BLACK WALNUT Brant-Waterloo Road to Weisenberg Rd (near steel bridge) 75 ish km
Day 1 Thursday April 29 Map 9 Glen Morris
Beautiful hike from Glen Morris to Dryden Tract. 11.7km
Took 2 1/2 hours. The last half hour was really slow through Dryden, it was pretty hilly. I stopped a lot to enjoy the view and a few off leash dogs visited us which always slows us down and I never really know how it's gonna go. It's nerve-wracking having a strange dog come running at Kayla and I.
Day 2 Saturday May 1 Map 9 and 10 Glen Morris and Kitchener
Get dropped at Dryden 9.3 and walk to 28.1 Best Buy on Fairway Rd (Drop van off). 18.8 km
Took almost 4 hours. A bit of a slog... lots of roads but I was prepared. I wore my runners and ran as much as I could for the first 10 km... which to be honest wasn't that much. I think my average for the first 10 km was around 9 minutes per kilometer. I saw a fox on one of the country roads but it ran away. Kayla really wanted to chase it. We were so close but I couldn't get my phone out and ready fast enough. I was kinda bummed. There are some really nice trails along the river off of Homer Watson. I'm gonna have to go back there with a friend to explore a little bit. Note: Probably less busy on a weekday!
It ended up being 20.3 ish km instead of the 18 that the trail guide says but I think that's cause we don't get to go through one of the farms anymore.
Day 3 Tuesday May 4, 2021 Map 10 and 11 (Kitchener and Conestogo)
Tim joined me, Genevieve babysat the kids and we did 22.83 km and it took 4 hours and 20 minutes, there was some jogging.
Dropped the van off at McAllister Drive by the trail entrance (just parked in front of someone's house) in Bloomingdale and then drove back to Bestbuy on Fairway in Kitchener.
It was a beautiful hike. We didn't spend a ton of time on roads, followed the Grand River through Kitchener and saw a lot of the Walter Bean Trail which looks like it would be great for biking.
We got a little mixed up where the Victoria St crosses the Grand because are some other trails and we were distracted by a heron in a pond, we walked for maybe 2 minutes before we realized there weren't any trail markers in site, Tim mentioned that we were supposed to cross the Grand at this point so we back tracked and sure enough the trail goes over the bridge at Victoria and then cuts into private property.
The Rosendale Creek section was really cool - well, the path between Victoria St N and Ebycrest Rd, (not sure if it's all called Rosendale Creek) As I'm looking at the map it looks like that section was 5km. It was super muddy so if I go back in the spring again I need to be prepared for that!
Unless I get super fit I really don't need to do this section in 1 shot. I think splitting into to 10km hikes would be more enjoyable.
Day 4 Thursday May 6, 2021 Map 11 Conestogo
I hiked from McAllister Rd in Bloomingdale to Leston Dr/Buggy Lane. It was 12.39km and 2:23hrs. There wasn't much river or forest time at all maybe 3 km, but of course the little that there was was absolutely gorgeous and I really appreciated it. Most of the walk was on Sawmill Road. Now if the trail included Snyder's flats that would have been better but it doesn't any more. I still could have hiked in there but I just wanted to get this section done and figure I can go back some time if I want to. The last 2 km were the best as they went through private property along the river, it was beautiful.
Day 5 Wednesday May 12, 2021 Map 12 West Montrose
Letson Dr. / Buggy Lane - Weisenberg Road @ closed steel bridge
10km There was way less road walking for this last section and Middlebrook Rd is not half as busy as Sawmill Rd was. I got turned around a few times following the trail on private property and losing site of the trail markers! I had a friend with me (Genevieve) so was a little distracted at times. I am SO thankful for the Ondago app! I love that I can use it offline and it shows me where I am along the trail.
There were some beautiful views of the Grand River along the trail today and I felt so thankful for the landowners who give us permission to travel on their lands to enjoy them.
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