Our 2015 hiking season started off later than anticipated in part due to our busy schedules and also because of the wet spring we had. I knew that the trail would be water-logged in the spring, so I was hoping that it would be drier in July. In spite of our late start, the plan is to do the remainder of the trail, all the way to Kingston this year.
We started early in the morning since the temperature was supposed to reach 30 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. We walked a section of the trail that was more or less west to east, leading us into the town of Smiths Falls. This is the Kingston to Ottawa direction of the trail and the trail description are written this way, so it's way easier to navigate hiking this way. It proved to be a good decision because the trail was difficult to find in a number of sections.
We set off along a dirt road, which quickly turned into an overgrown track. As usual. Look below.
If it were not for the orange triangle trail markers nailed to trees and posts, we would never find our way. The trails are quite often overgrown so that you have to walk through tall grass. For only the 2nd time we lost our way on (the first time was in Marlborough Forest when we didn't turn where we were supposed to). This time though was different, because we crossed on a stile over a fence and then couldn't find a trail marker anywhere to indicate the direction we should travel and of course there was no actual trail to follow. After about 10 minutes of wandering around the area we eventually saw a trail marker and continued on our way. A little frustrated, but I wasn't ever concerned because we knew exactly where we were, we just couldn't determine which way to go!
I was thinking that the Rideau Trail should actually be called the "Rideau Route" because there definitely is a route that you follow, but we haven't been on many actual trails through the woods and the rest of the route makes use of roads and highways.
Early on in the day we had to walk through a very wet swamp. The water was so deep it went over both our boots so walked the rest of the day with very wet socks and boots.
The section of the trail that we did today consisted of overgrown tracks and walking along highway 43.
The bugs were really bad in the bush and it was slow going due to the poor trail condition, so we were actually happy to get out on the highway where there was a breeze and a wide, smooth gravel shoulder to walk on. It is nice for the sections of bush and highway to be broken up because it offers a change of pace.
After another section of bush and then more walking on the road we made it to Smiths Falls. After going through residential neighbourhoods the trail went along the Rideau Canal following a lovely park.
We finished our hike in the parking lot where we had finished our hiking last fall. It's a parking lot at the town's recreation grounds with soccer and baseball fields and also docks into the canal. There is also a needle drop box. This was our point of reference as we had remembered seeing it there last year. Who knew Smiths Falls had such an IV drug use problem?!
Today was our first hike of the year we hiked our longest distance yet. The last 5 kms were pretty painful and it was very hot, but I'm glad we got it done! As usual, the cool drinks we had kept in a cooler in the car were very refreshing and we were able to dangle our feet in the water off the dock which was heavenly! Thankfully in spite of our wet socks and boots we faired pretty well. Rolla's feet were pretty painful at the end though and the muscles in my hips and lower back were sore and fatigued at the end, but overall not bad all things considered.
Lesson Learned: Pack an extra pair of socks in case your boots get flooded early on in the day!
We started early in the morning since the temperature was supposed to reach 30 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. We walked a section of the trail that was more or less west to east, leading us into the town of Smiths Falls. This is the Kingston to Ottawa direction of the trail and the trail description are written this way, so it's way easier to navigate hiking this way. It proved to be a good decision because the trail was difficult to find in a number of sections.
 |
| Start of the 2015 hiking season |
We set off along a dirt road, which quickly turned into an overgrown track. As usual. Look below.
 |
| Rolla on the "Trail" |
I was thinking that the Rideau Trail should actually be called the "Rideau Route" because there definitely is a route that you follow, but we haven't been on many actual trails through the woods and the rest of the route makes use of roads and highways.
Early on in the day we had to walk through a very wet swamp. The water was so deep it went over both our boots so walked the rest of the day with very wet socks and boots.
The section of the trail that we did today consisted of overgrown tracks and walking along highway 43.
 |
| Hwy 43. It was actually really busy with lots of traffic. |
After another section of bush and then more walking on the road we made it to Smiths Falls. After going through residential neighbourhoods the trail went along the Rideau Canal following a lovely park.
 |
| Rideau Canal in Smiths Falls |
We finished our hike in the parking lot where we had finished our hiking last fall. It's a parking lot at the town's recreation grounds with soccer and baseball fields and also docks into the canal. There is also a needle drop box. This was our point of reference as we had remembered seeing it there last year. Who knew Smiths Falls had such an IV drug use problem?!
Today was our first hike of the year we hiked our longest distance yet. The last 5 kms were pretty painful and it was very hot, but I'm glad we got it done! As usual, the cool drinks we had kept in a cooler in the car were very refreshing and we were able to dangle our feet in the water off the dock which was heavenly! Thankfully in spite of our wet socks and boots we faired pretty well. Rolla's feet were pretty painful at the end though and the muscles in my hips and lower back were sore and fatigued at the end, but overall not bad all things considered.
Statistics:
Start Point -11A
End Pont - 12C
Time - 5 hours
Daily Distance - 20.2
Total Distance - 140.2 kmLesson Learned: Pack an extra pair of socks in case your boots get flooded early on in the day!
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