Sat, Mar 5 2011 - Descend Hole in the Wall (View Original Event Details)
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Voluntary Donations: $10
We knew we were going to have a challenge ahead of us when we pulled into the Limehouse Conservation Area parking lot and it was a skating rink! Luckily we had an intrepid and adventurous (crazy??) group of hikers who were willing to take on anything.
Our biggest challenge was Hole in the Wall - a large fissure in the Niagara Escarpment. The trail and ladders were iced over, but with some team work everyone made it to the bottom in one piece, and with a great story to tell! We then had to slide/climb our way down another icy hill before the terrain flattened out.
The Limehouse to Speyside trail covers some lovely territory. We passed alongside farm fields where we were sent off-course by lake-sized puddles, and when we weren't dodging puddles we were getting caught in knee-deep snow and large ice patches.
Once out of the fields the trail goes through some beautiful escarpment territory winding through rocky limestone outcrops and marshy lowlands. The misty rain gave the forest a very eerie and ethereal atmosphere.
Even with the adverse conditions the group completed the full 20km route, and I think everyone agreed that we'd all like to come back in the summer time when the conditions are a little bit more favourable!! Keep your eyes out for Hole in the Wall, Round Two, coming later this summer.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.