Ganaraska trail #4

So far my Ganaraska solo hike had been fairly tame. The routes were well marked, the terrain was not too difficult, and I was adjusting to the weight of my pack. That all changed once I came to the village of Glencairn. The trail turns off into the bush alongside the Mad River. Initially, the trail was clear and well used by fishermen. That did not continue for very far, and I found myself confronted with a tangle of dense vegetation with no trail and no ability to find the trail marker. After 15 frustrated minutes of bush whacking, I made the perhaps unwise decision to jump into the river with my pack held above my head with water up to my armpits. I continued this way through the murky water until reaching a bend that was too deep for me to manage. With a toss of my pack up the embankment, I used exposed roots to pull myself back up onto the bank. And here we are, back into the jungle. I did manage to find a trail marker, and came out of the thick vegetation into…muck. Yep, thick, deep, muck, muck up to my knees. Muck that would suck my shoes off and have me searching for it in the black goo. By this time, I am yelling words that would scare off the birds for miles around. Needless to say I was in one black mood by the time I reached the road. It seemed fitting to sit and have a rest next to the local cemetery. The remainder of this days trek was relatively unremarkable. The trail follows country roads until a Simcoe County Forest tract, which was peaceful, dry and full of birdsong. From there I continued along until the picturesque village of Creemore where I stopped for the night.

The next few days were relatively uneventful. This area follows many scenic country roads which offer a spectacular view of the surrounding area. I helped a snail across the road, and had an early morning conversation with a donkey. All was well until I hit the turn off for the short stretch of trail through Glen Huron that leads to the western terminus of the trail. The curse words I had used previously had nothing on what I was about to unleash. This would be the most hated section of trail for me. There was no trail and my maps were very inaccurate. Imagine my confusion while standing in front of a huge corn field and my map telling me to continue on through the apple orchard. At one point I needed to cross a barbed wire fence using a stile. Well, the post holding the stile had rotted through, and as I tried to climb the stile the post gave way and flipped me on my back with the barbed wire latching onto my leg. On a positive note I had an excuse to get an updated tetanus booster. It was with great relief I left this area behind and finished up in Wasaga Beach and a zero rest day at home with my family.