Tag BigWalks

Crossing Toronto

Robert Bradt

Since unforeseen circumstances postponed my first attempt at a Big Walk (the Toronto to Niagara-on-the-Lake journey), I’ve decided to take advantage of a slowish time at work to cross off a different Bucket List Big Walk.

I call this Big Walk the Toronto Crossing. I’ve had the idea for about a year or so, of walking east-west and north-south to criss-cross Toronto. At first I thought of walking west to east along Eglinton or Lawrence Ave and then south to north up Yonge St, because those roads more or less bisect the city north/south and east/west.

But then I had a better thought – Toronto as a walkable city features some fabulous parks and trails, and many of these exist because of the water features that have shaped our landscape. That includes not just the lakefront, but also the many creeks and rivers that flow north/south.

What better way to criss-cross Toronto than to follow the watercourses that define it? By walking west to east across Toronto following the lake shore, and walking south to north following the Don River, I’ll have a much more interesting journey than following rivers of asphalt.

Looking at a map, it’s pretty clear that I’ll cover more than 50 km west to east, and probably 25 km or so south to north, so that means breaking it up into 3 stages. Since the western boundary of Toronto is formed in part by Etobicoke Creek, and the eastern boundary in part by the Rouge River, I am going to make these the starting point in the west and the ending point in the east. Conveniently for my plan, there are rail stations at Long Branch near Etobicoke Creek, and at Rouge Hill near the Rouge River, so that gives me an easier way to get to/from the starting and ending places.

Also since the Don flows into the lake about halfway between Etobicoke and the Rouge, it makes a good half-way spot to break up the west-east stages. It also runs north past the city boundary at Steeles Avenue so that gives me a south-north corridor. Finally, the mouth of the Don is marked by the Corktown Commons, so this park is a perfect nexus to tie the 3 walks together.

Thus the plan: First stage, from Etobicoke Creek to Corktown Common., about 23 km. Second stage, from Corktown to the Rouge River, about 30 km. Finally, the third stage from Corktown north to Steeles along the Don, again around 23 km.

One complication is that given the split of the Don River into the East and West Don branches in the middle of Toronto, I have to choose one or the other to follow. After some consulting of the map, I’ve decided to follow a combination of the two – I’ll follow the West Don from the forks to Sunnybrook Park, and then the East Don from the Betty Sutherland Trail north to the Steeles Avenue city limit. In between these two legs, I’ll follow Wilket Creek for part of it and go urban cross-country for the rest.

Along the way, this 3 day Big Walk will be a chance to test my stamina for the 6 day TONotL Big Walk. It will also let me explore parts of Toronto that I’ve never explored close-up, like Etobicoke and Rouge Hill. While I’ve been to many of the places along the way, and have hiked sections of this Big Walk, I’ve never tied them together. I’m hoping I’ll learn something about the city and get a chance to lots of exercise and fresh air.

So that’s the plan – criss-cross Toronto, get some good walks in, enjoy the sun and summer, and see what I can see. Here goes.

Big Walk Diary – TONotL Prep

Robert Bradt

As I’ve mentioned, I have a bucket list of Big Walks I would like to do, and this year I’ve set myself the challenge of attempting the first one. I’m calling it my TONotL walk – Toronto to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I’m giving myself 6 days to do the planned 160km (the map above doesn’t show all the twists and turns of the Bruce Trail), and I’ll be carrying clothes, lunches, water, etc. so my pack will be around 8-10 kg.

Since it’s my first Big Walk, I’ve invested in gear like boots and a good backpack, and part of the prep for this trek is breaking in and getting used to the gear. That’s especially true of the boots and pack. I’ve been using walks to try out combinations of socks and orthotics in the boots that will be comfortable over the journey. I’ve also been getting used to carrying a decent weight over the day while ensuring the pack is comfortable and adjusted to suit my body and style. I’ve also been trying out trekking poles, which I haven’t used before.

My prep walks have mostly taken in the Don Valley and related parks and trails, so that I can get lots of up and down hills and a mixture of trails and paved paths. The weather has finally warmed up and it’s been good to work up a sweat.

The biggest challenge has been with my boots. My custom orthotics don’t quite fit into my boots – they are extra thick with cushioning and my feet are too cramped in the boots if I use them. Instead I’ve been trying different off the shelf orthotics combined with different socks to get the arch support combined with cushioning. My custom orthotics do work with my running shoes and this TONotL walk will have a lot of paved trail to it, so I could just go with the running shoes. It will depend on the portion of the walk that covers the Bruce Trail – that will need good hiking shoes at the least and the boots will be better, so I’m trying to get used to them. Still, what I’m finding is that I have the stamina for 20k plus but my feet are killing me after a couple of hours. I’ll need to work through this.

Other than working out issues with my the boots, the rest of the training has been pretty good. I’ve loaded up my pack with some free weights, books, and other ballast so that I carry 10+ kg, probably more than I’ll have on the walk. The pack fits great, and makes it easy to carry the weight. I’ve done 3 hours + with that, and I’ve also done 25 km with a day pack in around 5 hours, so I figure if I give myself 8 hours or so to cover 30 km with the pack, I’ll have time for rest breaks and should be ok covering the distance with the load. I just need to get in another 2 long walks before I jump off and I should be ready to go.

Otherwise the rest of the planning and prep is going well. I’ve arranged my work schedule so that I have the 1st week of July clear, so now I’m following the weather forecast like an anxious farmer. I don’t expect to get 6 consecutive dry days, but I don’t want to walk for 2-3 days in pouring rain and thunderstorms either, so as long as it’s looking good a couple of days ahead of time then the walk will be on.

I’m aiming to do this in 6 legs, each around 30 km, give or take. The route will take me through Toronto to the Lake and then west along the shore to Port Credit. From there the next day it’s on to Burlington, then Grimsby, Jordan, Thorold, and finally Niagara-on-the-Lake. From Grimsby to Queenston outside Niagara Falls I’ll be doing the 88 km stretch of the Bruce Trail known as the Niagara section, and finally the last 10 km from Queenston to Niagara-on-the-Lake will be along the Niagara River trail. It will give me both interesting city life and quiet countryside, fields, and forests.

I’ve picked this route as a starter because the first 3 days are easy flat ground walking near the lake, so I can work out the kinks before I get to some hills climbing the Niagara Escarpment onto the Bruce Trail, plus I get an easy finish on the last day with a relaxing walk on a flat shaded trail. Even so I know it will be challenging just because it’s my first Big Walk, yet I’m also hoping it’s a small enough challenge that I can enjoy it as a good walk through interesting places.

The countdown has started. Stay tuned.

Walking Gear

Robert Bradt

I’m not one for gear, or at least I didn’t consider myself to be a person seen sporting ostentatious gear like fancy boots or packs. I’ve always liked Walking rather than Hiking or Trekking – you don’t need much more than a comfortable pair of shoes for Walking. Most of the walks I’ve described in this blog have been just that – walks, just with some longer than others.

But there are times when a walker needs proper gear, whether it’s footwear or outerwear or packs or water bottles. I’ve written previously about my bucket list of walks, and starting this year I want to try at least one of the Big Walks I’ve been planning. That means it’s time to invest in some proper gear.

As I plan these Big Walks, I’ve realized that I’m going to need certain things:

  • Footwear
  • Pack
  • Walking poles
  • Clothing
  • Support stuff – hydration, rain gear, etc.

Footwear is obvious and it’s something I’ve focused on up until now. Generally I just looked for a good pair of running shoes, but for these long walks which will include significant amounts of trails and off-road terrain, I need a good pair of boots. I have a few criteria for these: good arch and ankle support; well structured/cushioned footbeds; water resistance; durability; comfort and breathability; and room for the custom orthotics I need to wear.

For the pack, I did some research and some thinking about what I will need to carry. It came down to the types of long walks I’ll do – will these be wilderness walks where I’ll need sleeping and camping gear? I’ve decided against that. My long walks will be based around finding accommodation at B&Bs, inns, and so on, so I just need to carry clothes, water, food, and some support stuff. That means a a pack in the 30L – 40L range should work. I also want features like easy access pockets, waist belt pockets, water bottle storage, loops for poles, water resistance, durability, comfort, and light weight.

Then comes walking poles. I’ve never been one who used poles, but I’ve read enough to know that they really make a difference when carrying weight. I want poles that are lightweight, quick to breakdown and assemble, comfortable to grip, adjustable yet sturdy, and water resistant so they won’t rust.

For clothing I’ve assembled quite a bit over the years. I have a collection of light, sweat-wicking training gear, compression socks, light clothes that fold tightly yet look dressy enough for dinner, fleecies, hats, and so on. I’ve also read about the benefits of using natural fibres, especially light silks and merino wools, which wick away sweat yet rinse out and dry quickly, and are good for the environment because they are made of biodegradable materials.

Finally, the support stuff is also important. Hydration for me is just a couple of water bottles which I already have. I find water bladders that go into your pack to be too fiddly to fill and keep clean. I’ll also need things like a compact first aid kit, a blister kit, sewing kit, and eating utensils. Rain gear is a must, especially when I start walking in the UK. And of course, you can always find a use for a good old Swiss Army knife like the one I’ve had for 30+ years.

All that adds up to a significant investment – I have budgeted about $1000 CAD for my gear. I’m hoping it will be repaid in the walks I’ll be able to do more comfortably, and over the coming months I’ll post about the gear I’ve chosen and how it performs.

Big Walks

Robert Bradt 1 Comment

I’ve written about Little Walks, and of course about walks in general. Now I think I’m ready to talk about Big Walks.

Big Walks, to me, are the ones that take days and cover dozens or even hundreds of kilometres. I’ve been thinking about this often for a couple of years. I’ve always had a travel bug and that’s usually been satisfied in holiday and business travel by car or plane or train. I’ve been lucky enough to visit and immerse myself in some wonderful places, many of which have also featured as locations for memorable walks – London, Paris, New York, Sydney, and more.

That’s all well and good, but I’ve decided that I also want to combine the intimacy and pace of walking with the delights of visiting places and exploring new things. Big Walks are a way to do that.

My bucket list has several of these, some decidedly Bigger Walks than others. My ultimate Big Walk is to journey from John O’Groats at the northern tip of Scotland to Lands End at the south-west tip of Cornwall. It’s about 1450 km by the shortest route and I reckon it will take me several months. I have a thought that it would be cool to do it the year I turn 60 and that’s coming up in a few years, and that thought has spurred me to start planning some shorter but still Big Walks to build up to this Biggest Walk.

I’m going to start with a walk that combines some town and some country, and takes in a part of the Bruce Trail, the whole of which is on my Bucket List. This first Big Walk will be from Toronto to Niagara-on-the-Lake, by way of the Waterfront Trail and the Niagara portion of the Bruce. It’s going to be around 160km depending on stops, and I’m giving myself 6 days to do it. Since it’s in the Golden Horseshoe near Toronto, it’s close which makes the logistics simpler – in fact I think the first night I can actually sleep at home because I can walk to Port Credit, GO Train home, and then GO Train back to Port Credit to pick up the next day. Still, it is going to be my first Big Walk, and that’s going to be a test of whether or not I can really do this.

That’s why I’m now in training mode. Working up to a Big Walk will take a lot of preparation to minimize the risk of overdoing it and injuring myself. I’m going to take progressively longer walks carrying some weight – 10k, 15k, 20k, and on up to 35k. Then 20-30k on back to back days over a weekend, and then back to back to back including a Friday too. Start with a load of around 4-5kg, and then up it gradually to get to around 10kg. My goal is to be able to carry 10kg over about 30k-35k in about 6-8 hours of walking day after day, and do it comfortably without wrecking my body.

Preparation also means planning the Big Walk. I’ve been looking through guide books and pouring over Google Maps to figure out distances so that I can look for accommodation. That part is important because I don’t want to carry camping or sleeping gear, so I’ll need a bed at the end of each day. Some Big Walks will make that easier than others – there’s an inn or a pub every mile or less in Ireland – but others will take some ingenuity, like the northern end of the Bruce Trail. If you’re going to walk from bed to bed while covering a decent distance per day, then you need to figure out where those beds will be and whether you’ll need to book ahead. There’s also the weather, so you need to look at seasonal average temperatures and rainfall to pick a suitable time of year, and then look at the medium and short term forecasts to pick a good set of dates. And of course there’s the walking conditions and terrain to plan for, and food, and getting to and from the start/end points. It’s all going to add up to some serious planning time.

These walks won’t be easy, especially since I’m already over 55 years old as I start trying them – a senior citizen by some definitions. I reckon I’m in decent shape for my age, but still, my knees and hips and back are often pretty creaky. My feet hurt most days, and I’ve got a wonky shoulder I separated years ago, and scar tissue from a torn calf muscle that still bothers me. And let’s not forget the heart scare I had a few years ago ….. At any rate, you get the picture. I’m not getting any younger or healthier.

But those things are the challenge of a Big Walk. It’s not just doing it, it’s preparing and planning and pushing yourself to do it. If it was easy, a proverbial walk in the park, then I wouldn’t be interested. Now that I’m semi-retired I have some time, and our son is soon heading off to university. My wife is semi-retired too, and we’re in a comfortable place financially. And deep down, I’m also thinking about my friend Paul who passed away far too young, and about the cancer scare my wife went through a few years ago, and just it boils down to carpe diem – seize the day. They call it a bucket list for a reason. Time to start crossing some things off that list.