I did not smell these flowers. What possesses people to plant these right beside the Trail? What on earth?
Toilet Paper Flowers, Turdus imbecilus
Who wouldn’t call this almost-steaming sourdough bread from Eugenia Emporium some form of trail magic? Should have bought two! And the baker brought us free coffees! Trail Magic from a Trail Angel!
(Hanging in a hedgerow beside a field and a swamp: as the sun goes behind some clouds, a Wilson’s Snipe is winnowing; Blue Jays scolding me from right above my hammock; Gray Tree Frogs serenading everything; Crows mobbing something in one direction; a Barred Owl inquiring “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” in another direction)
We rounded the south end of the Beaver Valley today and put the sun behind us. 383.9km left until Tobermory. Actually, now 377.2km left now. At our overall pace, that’s about 19 days left. Realistically, we’re now quite capable of 25km per day, so perhaps we could reach Tobermory in the single digits of June. No rush. No hurry. Too many factors to predict …
Some sheik-y hiker trash claiming bragging rights
One of the largest trees we’ve seen, across from Eugenia
Maples are so inspringly tenacious
I
found the perfect heart-shaped rock for my wife! … but I’m not carrying it home from Eugenia Falls …
Nope, not carrying it …
A curious and frequent occurrence, especially on Trillium and Maple seedlings is this sparkly sprinkling dusting the surfaces. It’s also on my week-&-a-half old pack. Perhaps it’s sap dripping off broken maple twigs high in the canopy? I must taste it … If so, it could amount to a potentially big energy leakage from mature maples into their overall ecosystem. Might there be some benefit to the whole system from this?
Is it OK to end this blog post with this?
Tracing My Natural World — Traillium 
I’d be careful, tasting that ‘sparkly sprinkling’ on the leaves and your pack you wrote about… maybe it’s frog-poo!!
… then I’d have to find frog poo to compare … !!!
Hmm. 23km in a day, that’s a pretty steady pace. Wondering if I could keep up…I average about 10km a day running around, and about once a week peak at 20km, according to Fitbit. But don’t have a pack, nor challenging terrain…..keep up the good work!
The pack changes things considerably. I guess my ‘average’ pack is about 15kg, though when we fill up with water late each afternoon, I add up to 4kg … The long haul, not a sprint! We walk surprisingly slowly — from 6:15 am to sometimes 7 pm.
Hey Mark,
Was reminded about your Bruce Adventure this am. after talking to my landlord…she had been day hiking on the trail in the Niagara Region this weekend. I have been enjoying your blog today (while staying out of the heat). I’m inspired to do a hike now…especially to celebrate my retirement at the end of June!
Cheers and happy trails onward, Deb
So much to celebrate, Deb! Sorry I’ll miss your party. It’s just the beginning! Enjoy!