Thursday, November 17, 2016

Lower Valley Road Hike

Slowly catching up on our hikes over the past month, it was Nov. 3rd when we did this hike, down the east side at the very south end of the valley, ending up at Hogg's Falls.  Perhaps you'd like to see a map.

This is the narrow southern end of the Beaver Valley, the red line the Bruce Trail, and the village of Eugenia, with Eugenia Falls, at the upper right.  We hiked from the spot where the trail is on the road briefly to avoid a wetland at km. 57.8, up over the hills on the right hand side of the map down to Hogg's Falls, where the small 'P' is at km. 63.3.  If you know anything about contour lines on maps, you'll recognize that this section of trail is very hilly!  I've already reported on our hike down the west side of the valley where the trail is much less hilly.

We entered a woods with a lot of Eastern Hemlock, on the Lower Valley Road Nature Reserve, which has recently been purchased by the Bruce Trail Conservancy.  It was a long steady climb uphill, through a beautiful woods.

The leaves were down by now, and you could easily see through the woods.  There is enough continuous forest here that there have been reliable reports of Cougar and Cougar tracks in the area.

This was one bench I was glad to see, after that long uphill climb, out into a reforested area that used to be pasture.  A big old Hemlock overlooking the valley.

Surprisingly, this is the view east; the main valley is behind me.  The pattern of glacial deposits and erosion is so complex here that you have smaller inner valleys outside the main valley, as you can see on the map above.

There were a lot of beautiful views through the trees, often straight into the sun.  

We came upon one grove of Beech saplings that was stunning in the afternoon sun!  Beech saplings like this usually grow directly from the roots of a big old Beech tree.  I learned that when I once tried to dig up a sapling to transplant it.

And this is one of those 'no-longer-needed' stiles, the fence completely fallen down.  I was surprised because the stile seemed fairly new, but the fence wire we found on the ground was very old.  Too many pictures to finish this hike in one day, so more tomorrow.

*****

I've had a frustrating two half-days digging out my old plumbing tools to try and fix a tap.  The taps they put in for our washer do not have washers, and cannot be repaired once they develop a leak.  But the tap was soldered directly onto the copper pipe, and there was no shut off valve!  It took four trips to the hardware store, and three different tries to come up with a solution.  I think I finally have it fixed with the magic new shark-byte taps that don't need soldering.  It seems to work, and doesn't leak, but it turns on the copper pipe.  I just don't trust it not to leak!  I think I should have just called a plumber!

13 comments:

  1. I like that stile, all by itself like that. And those golden leaves are simply stunning in the sunlight. :-)

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  2. If you're up to hikes taken in November, you're doing much better than me. I'm still in October. :) Another set of lovely fall pictures!

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  3. Rather interesting that thee is very little underbrush in these trees.

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  4. You've done amazingly well hiking all these portions of the Bruce Trail! I used to live alongside the trail in north Burlington. It travelled along Mt. Nemo and Rattlesnake Pt. where we spent most weekends horseback riding on the trails. I lived in the shadow of Mt. Nemo. I find the sun is at that lower level all day long now, which puts it right in your eyes and your camera lens. Great shots through the trees.
    Good luck with the pipes ... I would have called the plumber because we've had leaks before :(
    Wendy

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  5. My favourite shot is the one into the sunlight through the trees. Such a beautiful area, FG.

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  6. Lovely photos . Looks so tranquil up there . I remember as a teen I hiked the Bruce trail but I think it was smaller back then then it is now . Hubs here used the sharkbyte for all our pipes connections years ago and all has been good . Thanks for sharing , hope the your tap pipes hold well . Have a good weekend !

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  7. We don't have Beech trees in this area, they are very pretty! Plumbing problems are no fun :(

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  8. How unusual is that? To find a bench exactly where you want one. I think I could have lingered almost anywhere on such a pretty walk though.

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  9. This time of year it's so light in the woods with the leaves down.

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  10. Beautiful photos. I had an old plumber tell me that in similar situations,he would turn off the main water valve and drain the pipe as best he could, remove the old fitting (using a pipe cutter if necessary), and then wad up a slice of soft white bread and stick it a few inches up inside the pipe. That would stop the inevitable slow drip of remaining water so he could solder the new fitting on. When the water was turned on again and flowed the wad of bread would dissolve and go out the faucet. Our daughter's house didn't have shut off valves under the sinks, so when we replaced the faucets I put a valve on all the water lines beneath the sinks -- it makes life much easier the next time around.

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  11. lovely, absolutely beautiful Autumn scenery :-)

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  12. I hate plumbing jobs like that. I know it takes a least 3 trips for me and never does the job go easily. Your tail is a wonderful place to walk. I could see resting would be in order with all the hills and dales.

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