The little historical shack near the bridge in the river valley (near Kinsmen)
First time since Joanne’s birthday in February that I’ve been in Rossdale, and the last time until July. Although it’s still early, I did spot a few small leaf roller caterpillars, or as I call them $&?@! worms (see this post), just as we entered the trail. The caterpillars, endemic to the Ash trees in Rossdale and the lower university area, will soon swing by the hundreds on their devil strings killing the leaves and tormenting humans until the end of June, so yeah, that’s a nope.
Walt Jr. on the way to RossdaleAs close as we could get. By this point, I’d seen two worms…Some friends for the magpie
Gorgeous day though. We started at 9 a.m. to avoid the heat, but it was still hot. Next week when it gets really hot we’ll go even earlier. Along the Victoria Park Road lower trail, a young snowshoe hare with giant clown feet let me get pretty close for a photo, which was awfully nice of him. I’m seeing more of these smaller rabbits lately, as opposed to the larger jackrabbits. They could almost be mistaken for domestic bunnies, if not for their comically large feet.
Long walk in the snow to Rossdale to wish Joanne a happy birthday!
Sharon and Kate joined us. Not the celebration we would wish for Joanne, but nice to see the faces of my sisters and my niece! Or at least, part of their faces.
Walterdale Bridge
This will be the mildest day for the foreseeble future as we enter the first true cold snap of the winter (or as Shawna Gawreluck on Twitter says, “It’s not a snap, it’s a cruel, frost laden million pound anvil of death potential”). In spite of the wind and the snow, with all my gear and the walking, I was often too hot, but Sharon and Joanne were cold, so a short visit.
I was warmer than I lookedTiny cross country skiers on the Victoria golf courseMore golf course!Almost home (trail below Victoria Park Road)
About -11C and snowing HARD. 15,412 steps, a little over two hours there and back.
Tom’s first visit to the Rossdale underpass gallery
A lovely Sunday morning walk with Tom, although we were outrunning rain clouds the whole time (it didn’t rain).
We started from my place and then down into Rossdale to show him the paintings on the underpass. They don’t disappoint, and I saw even more the second time.
AAaaaOOoooooo….
The main purpose of the walk was to feed Joanne’s cat Jack. The walk was the bonus. 14,611 steps. About 18C.
Walterdale Bridge (Walt Jr) on the way backTom and I watching the seagullsUp the Victoria Road Trail Blue jay
A few months ago, there was just a few paintings, now it’s covered. It’s the underpass below the James McDonald Bridge, in Rossdale. Wow. Investigation is needed. For now, I will just leave it here.
It took me awhile to write that last post about my injury, and throughout the writing and beyond, I’ve been walking. A lot. Yesterday (Sunday) was my longest walk since Scottsdale. Two and a half hours, 16, 887 steps. I would say that six weeks after my slip on the ice, I am fully recovered. I suppose if I were to trip again, always a possibility, I could re-injure my hamstring, but so far so good.
It’s proper Spring, and yesterday was warm (23C) so Tom and I left early, around 10 am. The route I chose was down into the river valley, across the LRT bridge, and then a loop from the Kinsmen to the Walterdale Bridge, Rossdale, and then back again. Once we crossed River Road on the way back, however, we walked up the trail below Victoria Park Road.
Clouds moved in for awhile, and then moved out. View from Victoria Park Road.
Most of my walks have either involved walking to work (semi-weekly, for an hour or two, up Emily Murphy Hill and back home over the High Level Bridge), or various routes to ‘pick up’ Tom on his way over to my place. Since he spends most evenings with me, I often walk over to his place and then we walk back to mine. (He hardly drives anymore, preferring to walk). Lately, I’ve been walking to his place via MacKinnon Ravine and the steep hill up to Glenora. One thing I haven’t done yet is walk on an unpaved trail. The fear of tripping over a tree root is still there, but dissipating.
Magpie public art in RossdaleGoose PatrolGosling patrol
Walking is not what it used to be. People are still friendly but the social distancing can be awkward, and still feels super rude. However, it’s what we gotta do…
Because I haven’t written in the blog since early May, here are a bunch of photos from my walks, in somewhat chronological order.
Dandelions! April 20, my first hill walk since the injury
April 27: “A sunny lunchtime walk in the river valley today, my longest walk yet (since the injury). Walked down Victoria Park Road, under the Groat Bridge, up through MacKinnon Ravine, up the steep hill to the bridge, and then back home through Glenora/Oliver. The ice has mostly melted from the river, but the shore still has bergs. Highlight – spotted my first snake in years, a little garter snake, sunning himself on a log. He slithered away before I could take a photo. I also ran into a friend, Teresa, and caught up on our remote working lives. Her sister also had a hamstring injury, requiring surgery. I am SO lucky I have almost fully recovered, without any medical intervention. About 18C.”
April 27, MacKinnon RavineApril 27, right around where I saw the snake.Still April 27…April 27: MacKinnon Ravine bridge from belowApril 27: MacKinnon Ravine bridge from aboveMay 3 walk with Tom: MacKinnon RavineGlenoraMay 13: “My good deed for the day. On my after-work walk I came across a beetle who was upside down and struggling to right him(or her)self. So I helped him(her), and he(she) beetled off. As many know, I am a fan of beetles. Take care, little friend.”
I found a new path that runs below downtown via a trail that begins at 116 Street, ending at either Ezio Faraone Park by the High Level Bridge, or at the Glenora Club on River Road. I am SO happy about this. It means I can take the abysmal Groat Bridge out of the equation when walking home.
Victoria Trail, near 116 Street
I’ve seen the trail head before while walking up Victoria Trail, but hadn’t explored it until now. It’s beautiful and quiet, but I probably won’t be able to use it once it gets dark at 4:30. Until then, however, it will serve as my new and much improved commute home!
LRT bridge
Continuing along river road, I crossed the LRT Bridge and walked over to Walt Junior and discovered that the trail on the river side of the Epcor Plant has been reopened after YEARS of closure due to the construction of the bridge. This too is thrilling! This lovely little path which includes a sweet little wooden bridge leads right into Rossdale. For many years, it was one of my favourite paths, and it’s so much nicer than walking in traffic beside the baseball park (whatever name it’s going by these days.) In fact, both of these trails, one new, one old, will help to exclude traffic from my commutes, or at least minimize it. So glad I took this route today.
Heading to the Walterdale Bridge (Walt Junior)
Walt Junior
It was a marathon, though. Two and a half hours. I probably could have shaved a half hour off if I had brought my bus pass. Once I emerged out of the river valley via the funicular, I still had another 20 blocks to walk, half of which was along busy Jasper Avenue, and the other half along the 102 Avenue “Oliver Bahn” – a much quieter and greener walk. I would have been more than happy to skip the first part. Still learning about my new neighbourhood!
Newly reopened path into Rossdale on south side of the Epcor plant
