Unionville Valleylands Trail (Toogood Pond)

 

Markham, just north of Toronto has some beautiful trails  Easy access to most of them, including the one we went to on Sunday afternoon.  The Unionville Valleylands trail off of 16^th Avenue is only about a 5 km loop, but it has it all.  Watersheds, woodlands, ponds, marshes and wildlife.  

The wildlife seems to thrive and co-exist here in this suburban parkland and at times even a tamed squirrel will crawl up your pant leg to grab a shelled peanut from your hands.  Geese, herons, foxes, snapping turtles, muskrats and deer are common sightings. 

 

   

What is great about this one is that it connects to over 10 km of trail networks in the Markham area so if you have time you can easily spend a day.  The trails are marked and have easy access through wooden bridges and paved pathways.

    

The heron I spotted was so tame it didn’t budge when I pulled up my camera.  They must be so used to people around them.  I probably wouldn’t bring my bike to these trails, although it’s certainly doable, there are too many people and the trails are too short.  Perfect for young families with strollers and safe for kids.

One of the main parks within in this trail is locally known as “Toogood Pond” which was named after Arthur Toogood who owned the pond prior to the Town’s acquisition in 1980.

      

I was surprised to find very little information about Arthur Frank Toogood (passed away in 1995) while doing a bit of research.  Most of what I discovered was about his wife Mildred.  It seems they had met in Alberta where they had a travel business called Alberta Recreational Tours.  I am not sure what Arthur Toogood had done in Markham after leaving Alberta though.  His wife was very active in the community as a college teacher, a music instructor and was passionately taught piano and violin and conducted community orchestras and choirs until she passed away in 2012.

 

Markham’s trails are also a part of the Rouge Valley system.  It wasn’t until we almost completed this loop and we crossed over another bridge on the south side when I realized that we had been here before with my son and his wife last year in June.  It’s posted in my blog as “Markham Rouge Valley, Wilbur Latimer Way”

Happy Trails!

Harold Town Conservation Area

I couldn't wait to get a chance to make a trip back out to Peterborough this weekend.  We checked out another All You Can Eat restaurant in town and planned on hiking another trail afterwards.

We found the Harold Town Conservation area which was located off of Old Norwood Rd in Otonobee – about 15 minutes from our location, so it worked out perfectly. 

The parking lot didn't have any fee stations, and there are portable washrooms so you can plan to spend the day trying out different routes. 

The one feature you'll notice when you first arrive is this ginormous hill front and centre of the parking lot as you come in.  Your first thought would be no way would anyone ever dare to go down that hill on a bike, let alone hike it!  Unbelievably though, cyclists do this all the time I was told.

This would definitely be a must see for mountain bikers as it offers a network of trails available for off-road cyclists.  Even if you're a beginner, there are over 10 km of trails designed to challenge you with funny names such as Porcupine Pie and Screaming Trees. 

The trails are also well maintained and constructed in accordance with the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) guidelines and standards. 

Yup, they have standards.  You can see trail features like switch-back climbs, small rock drops, and tight turns with some log hops and berms if you’re into that.  

We are just happy to go for some safe-on-the-ground hiking trail called Kessel Run.   It ran through some pretty impressive forestland with lots of wildlife and wildflowers and open meadows.  There's a scenic view from the Meade Creek Drumlin which is part of the Peterborough Drumlin Field as part of the Otonabee Conservation watershed.

I wondered who the

Harold Town Conservation Area was named after and discovered he was a Canadian Painter who made a name for himself after he started a group of 11 artists known as the "Painters Eleven" which dates from 1953 when a group of young artists banded together with the purpose of exhibiting abstract art in Toronto.  

Although I didn't particularly understand his paintings (a lot like Picasso or Jackson Pollack) he made enough money to purchase this land and enjoyed it as his personal retreat until he passed away in 1990.  On April 11, 1994, the property was donated to Otonabee Conservation by Harold Town’s estate. The property was then named in his memory and was dedicated as a park for public purposes, as requested by the estate.

 

Happy Trails

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.