14-Mile Creek, Thu 27 August, 8:30: E-E, ~7.0 km

 As the summer hikes wind down, 21 members followed Ann on a lovely morning, through the woods but not quite to grandmother's house. It was educational: We learned about poison ivy and its effects and spotted a gorgeous new flower on the trail that might be an escapee from a nearby garden. Michael made an appealing pitch for an epic creek-wading session next Monday. 

 

Are these people amused at the invitation to go wading in Bronte Creek? 

 

This is what can happen if you get too close to Poison Ivy. 

 

Poison Ivy: not just leaves of three, but pattern is revealing, as we learned from Anne Armstrong -- a pair together with short stems, and the third leaf on a longer stem. 

 

Pretty plant, odd name -- Pink Turtlehead. 

 

 

East Bank, Thur Aug 20 8:45am

Leader John Burgers

The group of 17 included Yvonne and Dexter who had learned of Pathfinders from Sid. The weather was nearly perfect only the rising humidity kept us from decending into the valley floor. We made a slight extension by including the top loop so ended with a distance of about 8.4 km. Thank you to Richard for the great job keeping the group together and announcing bicycle traffic from the rear.

Pathfinders on the East Bank excluding Valley floor

Morrison Valley North, Thu 13 Aug 2026, 0830: ~ 7.1 km, rated E-E.

This proved to be the perfect trail for a summer hike: lots of shade and moderate temps. Fourteen hikers turned out and were very well-behaved at the main road crossings, which was a big relief for leader Tom. All went well until we passed a sign near the top end of the trail indicating that access to Trafalgar Rd was closed. Tom interpreted this as equivalent to the signs saying "Stairs Closed" that appear every December - March. Fortunately, we did not have to backtrack too much .... It looks like that section may be closed for quite a while yet as there is major construction going on. 

                The sign that everyone ignored -- a clear case of 'alert fatigue.'

 

                Is that one of our hikers thumbing his nose at the "Closed" notice?!

Our route as recorded by AllTrails. Can you

spot where the NOTICE was?

Our route as recorded by Apple Watch. Who knew there were  

so many houses around us?!

 

 

Joshua Creek South, Thu 6 Aug 2026, 8:30: 6 km, E-E

  A total of 16 hikers turned out for this pleasant hike-turned-walking-sauna bath. It was a true summer day, with humidity to spare. Judy did a nice job herding her cats down to Lk Ontario and back. We encountered a group of 18 Probus members out for a stroll, but were not successful in recruiting any. Nor did we lose any.😉