Humber Arboretum Autumn Walk

I drove to the Humber Arboretum on Saturday for a fall walk. I found out about it on the BlogTO site. They were talking about five fall hikes they liked in the GTA and this was one of them.

Located at the Humber College North Campus west off Highway 427 south of Finch, it's not too far from my place. On the weekends you can park there for free at Parking Lot 1 (near the student residences). Technically you're supposed to get a permit from the lot attendant, but no one was there when I went.

I'd say there are three main areas at the Arboretum. There's a manicured upper section where the Centre for Urban Ecology is. In that building are the public washrooms. There's lower grassland section bordered by trees on the east side. And there's a small forested section to the south. As well, there is a trail that follows the Humber River (called the West Humber Trail).

It was partially overcast when I went. I had to wait for overhead clouds to pass so the sun could shine through so the colours would pop when I took my shots. Luckily I went on my own. Others might not have been so patient.

I snapped some photos in the manicured upper section first. They have some pond features and small bridges and wooden structures that look nice.

On my way down to the lower grassland section I saw some cute chickadees. I had seen some the weekend before at Hilton Falls. People were feeding them birdseed out of their hands, so I thought I would try. All I had was a few crumbs from the bag I had my peanut butter sandwich in. One tiny fellow sat on my finger for a second or two. The rest were too shy.

The lower grassland sections have wide, mowed pathways you can walk along. It's pretty nice. The forested areas are well maintained too. When I was there the ground was carpeted with yellow leaves. It looked quite pretty.

I took a short walk along the West Humber Trail too. It's paved. It goes from Highway 27 on the east to Finch Avenue on the north. Overall it's quite a good place to visit.

Hilton Falls Hike

On  Saturday I decided to head out to Hilton Falls conservation area to try and catch the fall colours. It was a lovely day. Warm and sunny with blue skies.

As usual, the traffic was terrible. Normally I have to deal with it during the week when I make deliveries. But, on the weekend too? Even though the weather was great someone decided to get in an accident on the 401 westbound at Mavis Road closing all but one lane.

Before reaching that point I hopped on the 403 and took it west to Erin Mills. After getting off there I headed back up to the 401 and resumed my journey. Exiting the 401 at Highway 25 in Milton, I arrived at the park around 11:00 a.m.. Not too bad all things considered.

After paying my $6.75 to get in, I got a map, parked and headed out to the trails. My main objective was to get a shot of the fall colours behind the Hilton Falls Reservoir. One of my Facebook friends, Steve, had posted a picture from there and I thought it looked nice.

The reservoir was encircled by the Red Oak Trail. Easy enough, I thought, I'll just take the trail around it and get some great shots. Of course, things weren't so straightforward.

My first view of the reservoir was along one of the park roads. As I walked along it I noticed the reservoir was set deep in a pit surrounded by large rocks. As I looked around the circumference I didn't see any access points where you could go down and take a shot like the one my friend took.

I decided to take the Red Oak Trail anyway. After doubling back along the park road, I headed into the forested area. I was going to go clockwise along the trail. Part way through I noticed a side trail that went a bit closer to the reservoir, so I took it hoping it would leaded me to some sort of hidden path down.

By day's end I pretty much ended up bushwhacking my way through dense foliage and up and down steep, rocky embankments trying to get that perfect shot. It was insane. It took so much effort to get through it.

The day wasn't all crazy though. I did do a normal hike along another trail there. This one was called the Hilton Falls Trail and it took you to, of all things, Hilton Falls.

I have to say, the falls were a bit disappointing. It was probably due to the fact it was autumn and the creek leading to it was barely a trickle. So it was more like a dripping faucet than anything else.

The foliage was so-so. The leaves that had turned were mostly yellow. Not too much orange or red unfortunately. I'll probably try again next weekend. Hopefully I'll have more success then.

Mud Hike

Emily organized a short hike for us on Good Friday. It was just me, her and her friend, Avinash. We went to Seaton Trail in Pickering. I believe it was the first time there for all of us.

It was a grey day. The temperatures actually weren't that bad topping off at over 10C. It had rained a bit the day before, so I was thinking the trails might not be so good. Unfortunately I was right.

I expected mud, but besides that, many of the trails were covered with water and ice. A bad combination anyway you look at it. So we were either weaving our way through piles of muck or treading lightly over slippery patches of ice for a good part of our hike.

There were many times that all of us nearly fell. Avinash was the only one to go down. He fell fairly heavily on a slick patch of ice on uneven ground. It was mostly his pride that was wounded though. And his butt got wet.

It wasn't all bad. There were dry patches here and there. We got about 6 kilometres in in a 2-hour stretch. It took us a long time because we were taking pictures and we had to be extremely careful hiking in certain parts.

As well as the trail they have a large fenced in off-leash dog park there. A lot of people brought their dogs out to play. But not all of them stopped to stoop and scoop on the path between the parking lot and the off-leash area. So you had to be careful not to step on any poo bombs along the way.

After the hike I walked another 6.5 kilometres from my place downtown to meet Lawrence for dinner. We went to Sushi & Bento on Dundas at University for all-you-can-eat sushi. I think I earned it after all that walking, don't you?

Toronto Zombie Walk - 2014

They held the 12th annual Toronto Zombie Walk at Nathan Philips Square the last Saturday of October. It's the third year it's been held there. I'm not sure where it was held before because it's only the second time I've attended.

My first year was three years ago. Last year I was planning on attending, but the weather looked threatening. Because of that I skipped it.

The weather this year was similar. They predicted a 30% chance of precipitation and were pretty close on that count. On my way down it drizzled part of the time and there was even some light rain. By the time I arrived it stopped, thankfully. I was happy about that.

Assembly time for the zombies was between noon and 3:00 p.m.. I got there around 1:30 p.m.. There were quite a few people (zombies, photographers and others) there already.

As usual there were a number of children. Being so close to Halloween I think they quite enjoyed dressing up. None of them were afraid of the grown ups with their scary looking faces.

All the zombies looked great again. Their make-up and costumes were really creative. They were more than patient with the "paparazzi" like me who swarmed them for pictures. I stayed until 3:00 (the time the walk started), then headed over to the Eaton Centre.

I caught the zombies on the tail end of their walk coming down Yonge Street (on their way back to Nathan Philips Square). Their route took them up University Avenue to College Street, across to Yonge, back down to Queen and over to City Hall again.

Hike at Glen Major

We went on a hike at Glen Major Park out in Ajax a couple of weeks ago. I was hoping to see some of the fall colours, but I believe we were a bit early in the season.

We had a small group. It was only Emily, Lawrence and I. I met Emily and Ken for lunch, but Ken couldn't join us because he had to meet up with his mum to view open houses. They've been looking for over a year now.

The trails are out east. I usually take the 401 to Salem Road; go up to Kingston Road; head east to Lake Ridge; and head north to Concession Road 9/Highway 5.

My church friends and I used to mountain bike at Glen Major in the late 90's/early 2000's. We went quite often. There are rolling hills and the trail system is quite extensive. Of course we wouldn't be able to hike as far as we used to ride, but we made a good attempt.

Emily and I got there around 3:00 p.m.. Since we notified Lawrence late it took him an extra half and hour to get there.

Though there were a number of new trails, many of them were still the same. I believe they change them up every now and then so older ones get a chance to regenerate.

Even though I hadn't been there for a number of years, I recognized most of the paths. And for the ones I didn't, there now are markers with small trail maps on them. So we weren't in any real danger of getting lost (unlike the first few times we rode there).

We got back to the cars about 3 hours later having walked nearly 7 kilometres. Despite the fact that it was mostly overcast and the leaves were mostly unchanged, we still had a good walk.

Mousecapades

I went to Congee Queen for dinner with my friend Daphne after work. Neither of us were really hungry. We just ordered the Minced Beef Rice Noodle Roll (appetizer) and the Curried Beef Brisket on Rice. As well Daphne ordered the Black Glutenous Rice with Coconut Milk (if I'm not mistaken) for dessert.

After we ate I suggested we go for a walk on the nearby trail off Lawrence that runs parallel with Leslie Street. It was a former railway line.

The trail (Leside Spur Trail) actually isn't very long - only about 1.4 kilometres south from Lawrence before it hits a dead end and you have to turn back. It's all right. We just needed to get a bit of fresh air.

A few weeks ago I had taken my nephews along the trail on their bikes. We saw a baby cardinal. It couldn't really fly. It was just hopping around a bit. I think it had a problem with one of its eyes too.

This time, at the beginning/end of the trail, we found a baby mouse. It was so young its eyes weren't even open yet. It was sitting on the trail near the side (but still enough in the middle to risk getting squished by someone who wasn't looking where he was going).

We approached it slowly trying not to scare it so we could grab some pictures. Poor thing seemed kind of scared. It didn't move a muscle as we got closer and closer. Soon I was able to go up and gently pet it. I'm sure it freaked him out even more.

Eventually we guided him off the path so no one would inadvertently step on him and we went on our way.

Walk with Cortina

My friend, Cortina, came to visit from Hong Kong last week. She actually came to attend her niece's graduation ceremony so she took the opportunity to visit me and some of her university classmates.

I was considering going down to the Taste of Little Italy along College near Bathurst, but was afraid of the crowds. It's normally quite busy down there for the event, but with the World Cup of soccer going on I knew it would even be worse. Especially since the Italy versus England match would be showing at the time. So we decided to avoid the area and go for a walk somewhere else instead.

I chose Colonel Danforth Park. I had gone there last fall and it was nice. The path is flat and paved which was probably more suited to the footwear Cortina had.

Colonel Danforth Park is located off Kingston Road and the 401. After you exit the 401 you head west on Kingston Road then turn south on Highland Creek Overpass and then take a left on Colonel Danforth Trail. That takes you to Highland Creek Drive which is the road into the park.

We arrived in late afternoon. I had a dentist appointment beforehand. The trail wasn't overly busy, so that was nice.

Of course I brought my camera. So that slowed things down a bit as I stopped to take pictures every now and then. That's why I often like going on outings on my own or with other photographers so I don't feel as guilty for going slowly.

The hike was pretty short. I believe it took under an hour each way from our starting point at the parking lot to Lake Ontario and back. Still it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Any time spent outdoors on a relatively warm and sunny day is great. Especially considering the long, brutal winter we had.

We finished the day off with dinner at Aji Sai. It's an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant on Bayview south of the 407.

Early Trillium Walk

I rode my bike over to Sunnybrook Park on my Friday off work to check on the progress of the trilliums there. Like the cherry blossoms they've been delayed by the long, cold winter. Normally they both bloom around the same time. That would be anywhere between the last week in April through the first week in May.

It was a slightly overcast day. I took the shortcut through Sunnybrook Hospital. There's a path that runs behind the hospital. You can't actually get to the park by car that way. But, if you walk or ride your bike it's good.

The trail where the trilliums are are up by the sports fields. Even though it was fairly early in the season the regular dog walkers were out. I suspect they live in the neighbourhood and are there all the time. Besides them it was pretty quiet.

The trilliums were undersized of course. I suspected they'd be. But, that was all right. I didn't go out only to take pictures of them, but, also, to get some quiet time and a bit of fresh air.

All-in-all I spent about two hours walking around. I would have spent a little longer, but the skies were threatening rain. I did get caught briefly before I made it all the way home. Perhaps I should have left about 10 minutes earlier. Oh well.

Walk at Tommy Thompson Park

Emily and Gabe asked me along with them on a hike at Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Spit. It was a pretty nice day out. Though it was still a bit cool the skies were blue, so that was good.

The park has undergone a lot of changes since I last was there a few years ago. It's been developed quite a bit for the better. As well as the main road for cycling and service vehicles, there are separate paths just for walkers. There are also a number of small ponds that I hadn't seen before where water birds and other birds can rest/nest. Unfortunately we didn't get to stay for very long as Gabe had to head out to Mississauga to look at a used bike he was interested in buying.

The trip to Mississauga was fruitful. Gabe ended up buying the bike for $75. The fellow selling it said it was his sister's. But she hardly rode it so they were just getting rid of it. Even though it's old it's in good condition.

Next we headed to Ajimi for dinner at Yonge and Davisville. Keith joined us for all-you-can-eat sushi. After that we called Daphne and headed up to Twister for Karaoke. It was fun.

I stayed until just after 10:00 p.m. then headed out to join Donald Chow and his friends to play hockey at Pleasantview Arena off Victoria Park south of Finch.

Winter Walk

Last Friday we had a huge snow storm. The forecast was for 25 centimetres of snow to fall. To me, it seemed like a lot more. I was on the road that day and traffic was a mess (to put it lightly). There were many, many cars stuck in piles of deep snow which snarled things up everywhere.

While tonnes of snow is a pain to drive through, it's certainly pretty to look at. On Sunday (after church) I thought I'd go for a walk through Mount Pleasant Cemetery. It was the only place near my condo I could think of which had a park-like setting.

It wasn't as much of a "winter wonderland" as I was hoping for. The roads inside had been plowed and most of the snow which had covered the trees had fallen to the ground.

I eventually made my way to the ravine behind the cemetery (on the south end). Part of it runs south and eventually connects with Mount Pleasant Avenue. You can also head west up the hill to St. Clair Avenue.

It was nice down there. Fairly quiet. Not too many people. A few joggers and some dog walkers. That's about it.

Toronto Zombie Walk

I attended my first Toronto Zombie Walk this past Saturday. This year it was held at Nathan Philips Square at Toronto City Hall.

I had seen pictures from it posted on some of my Flickr.com friends' pages and thought it looked really cool. But, like my first attempt or two at trying to catch the cherry blossoms in the spring at High Park, I kept missing it.

The day had started off pretty gloomy. Spotty showers were predicted throughout the day. I was pretty sleepy from the night before. We had started Friday night hockey a few weeks earlier. I left home later than I had planned.

The event was slated to start at 12:00 noon with the walk to begin at 3:00 p.m. I arrived down at Nathan Philips Square by around 2:30 p.m.

There were a lot of Zombies still lurking around at that time. And there were a great number of photographers stalking them with their cameras as well. Most of them just snuck up and shot pictures of them, but I thought I would ask them to take their pictures. I could get them to pose nicely that way too.

I was down there for over an hour, but didn't stick around for the walk. I'm not exactly sure where they went. Though from checking out a Flickr.com friend's shots it looked like they made their way up University Avenue.

By the time I got home it was raining pretty steadily. Poor Zombies. I hope they're not allergic to water.

Sunday Afternoon Downtown

After church and after lunch last Sunday I went for a walk downtown with my friend Kerry. It was a bit overcast out, but that was fine. I brought my camera because I thought I'd like to do some shooting for fun.

Our first stop was Toronto City Hall. I went to check on Richard, but I didn't see him. I haven't seen him very often especially since they started the renovations around Nathan Philips Square. I hope he's doing alright. There's all sorts of construction work around the spot he usually stays at in his wheelchair.

After spending a bit of time at City Hall we walked over to the Eaton Centre. I heard on 680 News they were going to show the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London there. We found a spot in front of one of the TV sets they had set up in the food court and watched it there.

Though after returning home and watching the news I don't think that was the spot where they had the big showing. Our set was small and had no sound. It looked like they had something set up elsewhere in the mall and were giving out free cupcakes and other things to the people who gathered to watch.

It was getting a bit late by the time the closing ceremony ended. I went up to street level at Yonge Dundas Square and hung out just a little while longer with Kerry before walking back home.

I got a few good shots while I was out. Including the funny one above of Spiderman posing with people. If you gave him some spare change he would hold you and let your friend(s) take a picture. You see all sorts of interesting characters around the city in the summer.