Ganaraska #6

So this began the last half of my solo trek along the Ganaraska trail. I had now completed the trail from Orillia to Copeland forest, up to Midland and the south west to Midhurst, Angus, Creemore and Wasaga Beach. By now I had grown used to the weight of my pack, although it still left bruises every time I hoisted it on my arms and then onto my back. My feet had unfortunately not fared well. When distance hiking it is important to trim your toe nails very short and wear shoes at least one size too big to prevent nail injury. Despite doing this my big toe nail had turned blue from lack of blood flow and was going to fall off. It is aching now as I write this, three years later. I made the decision to switch from my hiking shoes into hiking sandals to prevent further injury. Oh, with socks for ticks. Stylish!!

After a full day of cars and trains I arrived in Port Hope. A very nice lady that I met on the train drove me to the southern terminus, as apparently the area around the train station was “sketchy”. She was just the first of many wonderful strangers I met along this section of trail that cheered me on and helped me out. Trail angels indeed. My favorite was an elderly lady who spoke no English, but let me fill up my water bottles with her hose and then gave me cucumbers from her garden. There are still good people in this world.

I spent the next few days heading north through the Ganaraska forest and then into Lindsey and Fenlon Falls. The Ganaraska Forest is a beautiful area and popular with outdoorspeople, including ATV’ers. I was only a few kilometers into the trails that I came across a group of ATV’ers with their kids. They were clearly uncertain where they were and where they were going. I have the advantage of physical maps and not just phone apps. Here is a word of warning; apps are not always accurate about either your current location or route and you should always have a physical map and compass. Sometimes old school is the safest means of navigation. While providing the ATVer’s with directions, they became fascinated by my story of a solo hike and how far I had come, and still had to go. The men of the group were especially concerned that I would be camping out alone. After sharing some snacks with me, we went our separate ways, only to meet up 6 hours later as I set up camp on the side of the trail. The roar of the engines announced the group, and then as they saw me a loud “whoop” erupted from the adults. They had made their way to their destination for lunch and then made it their mission to find me again to make sure I was ok. They again shared their snacks with me, and who doesn’t love some olives and Greek appetizers after a long day of hiking! Although I did have to remind them to not throw the leftovers on the ground near my tent, as I really did not want animal visitors during the night. As the last of the light faded, I bade farewell to the group and settled in for another night alone.