falls is always a treat, but this was special as we were all consciously working up an appetite for the lunch following at The 13th Street Winery. Our leader Jim, knowing the perils of getting between seniors and food (and drink), kept up the pace and we covered the prescribed 7.0 km in good time. It helped that it was a gorgeous early fall day. Lunch was wonderful.
The Falls were a trickle and Autumn colour was playing hard to get, but it was still beautiful. 
Apparently crows and other birds prefer red wine grapes because they were protected by nets while the white grapes were available for the picking. 
Our group of 20 in the home stretch. 17 stayed for lunch and seemed happy that they did.
Twelve hikers from the early group of Pathfinders started out for a hike in Niagara Glen Nature Reserve.
 |
| Getting the perfect picture |
We started on the Whirlpool Trail which follows the river. This area in the Niagara Peninsula is considered the Carolinian Life Zone. In Canada this zone is a narrow band across Southern Ontario which supports the most productive and endangered assortment of plant and animal species.
Once we caught the trail, we followed the river on a technical and rocky trail which led us to the Flat Rock where we took a minute to take in the beauty of the river and take a few pictures.
 |
| One of the many tricky bits |
 |
| Table Rock |
 |
| On the Whirlpool Trail |
From there we continued until it was time to take a break and have elevensies.
After elevensies we continued our
hike up on the Main Loop and Cliffside Trails and into the forest on the Terrace Trail. There
are tens of thousands of years of geological history in this area. The boulders in the Niagara Glen were formed
as the Niagara River and Falls eroded the ancient limestone bedrock, leaving
behind these massive rocks over the millennia.
The area’s geological history dates back over 400 million years.
 |
| The leaning rock |
 |
| A little rest before the final climb |
Sixteen hikers from the later group set out for their hike in Ball’s Falls Conservation Area in the Twenty Valley area.
Ball’s Falls occupies around 200
acres with two waterfalls on Twenty Mile Creek.
The Twenty Mile Creek is rain fed so the character of the falls can
change dramatically within the seasons, from a raging torrent in the spring to
a thin veil in late summer and fall.
The Conservation area still has
the original Ball family home which dates back to the early 19th
century, an operating gristmill, lime kiln, a restored church, blacksmith shop
and a carriage shed.
Niagara Glen group – Ann, Brian, Richard, Carolyn, Liz, Lesley & Stephen, Marleen, Christine, Andrea, Michael, and Peter
Ball’s Falls group – Jim &
Carol, Tom & Sue, Hubert, Sue, Hattie, Cathy, Colin, Ann, Ross &
Kathryn, Sorrel, Dianne, David, and David’s
brother-in-law, Andy
Many thanks to Andrea for coordinating the two groups and booking lunch!!!!
Six hikers joined Richard on today's hike. The main parking lot was closed because of a movie shoot, so we had to park elsewhere and do the hike in the opposite direction...thank goodness Richard was leading!
 |
| A tractor trailer fire at Nicola Tesla meant we got off to a slow start |
 |
| A light drizzle and most donned rain gear, although it didn't stay on for long! |
 |
| A big welcome to Ted who just started hiking with us. Bet you can't find Marleen, who is having a bad hair day and hiding from the camera! |
