TochiHunt's Lackey Geocoin

Tochi's first CITO event...

10 Years! Terra Cotta! 8 icons in one day. :P Finally learned the alternate meaning of Terra Cotta.. lol.

#1000 - I cannot think of a fitting milestone cache than one of Ralph's BT Hikes. Words cannot describe all the pain, challenges, sights, memories and caching experiences from these BT Hikes. As Steve Summers once said, "The episodes in life that last so many years in memory are often measured in fleeting moments as they happen." There surely were many great moments in this hike that I'll treasure forever.
- Paid Parking at the end parking... .
- Witnessing the sun rise from the Sydenham lookout..
- The darling descent and traversal of a waterfall to find Rocky Hike, Scenic Drive with Brook22, hubcap33, and MaddieP.
- A nearly perfect day of weather.....
- Seeing all those metal stairs up the escarpment that we (fortunately) did not have to climb.
- And all those giant hills that we unfortunately did have to climb... :|
- The little kid on the rail trail being surprised that we had real hiking poles. lol.
- The interesting cross-over of Arkledun and Claremont Access.
- The pretty Sherman Falls... who would have guessed an ammo can laid hidden that close to muggle frequented traffic.
- Reading the history of Hermitage and seeing the remains of the greatness that once was.
- Seeing the top of the escarpment at Spencer Gorge, and feeling really glad that the BT trail got re-routed.
- Meeting Jan and Riley... I cannot think of a more inspiring challenge than to hike the entire BT in a year.. all the best! and Riley, what a trooper she is. :)
- A look back at across the Dundas Valley near the end and getting that sense of disbelief at how far we hiked.
- The great company - all the conversations and laughs that define these BT hikes.
Special thanks Brook22, hubcap33 and MaddieP for the rides and water, and res2100 for another awesome hike.
Looking forward to finishing this section in the fall!

When res2100 suggested a hike in November, it brought back all the memories of Caledon Part 1... it turned out to be another great day and perfect weather for a BT Hike. I'm quite glad we haven't had any snow yet! :-)

The large group broke apart early on, with about half of us paying a visit to Steve Irwin. This terrain 4.5 cache showed us just how slippery the mud and wet leaves were, a good precursor to what to expect the rest of the hike. After surviving the initial climb up to the top of the escarpment, we were treated to some awesome views of the area below. In particular, the window at the Beamer Raptor was spectacular. Continuing along, we passed by an unattended observation tower before making a quick detour to find a microwave at a dead-end. Once we realized our error, we got back on track for the long road section. The next section snaked pretty much right along the middle of the escarpment. The BT association surprisingly didn't make their infamous unnecessary elevation changes in this part of the hike whew. Despite the scenery to be somewhat the same for most of this section, we were fortunately to have caches well placed to give us something to look forward to. It was quick dark by the time we reached the Devil's Punchbowl. I never expected such a lit large cross to look down onto the gorge. I wish I had my camera for some shots here. The final section involved some caches on steep terrain - however, with Fababoo, Jeff-trex and Team Goju in the group, those weren't a problem at all. Last but not least, good old Bruce never disappoints, saving a nice uphill climb for the very end. :-)

Hiked with Fababoo, NorthernPenguin, Jeff-trex, Team Goju and Dr. House, and partially with Tuf_RyDa, ElectroQTed and geocite. Finished the hike around 9:20 p.m. For some reason, despite being 6 km shorter than the previous hike, today's hike tired me out a lot more. My feet were quite sore at the end. However, the meal at TJ's was a welcome relief for both the stomach and muscle. Thanks Ralph for another awesome hike, rovers3 for the lift to the beginning and everyone for the great company.

I had been eyeing the weather in the days leading up to the hike. I'm not quite sure what Ralph did to bribe the weather gods, but the 5-10mm rain and the abnormal weather forecasts never materialized. Instead, we were left with a cloudy day of constant temperature that was just the perfect weather for hiking.

The first part of the hike was a little hilly, and with the recent rain, the mud and wet leaves made for some slippery climbs and descents. There was a good dose of caches near the start and it was especially nice to finish off the Zodiac series with everyone on the BT Hike. The forest trails were particularly beautiful with the myriad of fall colours leaves on the trees and in the litters on the ground, along with the beautiful view down the escarpment. Toss in a group of wonderful cachers in the hike; this is everything I love about being outdoors in the fall.

I've never actually been to the Niagara Wine Region - those bird control scare guns took a while to get used to. I kept on picturing that this must be what it sounds like during bombing runs in a war. We came up across Ball's Falls Conservation Area with its exhuberent access fees. I actually was more mesmerized by the smaller falls we saw earlier in the trail than the still-impressive larger falls.

At this point, we tackled a couple more hills and became more selective on which off-trail caches to attempt. Top Shelf? Nope. Glad that Nozzletime and sxrrnrx were around to guide the rest of us to "Where The Water Falls". Had some fun discussions about food and tennis with MaddieP along the way. After parting ways with Brook22, MaddieP and pritesh, hubcap33 and I picked up our pace. We promised Brook22 we'd finish the last 13km in 3 hours, and we'd accomplish that even if we had to run (okay.. maybe not :P) I did learn how insanely fast hubcap33 can walk. lol.

We cut through EastDell estates - the view and winery were so pretty.. I'd definitely have to return for their Sunday brunches (which supports the BTC too!). Hubcap33 and I steamed ahead into Mountainview and beyond. We finally caught up to the main group at the final cache of the night. Like others, my flashlight was starting to dim on me. Good thing it hung on till the very end... if the hike had lasted another hour, I might have been fumbling in the dark.

I don't think there was a more welcoming sight than Brook22's van at the end of the bridge. Many thanks to Brook22 / Hubcap33 for the lift and res2100 for organizing yet another awesome hike. Cannot wait till to the next section. It was wonderful seeing everyone again!