The Niagara section is getting closer and closer to completion and I’m looking forward to that day but with about 20 kilometres still to go I got in my car and drove down to Quarry Road for another round. Today I was looking to knock off about 6 kilometres of the trail section. Luckily it was some easy trekking today, or at least for the most part it was easy. There were a couple of larger hills to climb down but the way back was looking more daunting as I will have to climb back out. That being said I lucked out in finding something I thought I would never see on the trail but I’ll leave that little surprise to last.
The one interesting thing about walking the Niagara section is the amount of vineyards you pass while hiking the trail. After hiking my way through a good portion of forest I came out into the bright sunshine to find myself across this vineyard.
Vineyard
As you can tell it was a very sunny day with little to no clouds in the sky and I can definitely say it was a hot one. The day temps were approaching 30C and I was glad that most of my hike was in the forest where the trees kept me nice and cool. Bracken ferns are in abundance on the forest floor.
Bracken Fern
I like how this one leaf was lit to the point of it glowing among the other leaves. And of course there are many flowers along the path and so I must share another one that I have added to my list. The Herb Robert are little, and I mean little, flowers that bloom in pairs along the edges of the path. The name is very odd and I’m not sure where it came from but this flower is part of the geranium family and they bloom all summer long.
Herb Robert
Walking along the first part of the path I was high up on the escarpment, that is until I reached the rocky stairs taking me down into the valley. At the bottom there is a break in the trees where the sun brightens a small area. As I’m walking toward it I see something small and orange sitting on the trail. As I got closer I realized it was a newt. Yup I finally found a newt.
Juvenile Eastern Newt
I was so ecstatic that I went on a shooting frenzy. He seemed okay to sit there quietly and put up with a lens in his face. How cute is he?
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