Woot! Got a good 20km done today. I started at Dryden Tract and ended after doing Hidden Valley road section. The van was parked at Best Buy, and let me tell you I was soooo happy to see that sign. My hips were aching by the 15k mark. Kayla was panting and tired too. She does slow me down a little but I enjoy her company and feel safer having her with me.
When it comes right down to it I'm doing this for the challenge of it and for the badge. I mean it will be awesome if I find some new hidden gems for hiking areas, like today along Homer Watson and the Grand river was really pretty but Rare is just as nice and so much closer to my house. In terms of enjoyment though, I would have loved to just spend 4 hours at Dryden Tract getting familiar with that forest. I'm definitely going to go back there and get to know my way around once I'm done this section.
We scared a fox today on the side of the road, that was exciting, it ran off and if Kayla hadn't been on a leash she would have given chase!
I think my favorite part today was hiking through the farm property between Cedar Creek Road and Roseville Road. The trail ended after the forest and there was a note on the Ondago app saying if the field is planted you won't be able to see the trail so just go north through the field and then toward Dumfries Road along the edge.... I had no idea which way was North when I looked at the app and no idea which way Dumfries was... NOW I DO! I learned how to use the app better and I met the challenge of figuring out how to navigate. So thankful for that app because I definitely couldn't see any trail markers.
My least favorite part was at the end, hiking around Hidden Valley road. I wasn't sure I was going the right way and I was afraid I'd passed where I was supposed to stop and go to Bestbuy (at Wabanaki). So, I was anxious about that and then I was looking at all these huge mansions and I felt bummed about how this beautiful area beside the Grand was all private. I don't know why I was so grumpy with all the rich people. I think I was just tired. I saw a family in their backyard at the end of the loop, two kids playing and some women hanging out with them. They waved and smiled and my grumpiness went away. I think part of me was feeling like the residents there would know I didn't belong there and resent me walking through their paradise.
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