Getting up early to photograph the sunrise we were once again presented with a cloudless sky. Luckily we didn’t venture to far and had decided to photograph the sunrise steps away from our door.
Early Morning
Today’s plan was to head to a waterfall in the area and then take a hike through Petroglyphs Provincial Park. I took a few photos of the waterfall but it was the light coming through the trees behind me that was more interesting.
Heaven’s Light
Soon it was off to the park to get some shots of the petroglyphs. When we got to the park and realized that we were not allowed to photograph the petroglyphs we were disappointed but decided to explore the park and what it had to offer.
We were here to see the whole park not just the famous petroglyphs.
Wacky in Petroglyphs PP
Couse we got a little wacky and posed for another portrait. You know, just to prove we were there. LOL
Our annual trip to Algonquin was changed a bit this year. With no organizer for the trip this year I changed the itinerary to a new venue and smaller group. Nigel, Paul and myself booked a cabin in Bobcaygeon for two nights.
Autumn at the Marsh
This morning we pack up and made our way to the cabin with the occasional pit stop as we explored the Algonquin highlands and surrounding areas. Our first day there we decided to drive up to the east gate of Algonquin Provincial Park and hike up to the lookout to catch the sunset.
Having Fun
It turned out that sunset was a bust and the valley below was more green than in previous years. So we had a little fun with some self portraits as we waited and hoped for something more spectacular to happen.
Autumn Colours
I decided that macro was my only option to capture some of the glory of autumn at this lookout. As the sun slowly sank from the cloudless sky it was time to grab some local eats before settling in for the evening.
Prince Edward County is a headland found just south of Belleville on the waters of Lake Ontario. Within this small headland lies three provincial parks: Lake on the Mountain, Sandbanks and North Beach. I decided to take a drive around the edge of the headland ensuring that I would be able to get to all three parks. My first stop was Lake on the Mountain located on the east side.
View from Lake on the Mountain
Unfortunately I did not like any of the photos of the lake itself but the view back down to Lake Ontario was beautiful. On the southeastern tip of the headland in Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area was a lighthouse I wanted to take a peek at. Here I found many photographic opportunities and I may have spent a little more time here than anticipated.
A Place to Rest
The next stop was Sandbanks Provincial Park where beautiful white sand dunes are predominant. It is one to the most popular provincial parks in this area and one can see why when they step out onto the dunes.
Dunes at Sandbanks PP’
Even in late September there are more people than expected lounging on the shores the dunes, soaking up the last of the summer sun. The final stop of the day was North Beach Provincial Park, found just north of Sandbanks, it is a day use park whose long, narrow beach faces the west. A perfect spot to watch the setting sun before heading home.
Three Against One
These three large rocks became my photo models for a lovely pale orange backdrop the setting sun left behind. Prince Edward County is a lovely place to visit no matter which park you go to and since it’s a short 2 hour drive from Toronto its a great day trip but I recommend through a weekend.
In my previous post I mentioned that I went to watch (and of course photograph) the sunrise at Halfway Log Dump. Getting up about 45 minutes before the sun was to appear on the horizon I drove to the trail head located in the park not too far from my campsite. After parking I still needed to walk about one kilometre to the water. I can tell you it was a creepy walk through the forest where thoughts of bears kept going through my head. Silly I know but it felt like forever before I finally got to the shoreline.
Early Morning
I found I was not alone this early morning as a workshop was in progress so some of the shots I had hoped to get were going to full of other photographers. I had to change my game plan so I decided to work on some long exposure photography as there was a nice wind that would streak the clouds in the sky.
Ghostly Gull
In the above shot a gull decided to walk around the front of the camera and I hoped it would blur out completely during the long exposure. As you can see it stopped a couple times to make sure it would show up in the shot. Little bugger…lol
Today I ventured back to Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve to try to hike as much as I could and hopefully see some snow. We did have snow last week but things don’t tend to stay very long in the city but they do once you head about 45 minutes north. I parked on the north side of the reserve, scrambled over the stile and stepped into a fairly decent pile of snow. As I fought my way along the shin deep, crusty ice-topped snow I wondered if I could make it through the trail if this depth continued. It didn’t take long before the snow became only a small covering making it easier to hike along.
Northern Path into Hockley
I have to say I was pretty happy seeing much more snow than the last few times but it still left much to be desired. This winter has been much too mild. The trail continues along and it seems to take you in a complete circle before climbing over another stile and officially stepping into the Nature Reserve lands. Instantly you are immersed in the forest and a quiet settles in as the wind dies down. Kinda creepy if you ask me. It’s not long before I’m out of the trees and looking at the views from the tops of the hills and again I’m heading back into a valley.
Hockley Valley
That’s one thing about Hockley Valley – they are not kidding around with their name. 😉 The snow did make things a little harder on the legs but the views made it well worth it. Hiking the Bruce Trail you see a lot of signs, mostly ones that say “No Trespassing” but this one you don’t see very often.
469km to Go
It gave me hope and also reminded me that I still had a long way to go. It is a long journey and hopefully once the weather turns warm I will be able to get a lot further at each hike. The journey has been difficult but as I get through each hike day I feel a sense of accomplishment as each kilometre I walk brings me closer to my goal. With only 25% of the trail complete so far I still have a long hike ahead of me but hopefully I will reach my goal of completing the trail by end of this year.
