Meetup for a 10-15 km Walk

When we get together with my Meetup group for long hikes, we always have a good time.  Hiking with friends means chatting, catching up, and finding out something or the other about baby care.  it also means lots of laughs.  Last week we got together for a 15 km walk in Rouge Park.  It seemed like a lot at the start, but by the end, we realized that time just flew by.

The first leg was southbound for 2 km from the Pearse House along the Vista Trail.  This was a good way to rev up the engines as it was mostly flat and downhill.  Hah!  Easy peasy!



Heading back on the 3rd leg of the hike

Lots of ups and downs on the Mast Trail

The second leg was on the connecting Mast Trail just across Twyn Rivers Drive.  This was where we pumped up the jam a bit as there was a relatively steep climb up to the ridge.  With our legs burning and with the loads of children in carriers, it was a super workout.  But, what goes up must come down.  It felt good to head down the hill towards the river.  Once we were at our southern-most point at the Glen Rouge Camping area, we turned back and headed north along the Mast for a return trip of almost 6 km.  Again, what goes down must go up.  We retraced our steps back up the ridge.

For the third leg we continued north along the connecting Orchard Trail for just over 2 km.  Once we had made our last steep climb (pros by this point), we ended up at the Beare Wetlands where we had a refresher, fed the 3 youths, and chilled for a bit.  After a half-hr or so, we were recharged enough to press on.  Woo hah!  5 more kilometres to go!  And, to think we had the option to end the hike by returning to Pearse House where the cars were parked.

Rest Stop after 10 km and Recharging for the Final 5 km

For the fourth leg, we went past the wetlands and continued north on the Cedar Trail.  As we approached the northern trail head at Meadowvale Rd, there was quite a drama near the river.  Some sort of raptor squawking at the top of its lungs.  As hard as we tried, we could not spot it.  Oh well... time to turn back.

We finally headed south for a total of 5 km+ on the Cedar Trail.  What a great workout!  The fresh air, thighs-a-burning, happy babies (well... almost) and happy hikers!

If you want to know more about the Meetup group, check it out at http://www.meetup.com/Pickering-Parents-Hiking-Group/