Distance hiked: 4.5km
Location: Rouge National Urban Park, Ontario
Date: January 26, 2020
We initially planned to spend the weekend up north snowshoeing near Kingston, but given all the rain over the past two days, we decided to stay in Toronto. This was probably a good call as most of the snow from the storm from the previous weekend had already melted. And it’s a bit hard to snowshoe without much snow.
Yesterday we went to the Rouge National Urban Park, which boasts of being the largest urban park in North America, and embarked on a few shorter trails. The weather wasn’t ideal (it was lightly raining outside) and nor were the conditions on the trail (lots of slush and puddles), but, our feet stayed dry. It wasn’t raining today, and given its close proximity to home, we decided to return to the Rouge National Urban Park for another hike.
We hiked along the the Woodland Trail (4.5km roundtrip), which winds through a forest, providing views of the Little Rouge Creek along the way. The trail is rated easy, so we figured we should be okay. The trailhead is located next to the parking lot off of Reesor Road.
The trail isn’t well signed. There’s a few markers along the tree with the name of the trail on them, but these were too far and few in-between.
For the most part the trail was in decent shape, but there were a few stretches where the path was submerged under water. We carefully waded in the slushy snow water, clinging to the edge of the trail, hoping that the water wouldn’t seep inside our boots.
Is that a stream below? No, that’s just the path.
Once you forge through the series of slush rivers, the conditions of the path improve considerably. There’s a slight include up through the forest and the path eventually opens up into an open field (of hydro lines), leading down to the Little Rouge Creek. This is where the trail ends.
We made it to the half-way point and managed to keep our feet dry. We figured we were in the clear for the return trip back to the parking lot.
While this wasn’t the hike we initially planned, it was still nice to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.
L
My progress on the 52 Hike Challenge can be found here.
I see what you mean about wanting more snow. Better to hike in white than in wet. Good on you for continuing. Cheers. Allan
Oh, for sure. I’d take snow over rain any day. The one benefit of hiking (more like wading) through the slushy snow was that it tested out the waterproofness of my winter boots. I was pleasantly surprised that my feet managed to stay dry.
Snowshoeing in dry snow makes for easier treading in my experience. My Canadian friends where I live in South Florida don’t seem to miss your Ontario winters.
For sure. Snowshoes are heavy as is. When you’re trekking through wet snow, it all sticks to the bottom of your snowshoes, making them even heavier. Not ideal. I don’t mind the winter here in Ontario, just as long as there is snow to play in.
We watched a series last night called Scarborough. The original one. 😊
I never heard of it, but just did a google search and found that in addition to Scarborough being a tv series, it is also a movie. Both of which are British, so they must be good (who doesn’t love those adorable British accents!?).