 This was a hard day. I was tired, sore, cold, grumpy, and achy – not the way I had hoped to arrive at the end. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Today wasn’t going to be my favourite day of hiking, despite how lovely my instagram pictures look. Don’t get me wrong, some of the hike was gorgeous, some of it not so much. But overall, today could have easily changed my love of hiking to something a little less friendly. The day’s home base was the same place as the day before in the parking lot at the Mohawk Ice rink. It was another cold morning that required multiple layers and a toque and gloves. The hike organizer gave us the usual morning instructions before leaving the parking lot. This would have been a great time to remind people of trail etiquette – particularly that if someone is behind you to offer to let them pass. For some reason, so many people on this particular hike had never heard about this etiquette before so a refresher would have been nice. Trail etiquette is important especially if you’re in a group hike as everyone has their own pace. At the start of the day, it’s a single file of hikers until the fast ones get a head of the pack and a few break off to take pictures, have a snack, etc. As we usually do, we started off at the back of the pack and only slightly ahead of the sweep (again, with the sweep!). Today’s trail would take us from Grimsby back to Hamilton. For the first part of the hike we followed the cliff’s edge of the escarpment and it was quite lovely, perhaps my favourite part of the day. For one, the trail itself was good and solid for a little while, but it also gave really cool views across Lake Ontario like this one (below) where you can see Toronto in the distance shinning like silver city as the sunshine broke through the clouds. I only wish my camera (er, I mean, iPhone) could have captured it better.   Today’s hike was a lot of up and down into and out of valleys along the escarpment. It was stunning – the fall leaves were at their peak colour, the ground was a floor of amber, and the air was clear. It was the kind of day that you conjure up in your mind when you think Fall. The kind of Sunday that you think would be perfect for a walk in the woods. The kind of day where you sometimes get a whiff of a real wood burning fireplace that brings you back to your childhood. The kind of day that my dogs could have easily mistake for heaven – so many leaves to smell and so many sticks! Oh puppy heaven for sure! It was all sorts of beautiful. That is if you could look up at it, which I couldn’t, at least not while my feet were moving. The terrain was very rocky, slippery and unstable in parts, very much like the day before. I found it rather treacherous. Perhaps if my legs hadn’t been so tired, it might not have been that bad. I admit, there may have been a few times that I cursed at the rocks. Probably shouldn’t have done that. I learned that rocks, and tree roots, for that matter, aren’t particularly fond of being sworn at and have a way of getting back at you by positioning themselves directly in the path of your feet. These are better knows as tripping hazards. And damn it, did one stupid tree root take it upon itself to get payback by taking advantage of me while I took a second to look up.  I tripped in quite a dramatic fashion – if you’re going to trip, you might as well do it big! – and landed, with a rather loud smacking sound, on my right knee. Classic. Two saving graces – because I was wearing gloves, I didn’t hurt my hands, and because I was wearing a knee support wrap and leggings under my pants, I only scrapped my knee a bit. I do think the knee wrap prevented any immediate swelling. But mother of all pain did it hurt! When we arrived at the end at the final check point, all I could muster to say was, “We made it. I need a nap.” I somehow managed a smile for our photo. Smile through the pain, right? In any case, we received our end-to-end badge and gained a nickname – the Sisters. That’s it for end-to-end hikes until Spring. Next end-to-ends are already marked on the calendar – the Dufferin Hi Lands and the Blue Mountains in May 2019.   Go Back: Day 3
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