Sat, Jun 6 2009 - Slowpoke hike: Boyne River Valley and Primrose (View Original Event Details)
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After saying hello to another TOC hiking group (Jim's Rattlesnake Pt hike) at the Downsview carpool point, our four carloads headed off northwest of the city to the village of Primrose, north of Orangeville. The drive up Hwy 10 is lovely; lots of rolling hills and countryside. Upon arrival at the Boyne Valley Bruce Trail parking lot, we discovered that one car was missing, and a phone call later, learned that they had missed the turnoff to Hwy 10 and had gone too far west on Mayfield Rd. They were still so far away that we decided to leave them the trail map and notes and start hiking, and (via cellphone) meet up with them later on.
We had a little trouble finding the trailhead at first, but soon were underway, heading up a long, steep hill that got us warmed up. Simba was his usual energetic self and seemed to thoroughly enjoy being on the trail. Dave soon took the front of the line and proved to be a great navigator, leading the faster hikers but waiting for the rest of the group at each trail junction. The trail took us along the Boyne River Valley through forests and meadows. One of the highlights of this hike is without doubt Murphy's Pinnacle, a high, grassy hill that offers great views into the distance. We settled down here to eat lunch. As usual, Simba inspected everyone's food to ensure it was up to his standards. The "Simba Tastiest Lunch Award" on this hike went to Wendy, thanks to her ham(?) and cheese sandwich.
After about 15-20 minutes, we saw four hikers coming toward the hill in the distance. Could it be? Yes, it was! Our four lost hikers! (Actually, Jo had been in phone contact with them while hiking so we knew they were on the trail behind us - what would we do without cell phones?). They were welcomed with applause as they completed the ascent and joined us for lunch. We had been able to direct them by phone so they had avoided a few delays we'd had on the trail (such as, finding it in the first place), and they'd hiked much faster than a slowpoke pace to catch up with us.
After giving our re-found friends a chance to eat and relax, we all headed back on the trail. Wendy and Irene P. took many lovely photos along the way. The trilliums were no longer in bloom, but the woods and meadows were alive with ferns and flowers such as pink columbines. We followed the Boyne River again for part of the way. The trail took us onto a fairly quiet country road, and then back into the woods.
Eventually, we reached the dreaded Hwy 89, and our 3/4 km walk along it back to Primrose. It's never fun walking along a highway, but the traffic wasn't terrible. Simba found the gravel a bit harsh on his paws, and Cordelia carried him for part of the way. But once in Primrose, we sat outside Champ's Burgers for a water break and then headed back up 1st line west (which is a quiet road) to our cars. Some of our faster hikers (Dave, Lisa, Xinyue, Irene B.) had camp chairs out at the parking lot and were waiting for us.
On the way back, there is the option of eating at Super Burger, in Primrose at the corner of Hwys 89 and 10, which has an old TTC streetcar that has been converted into a diner. However, most of us decided it was too early to eat and headed back to Toronto.
We enjoyed perfect weather for this hike and highly recommend it to others. The walk back along Hwy 89 is short enough (10-15 minutes for us) and the rest of the trail is so lovely that it's well worth doing. Another great thing about TOC events is, of course, the diversity of our members. On this trip we discovered that our group represented origins in (among other places) Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, France, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Montreal and Toronto!
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.