Niagara Gorge, 22 kms, and sore knee

You have to squeeze through here

Believe it or not, there is a trail across here

This past Monday it was sunny and just above freezing so I went to the Niagara Gorge which I think is the most amazing place around here to hike.  There is a loop that takes just under two hours to hike it and I did the loop twice - taking me just under four hours!

Very seldom do I have pictures of me hiking but I came upon another hiker who took my picture

This is the trail as it winds out of the gorge

The stones act as stairs climbing up

In the summer you would not see the Niagara River through these trees because of the leaves

Over the bridge

........through the fields

 On Saturdays, the hiking club always has a two hour hike and a longer 3+ hour hike.  The 3+ hour hike this week was a 22 km hike which started in St Catharines and headed south, up and through the Niagara Escarpment, through fields, across bridges, along waterways, in some areas that were very muddy - and then back.  The hike took 4 hours and 45 minutes - my longest hike now so far.  I did not have many pictures because only the very good hikers selected the longer hike which was rated as fast speed and moderate terrain and quite frankly, during a lot of it, I had trouble keeping up.  P.S.  The hiker with the backpack is Charo who is leaving for the Camino on March 22nd!

......and over the streams to grandma's house we go.

 Today (Sunday) I just hiked a 12 km road course around home which took me 2 hours and 4 minutes.  My left knee is becoming very sore and I may have to shut down for a week or two - I will try it on 8 km hikes during the upcoming week to see how it reacts.

A Couple of Hikes and a New Hat :)

 Saturday's Hike (first three pictures) was called the Thorold loop - it was a three hour hike along the Welland Canal and through some trails around the city of Thorold.

 Today's (Sunday) hike was in an area that was originally called St John's, which was settled in the late 1700's.  It was a short hike lasting only 75 minutes but is a nice hike along some very steep hills and supervised by some curious on-lookers (next three pictures)

Lastly, I bought a Tilley hat.  These hats are Canadian and famous world wide.  Since I will be walking the Camino in September, I will need some sun protection - something better than the many baseball hats that I own.  These hats are very expensive, but are guaranteed for life and include insurance if you loose them in the first two years.

Arctic Blast Hits Niagara Falls area

 Had a pretty good week.  Was able to work out all seven days.  Five of the days walking, and two days on an exercise bike while I was on the road overnight for work.  A week ago on Saturday the temperatures hit 5C and I spoke about all of the mud on the trails.  This weekend we got blasted with some arctic air from the North.  Yesterday six of us started at a place called Dain City which is just south of Welland and hiked along the Welland Canal to the middle of the town of Port Colborne, and then back again.  The hike to Port Colborne was not too bad as the wind was on our backs, but we had to walk face first into the headwind all of the way back.  I had so much ice form on my face that it actually became hard to see.  The temperature was -18C with windchill.  The hike lasted 3 hours and 20 minutes and covered about 16 kms.  Today (Sunday), it was warmer – only a windchill of -13C.  I skipped my first Sunday hike with the club since I joined in September choosing instead to walk locally.  I went 7 kms and wore my backpack for some practice.  I find that I walk a lot slower when I have it on.  The first three kms were very cold, but after that, I had the wind on my back.  The pictures are from Saturday's hike.

First Week of February

Only got out twice during the week which in a way was good because I am still recovering from those two big blisters I got last Saturday.

The walk this Saturday with the Niagara chapter of the Bruce Trail Hikers Club was called the 12 Mile Creek hike as the hike travelled south along the 12 Mike Creek to Brock University and back again. (Remember to click on the pictures to enlarge them)

The hike began at 9 am and the winter sun was still low in the sky at this time of year.  It was about 0C at the start of the hike.  You can see the creek on the left hand side - it is more like a river than what I think a creek looks like.

 There were some hazards which you had to be aware of.  At the mid-way point in the hike, we had to climb the Niagara Escarpment which meant going up some very steep hills until we came to Brock University.

On the way back, the trail became very muddy with the sun heating up the ground and melting the frost. It was 5C when we finished. The hike lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes - my second longest yet.  We figured it was about 20-22 kms.










The hike today (Sunday) was called 'Up the Hill'.  Basically, it started in St Catharines and climbed the escarpment, did a large loop on the top, and then of course, what goes up must come down - so we had to climb back down to where our cars were parked.  The Sunday hikes begin at 2 pm during the winter and it was 3C today - much warmer than it is supposed to be for a Canadian winter. This hike was only 90 minutes long and seemed very short compared to yesterday's hike.  I wore my backpack today to get some practice carrying it.  I do not have much weight in it yet but will increase the weight as time goes on.

This is looking down from where we started

Our snow is completely gone

Heading back now

Housekeeping, Blisters, and the War of 1812

Housekeeping Items:  Just so that you know, I am going to try to post once a week, on Sunday nights - wrapping up what has happened the previous week.  Once I get closer to September when I plan on walking the Camino, I may post more often.  But for now, you do not need to check during the week because unless something really significant has happened, I will not post.  The other thing that I wanted to let you know is that if you click on the pictures, they will enlarge.

This week was a so-so week for training.  On Monday, I was on the road all day for work so I could not walk at lunch.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had meetings all day and did not have enough time to walk at lunch.  Wednesday night I did a hour on the recumbent bike to get at least some work in.  On Thursday, I had to travel 6 hours north to a city that happens to be called North Bay.  So once again work was getting in my way of walking, but at least on Thursday night, and again on Friday morning, I was able to do an hour on the recumbent bike at the hotel.  When I got home Friday late afternoon, there was still some light left, so I walked 4.5 miles on the local roads where I live.

Blisters:  On Saturday, we walked 3 hours and 20 minutes from downtown Welland to Dain City beginning at 9 am.  It was not supposed to snow until the afternoon but by 9:10, we were walking face first into a heavy wet snow for one hour and 45 minutes before we turned.  The snow melted as soon as it hit us and we all became soaked..  Although my feet did not feel wet, I think the water got down into my shoes and I felt blisters beginning to form at about the 2 hour mark.  But being almost 90 minutes away from where we left our cars, you have no choice but to keep walking back.  At least now the snow was on our backs.  When I got home, I checked and I had on the outside of each foot a huge blister about two inches long, plus a smaller blister on the bottom of my left foot.  I drained them the best I could do - I hate blisters and I guess I have been spoiled as with all the long hikes I have been on, I have not had one!

 Today's (Sundays) walk was in a historic area called Queenston Heights.  Some homes in this area date back to the 1700's and this is also where some of the biggest battles of the War of 1812 took place.  There is a 185 foot tall monument where British Major General Isaac Brock was killed.  His remains are in the base of the monument.  The amazing thing is that that this monument was built in 1853 and to this day, you can climb up inside of it to the very top and view the entire area from there.  Enough of a history lesson.  I put bandages on the blisters from yesterday but I could feel them with every step.  I was concerned that I might be making them worst.  The hike lasted 90 minutes and the area was nice - it was an easy walk today.  When I got home, I was generally pleased to have found out that I did not make the blisters worst - but they were no better either.  So I think that I may have to take a few days off of walking to let them heal a bit.

One Day its Winter - Next Day it is Spring - then Winter Again!

I think the only way to sum up last week was the big fluctuations that we have been having in our temperatures.  I walked 6 out of the 7 days - missing Thursday to go to a retirement affair of a close friend who has decided to retire after 39 years.  I will really miss him.

But back to the weather - Monday it was 5C, Tuesday 12C, Wednesday -10C, Friday -12, Saturday -7C, today it was 2C, and tomorrow they are calling for 11C.  The nice thing about the cold is that the trails have frozen up and we are no longer walking in mud - although that will all return next week when it warms up again.

Saturday's walk lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes and was up and down many steep hills in a park called Shorthills Provincial Park.  Today's walk was much easier, as Sundays tend to be.  It was around city streets in a town called Fonthill and was only one hour and 20 minutes.  I wore my backpack today to start getting used to it.  All of the pictures are from the Shorthills walk except one.  The last picture was taken from today's walk and is of Charo - she is a member of the hiking club and she together with her son and niece will be walking the Camino beginning in St Jean Pied de Port beginning mid March.  She is the one in the picture with the backpack as she is getting used to carry it.  Good luck Charo!