Tis the season for awards, and so, without further ado, the Limestone Ladies are proud to announce the First Ever Limestone Ladies Academy Awards. You can read all about the nominees in today’s blog.
Our first nomination is in the category of: Best Group of Tough Hikers Setting out on a Long Hike Despite Grim Weather Predictions, and Despite Knowing Better Because They Had a Wet, Cold Hike Just Like This for Their Very First Hike in 2012.
And the nominees are:
The Limestone Ladies!
The next category is for: Best Trail that Goes Uphill All the Time in Every Direction for 15 Kilometres.
And the nominees are:
The Bruce Trail!
The Bruce Trail!
A new category this year: Best Bridge Spanning an Unnamed Creek That is Likely Meant to Hold Only Five People But Which Managed to Accommodate Fourteen Limestone Ladies:
and the Nominees are:
Bridge over Unnamed Creek #1
Bridge over untroubled waters
A charming category is: Curiously Bent Branches Posed With Hikers
And the nominees are:
Curiously bent, indeed!
Charmingly bent branch! This one is also nominated in the category of: Hikers Caught Slacking Off on the Trail!
One very popular category, with several nominees is: Mud Attached to Clothing
You should see her bum!
So stylishly posed!
A category unique to this hike: Unusual Stone Arches From A Bygone Era, Now Crumbling Charmingly, But Which Mark The Ends Of A Tunnel Built One Hundred Years Ago In An Abortive Attempt To Harness The Power Of The River:
And the nominees are:
The forest is taking back this arch
If only McDonald’s had seen these arches !
I love the way the ferns are starting to grow out of the rocks
There were only two nominees for the category of Hikers Slacking on the Trail, but they were good quality nominees: (see nominee #2 in the Bent Branches category)
Caught in the act! You just can’t get good hikers these days!
A category that appeals to mystics and romantics is: Hikers Disappearing Into Misty Woods:
And the nominees are:
Can you sense a magical world just beyond that mist? This is my very favourite photo from the day.
Being swallowed by the woods
We had numerous entries for the category of Spectacular Lookouts Where The View Was Completely Hidden By Thick Mist, however due to attempts to bribe the judges, only one nominee remains:
What a view! We think…
There are many strong entries in the category of Waterlogged Hikers, Still Smiling Despite The Rain Running Down Their Backs:
Smiling is what we do!
Wet and proud of it!
Even wetter!
Scarcely a drop on them!
One of my favourite categories is: You’ve Got To Be Kidding! You Call That a Trail? People Are Expected To Walk Along That?
And the nominees are:
The Bruce Trail! Yes, she is in the middle of the trail.
You call this a trail? Yup, that’s a trail.
Only one nominee in the category of: Brave Smile Put On By Hiker Who Discovers That The Container She Took From The Fridge This Morning Does Not Contain Her Lunch:
Oops!
And in the Category of: Fine Traditions Which Should Be Part Of Every Hike But Are Usually Saved For Anniversaries And Birthdays, the nominees are:
White wine, anyone?
Cheers!
A toast to the Ladies for passing the halfway point on the Bruce Trail!
Let them eat cake!
And, in the category of Limestone Ladies Generally Being Photogenic, we have the following:
Aren’t they captivating?
They were booked to pose for Vanity Fair this weekend, but they gave it up to hike with us!
She managed to get extra attention by having a birthday celebration on the hike!
Lost in contemplation of the view.
Here is a category we can all appreciate: Roots That Dare To Try To Be In A Blog After We Just Had A Blog That Was All about Roots:
And the nominees are:
You’ve gotta admit it: these are kick-ass roots!
How crazy are these roots? Growing into mid-air!
We have two nominees for Scenic Waterfalls That We Were Too Wet To Fully Appreciate:
Eugenia Falls
Hogg’s Falls
The last category is: Soggy Wildflowers, which I personally find quite charming.
They look good and smell so sweet.
Never forget the beauty of the small things right in front of you.
I would like to leave the last word to Aunt Mary Ellen, who read us this poem on her 80th birthday, and which I thought of as we hiked today. I think this sums up the attitude of the group:
Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot.
We’ll weather the weather ,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
Thank, everyone for your upbeat spirits and waterproof good cheer!
(Note: winners will be announced at the next hike. If you wish to try to influence the voting, I accept envelopes stuffed with cash, $50 and $100 bills only)
