Before I relate the story of this month’s hike, I must begin with a cautionary tale:
Ladies, you must not trust a Handsome Stranger. He will break your heart. You will recall the Handsome Stranger we met on our October hike. He agreed to be ours forever and swore he’d be true, but then…. anonymous sources in the surveillance world sent me graphic proof Mr. Handsome’s infidelity:
Here he is, our Handsome Stranger, with not one, but TWO Other Women! You just can’t trust a random guy wearing shorts and rubber gloves!
Anyway, with our broken hearts mended, we set out from Lavender on a blustery November morning. For various reasons, we were a small, group, only nine hikers. We felt ourselves to be quite exclusive, and someone mentioned that perhaps we were the “President’s Circle” of elite hikers. Sadly, this went to the heads of a few of the ladies and they became quite snooty and uppity about their privileged status.
The Limestone Snooties
It was a mild day, but windy, and the ground was covered with snow from last week’s big dump. It was rapidly turning to muddy slush. This made the footing slippery and challenging.
Nice!
We had to climb over half-hidden rocks, negotiate slippery clumps of leaves, and dodge puddles of slush.
This is not the easy way out!
Which led me to wonder: Why would a group of intelligent, supposedly sane ladies, venture out for a whole day in such such conditions? I shall attempt to provide a thoughtful, philosophical answer this question:
The Ten Reasons Why Sane People Should Hike in Late November:
10. There’s a good chance you will meet a rock star along the trail!
The ladies with a local rock star!
9. The damp air plumps up the complexion!
Look at those dewy, glowing faces.
8. If beavers do it, then it is a Canadian thing to do and we should too!
Fresh beaver handiwork by the side of Noisy River.
7. It will make you feel like you are on top of the world:
6. You can experience firsthand what it is like to have very short legs:
5. Everything tastes better outdoors
Lunchtime!
A sandwich and some hot tea- living the good life!
4. All your best friends will be there:
Trail friends are the best friends!
3. You can pretend that you are exploring the Arctic and are about the discover the NorthEast Pole!
Only 5,000 more km to go…. if the polar bears don’t get us!
2. You will be with people who are just as crazy as you are:
Do any of these women look sane?
1. You will experience moments of great and unexpected beauty:
No caption necessary.
The windswept beauty of November.
So that is why we venture out on a day that might not have obvious appeal. We come away enriched in soul and body, more connected to each other and to the eternal powers that shape our world and ourselves.
Thank you lovely Limestone Ladies, for a great day.
See you in January!
P.S. There was more than one short-legged hiker on the trail today!
Some of the Ladies are very good with “snooty,” others are too cheerful to look “snooty.” We will have to practice.
We need a declaration of triumph! “They are brave and they are bold, they can pack and they can track …” Unfortunately, that’s been done. Let’s create one of our own that we can use to honour us all as we complete each section of the Bruce and receive our badges.