Sun, Nov 5 2006 - Seaton Trail (View Original Event Details)
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Great day for a hike!
I had heard some ominous warnings about hiking the Seaton Trail - that it was difficult route and impassable at points and that it was not well marked, causing many hiking groups to lose their way. And the maps are few and hard to find. It doesn't help when you leave your maps on the kitchen table, with your GPS and compass, but that's another story, and not my fault!!
The trail is a 10+Km linear hike which meant some car jockeying had to be done to get cars from one end to the other. With such a large group, plus two dogs this was probably the hardest part of the entire hike. half the group waited for the other group to drive cars down and back but it was an enjoyable 20 minutes of chatting and getting to know everyone. There was a large group, some new faces, some familar ones, but as usual it turned out to be a great mix of people. With the return of our drivers we headed out on the path that started a flat but a bit muddy. We followed the river through the entire trail - I know the area is called Duffins Creek Conservation Area so I assumed that we were following Duffins Creek, or maybe it was Green River. Not having a map, I couldn't tell.
There are three phases to the Seaton Trail - The first part is the a pleasant walking trail, that meanders prettily along the water. It ends at a small road and continues across the street through a community centre that has benches and a large soccer field and a playground for kids. We figured this was the best stop for lunch. You will see from our pictures that some members took full advantage of the playground, Matt bragged he could swing the bestest, Hong went immediately to the slide. Lydia also enjoyed a turn on the swing. Even Amber the dog showed us she could use the slide too. Rocky was too busy begging for food and running around the field with other dogs to care. This is a great trail for dogs, with plenty of fresh running water, fields for running in and a generous off -leash policy. Rocky gave it two paws up.
The next phase was a bit more of a wilderness trail. The terrain got a little steeper, a little rockier and the river started cutting into the banks - signs that this creek was once something bigger were in evidence all around us. Zoran & Ljiljana were very familiar with this route so they pointed out some nice lookout points and kept us going in the correct direction. The most challenging part of this hike was when we finally had to cross the river jumping from rock to rock. Those of us who have ankle and knee problems were a litte retiscient about jumping unto an uneven, wet surface, but we all made it without injury and no one found themselves mid river and soaked. Unfortunately, Abi wasn't as lucky later on as we continued to cross various creek beds and wet spots and she decided to grab onto a vine to keep her steady. Unfortunately the vine was not. I missed it, but I swear everyone had a camera on me in case I fell. that's what you get for bringing up the rear...
We passed through the wilderness trail into the last section by going under Taunton Rd. Another great aspect of this hike is that even though it is in the middle of a highly developed area (Ajax) there is very little signs of civilization, and when there is, the path avoids them by using underpasses. In this third section the fast hikers moved quickly -so quick that I was sure they were far behind us and missing. The terrain was more uphill, and at times there was a steep drop off between the path and the ravine below. I don't think I'd like to do this hike after heavy rains! Then Rocky found a treasure- a dead salmon in the river! He knew it would be just the thing to impress the girls with, so he dabbed a bit of this pungent cologne behind his ears (ok, he rolled in it excessively - he's not known for his subtlety), and went running up to the girls - Hong, Sivanny, Mel, at least - whose SHRIEKS echoed through the trail. Rocky was feeling the love, so he knew they wanted more of his wet dog and dead rotting fish smell. That left it up to me and Dominic to entice him into the river to wash him off. Luckily Rocky loves swimming as much as he loves the girls, so he dunked himself happily.
As we made our way to the end of the trail we were rewarded with some fantastic views, the underview of a large train trestle and remains of older ones, which excited Dominic, who loves all things trains, and a long trek uphill to look out over a valley. The last bits toward the end were beside the dump, but being a clear crisp fall day we didn't have to smell much of it. At the end we were tired but happy and had to figure out car jockeying again, but someone how everyone got home, somehow
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