Dates: Sept. 16 – 17, 2025
Locations: Fox Ridge Rd. > Petun Conservation Area > Noisy River Provincial Park
Distance hiked: 87.1 km
It feels good to look up to lush, green, towering pillars. After becoming accustomed to forests of mostly stunted aspen and black spruce while living in the sub-Arctic for the last 1.5 years, it’s a joy to be among tall trees again.
Walking through the Kolapore Uplands was a neat experience. I fondly remember being in these same woods 8 years ago for an undergraduate field course.
I saw more cute, waddling porcupines. I also heard a barred owl directly over my tent one night which had me jolting awake.
As I walk along, I passed many dangling white caterpillars, big fat momma toads that can barely hop, bird feathers and neat mushrooms. I’d smell wafts of cow and horse manure, fresh soil, and hot pavement. I’d hear the sounds of crickets and grasshoppers serenading the end of summer and the loud hum of cicadas over noon. It feels weird that I’m still tethered to society with a job I’m taking time off from, because out here I’m in a whole other realm.
Day 9 was filled with the anticipation that I’d be reaching my first food stash. I was dreaming about the food I’d get to gorge on that night, I could hardly wait. I trekked on, kilometer after kilometer, inching ever closer.
When I finally made it to the location, I carefully walked into the poison ivy riddled bush and looked under the tree I’d left it. I stared and stared but it was nowhere to be found. I was stunned… how could it not be here? I tried not to panic. Then I saw a glistening wrapper under the next stand of trees. I carefully walked over and found the carnage. There was my box, open, and a variety of empty wrappers strewn about. All torn open and contents eaten, most likely by a raccoon. I was in disbelief. The only thing I could do was accept my fate and move on. I gathered up the few scraps of food that hadn’t been eaten and marched on in silent resignation, desparate to put the blue mountains behind me and to make decent headway southbound. I could only hope that my second food stash 3 days away hadn’t succumbed to the same fate.
