Trent University Wildlife Sanctuary Nature Area (Yellow/Red and Blue Trail)

As Phase III finally began in Ontario during the Covid-19 Pandemic, we were able to enjoy the trails again!

We made the trip east to Peterborough to visit my family and do a bit of hiking on one of the many trails in the

Trent University Wildlife Sanctuary.  

 

The town of Peterborough sits on the Otonabee River in Central Ontario and is known as the gateway to the Kawartha's through the Trent-Severn waterway which moves upward to the Peterborough Lift locks. 

The Trent University Wildlife Sanctuary Nature area has 3 separate trails to choose from.  We went on the blue trail which is the longest of the three, covering a little over 3 kilometres.  

 

The hike is very easy and features a bit of both during the nature walk from dense forests and wildlife to wildflowers in open meadows and farmer's fields.

It is accessible all year round, but with the exception of one slight dip on the trail head (which can become muddy) I would say it is stroller and wheelchair friendly.  I also like that it is a loop trail which will take you out and back to your car again.

Currently as you enter from the parking lot, you will see about a dozen photographs hung from trees taken by the local students of Trent who have won a contest for best wildlife photo.  (the squirrel and the frog) I thought it was really cute to see the photos displayed on the trees like that.

As we went here on a Saturday it was fairly busy but I suspect most were locals as most foot traffic has been somewhat reduced due to the pandemic.  It will be such a relief once a vaccine has been tested and cleared.  2020 has been a crusher for the economy and I suspect it'll take a decade before the country will fully recover.  

In the meantime, we've learned a lot about each other and how to keep safe and have gotten much closer to our families and friends during this time.

 

Stay safe and happy trails!

Toronto Harbour Light on Vicki Keith Point in the Leslie Spit

One of the coolest places to go in Toronto is the Tommy Thompson Park.  I've been coming here long before it was cool to most anyone.  Or so I thought. 

When I first discovered this place about 10 years ago, there were very few people walking or cycling around.  This may have been due to the road blocks put out front to keep cars out at night -- but I'd squeeze through on my bike and ride along the asphalt trail as far south as I could go.  

Back then, there was nothing around but rubble and sand, mangled cables, bricks and cinder blocks as far as the eye could see.  It looked like nothing more than a construction dump site and that's exactly what it was. 

The dumping was intentional and started decades before in 1959.  In anticipation of a boom in shipping with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Toronto Harbour Commission began developing an "outer harbour".  This was created by dumping millions of tons of fill into Lake Ontario to construct a five-kilometre-long barrier known as the "Outer Harbour East Headland" or what I know as the Leslie Spit.  

In the early 70s, it was apparent that the outer harbour would not be needed for port-related facilities, so they had to come up with other uses for the newly developed man-made peninsula.  

One plan was to develop the land into an aquatic park with a hotel, amphitheatre, private yacht clubs, and camping facilities, among other things.  Thankfully this was ruled out by local residents concerned about the destruction of Ashbridge Bay and thus the Friends of the Spit were established in 1977 to create a public urban reserve which it remains today.  

So here we are 60 years later beholding acres of a nature reserve that continues to thrive.  

When you finally reach the end of the 'spit' you will see off in the distance a lighthouse, known as the Toronto Harbour Light, which was completed in 1974 by the Toronto Harbour Commission.  Today it is fully automated and powered by a solar panel and directs shipping traffic along the Eastern Channel into the Toronto Harbour.  

The lighthouse stands at the highest point of land on the Leslie Street spit, called the "Vicki Keith Point", named after a noted marathaon Canadian swimmer who made most of her landings after crossing Lake Ontario.  Vicki Keith held 16 world records has received over 41 honours and awards, having crossed many of the world's most challenging bodies of water.

The Toronto Harbour Light is known on the Canadian Coast Guard's List of Lights  as the Toronto Harbour Aquatic Park Light.  

At night, the tower produces a red flash every ten seconds at night.  During the day, as you can see the tower has been vandalized with colourful graffitti and nonsensical scribblings.  It kind of makes me wonder why we deserve nice things...

I decided to take pictures of it anyways and turn it into some form of art even though I think it's a sin to destroy any historical landmark. 

Rockway Conservation Area

 I loved the Rockway Conservation area, located in Lincoln.  We parked at the Community Centre on the top of the hill.  The first thing you see entering into the gorge are the duo waterfalls off into the distance, which are unfortunately almost completely hidden behind trees.

As you can see by my photos, it's early spring but even with the sparse trees, there's no way you can take a decent shot of them.  I won't even post mine because I don't want to encourage anyone to take better pictures of them (which is easy to do! lol).

The first waterfall is known as Rockway Falls which is a ribbon cascade waterfall where 15 mile creek drops 18m into the gorge below.  It's one of four waterfalls in the immediate area and has a width of 4.5 m.   I wondered if there was a way to get a closer picture.  We spoke to a young guy taking photos down by the bridge, but he was unsure of how to get closer.


There also no barrier up top, and I'm sure by looking at the mud tracks, there are people who dare themselves to the extreme.

Really, it's not ever worth it, and if you are a social media buff, you've probably seen young people who take pictures of altitudes that would make you cringe.  I don't advocate thrill seeking behaviour and I think if we all encourage it, it won't ever go away.


Back to the trail-the path in it's worst state is mucky, slippery and slopy.  Wear well-treaded boots or shoes and be prepared to get dirty.  I love this kind of hike because it is good exercise, but there are plenty of trails here that are safe after all it is the Bruce Trail so it's pretty well maintained.

The trees are well marked and because it's early spring, we found a few divergent rivers caused by flooding.  Once you get into the valley near the bridge, you will see a very pretty cascading waterfall, which is a classical cascade water fall with a crest of 4.5 m and a drop of 5 m.   with an amazing flow from the 15 Mile creek.

Further down into the valley, there is another waterfall cascade which is best seen right after the rain, like you seen my pictures, I really can't complain about the water flow even if I was disappointed by many of my shots as I didn't bring my tripod!

I'm coming back again to this spot when the foliage is out,because I think this would be an absolute gorgeous here when the grass has grown.

All the conservation areas south of Jordan and around the St. Catherine's area are all beautiful.  We stopped for lunch just before the COVID-19 became a pandemic so now that all those places are closing down for the time being I will concentrate more on hiking and exploring and less on eating.

Good news for me as I love to do both!

Mountain Mill Decew Falls

The Morningstar Mill was a working grist mill owned and operated by the Morningstar family in 1872.

Today you can visit the Morningstar Mill as a heritage property owned by the City of St. Catherines with partnership with the friends of Morningstar Mill.

The property has several accessible buildings still such as the grist mill and turbine shed, a saw mill, a blacksmith and carpenter's shed and the home of the Morningstar family.

Mountain Mills as it was called operated from 1883 to 1933.  It had three turbines.  One for the grist mills, another ran the saw mill and third ran a generator which provided private lighting on the property.    The grist mill turbine also ran an apple cider mill.  There was an orchard of apples, cherries, pears and peaches.  Local farmers would bring their horses and wagons and wait for their apples to be pressed into cider.  The nearby barn had a team of horses, a cow, chickens and pigs.


To make repairs in the grist and saw mills, the Morningstars had a blacksmith and carpenter shop located on the property.

When the Morningstars first purchased the Mountain Mills, the sawmill building was used as a community hall where local dances were held.  After a serious fight had ensued on the property they closed it down and converted it into a sawmill which continued to operate for over 40 years!

After Mr. Wilson Morningstar passed away, the sawmill was not maintained and was eventually dismantled.  The current sawmill was built by the Friends of Morningstar Mill in the 1990s.


I love history and especially when it applies to architecture.  I want to come back and revisit again to take a walk along the Laura Secord trail and the Bruce trail, which is just located directly behind the Morningstar house.