Loree Forrest = 449km (Passed half way).
Beaver Valley
Another warm night leading to another HOT day. It was 21C at 7.30am when we started walking.
We started out almost straight away heading up hill at Metcalf rock where there are quite a few crevasse and caves, we did not check them out, just walked past on our way. Today's hike was much flatter than previous days and a good mix of woodlands, along paddock boundaries, some road work and escarpment around the headland. There were a few hills thrown in but nothing too taxing.
With the warm days we have had everything is drying out very quickly. Walking through the Autumn Leaf fall is Crunch, Rustle, Crunch, Rustle and very satisfying. We saw a small flock of very big Turkeys belting away across the paddock to get away from us and then later surprised them as we entered the woodlands they had ducked into for cover. Damned Ruffed Grouse scare the hell out of us as they wait until the last minute before breaking cover with very loud wing beats as they bolt away. We also saw a couple of small Grey Squirrels, which we have not seen for ages, in fact the Beaver Valley has been devoid of any Squirrels at all. There are still a lot of Chipmunks that dart around foraging on the forest floor. We hear a lot of birds but don't see many as the forest is still fairly well covered in leaf.
There are still a few spots of slippery or boggy mud hanging in there but all in all it was just a fabulous day to hike, although very warm again, 30C in the heat of the day. There were a few streams and brooks running and yes we did stop and cool off again by drenching our heads and upper bodies.
The views of the Beaver Valley through breaks in the trees and the vista from the scarp looking over Georgian bay was spectacular but marred by the heat haze from such a warm day. The camera just can’t capture what the eye can see.
We were so impressed with the Ravenna Farmers market yesterday that we went back there for lunch today. Their food is home cooked, fresh and delicious. They sell pre-made frozen foods to take home and we chose to buy a Vegetarian Cannelloni for our dinner tonight as we did not feel like driving into town for dinner. We asked our host to chuck it in the oven for us and join us for dinner, which he obligingly did. Our host has been simply magic as he runs a very well oiled B&B. His breakfasts has been amazing, fresh fruit salad, fabulous omelettes with fresh salad. I don't eat this well at home. We sat and had a couple of glasses of wine to finish our day.