Georgian Bay Shore Walk, Ontario
The trail is hard to find from the road.  We spot a fallen-down sign in the bush, and sure enough it says TRAIL so we head that way, across the rocks, and onto a forest path.  It emerges on the rocky shore just to the north, and from there we follow the shoreline along until we get to the lagoon – I don’t know if it has a name, but it’s a quiet, hidden little bay with a small inlet that would be hard to find from the larger Georgian Bay.  It’s a good place to skinny dip, although we don’t.  From there the walk turns into a meander, everyone following their own nose to explore the rocks and the shoreline, looking for frogs and snakes and turtles; admiring the crooked pines, the lichen, the blue of water and sky, the views; enjoying the sun and the breeze; hopping or wading across to tiny islands that used to be mainland.  The water is higher than it’s ever been in my memory.  Meandering turns into sitting and then into lying on the rocks, relaxing. Water, snacks, and eventually the return walk.  The trail is hard to find from the shore too, and we bushwhack a bit before we get back to it, and find our way back to Turtle Lane, back to the cottage, to the others, to supper.

Location: Turtle Lane to the bay behind Edge Island, Georgian Bay, Ontario
Length: 4km
Companions: Anna, Isabel, Gaile, Andrew
Date: 28 July, 2018

Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Feeling happy, inspired, satiated, I set out through campus and found the trail through the woods that leads to Lake Ontario.  You can smell the lake from campus, although you can’t see it.  I always like a trail to a lake.  This one passes through a wooded area, a field of wildflowers and birdhouses, then branches to go up or down the lakeshore. I went down, along boardwalks by a marina, back onto a path, and found a beach where several people were kiteboarding, like punctuation marks flying through the sky.
You never have the trail to yourself in Toronto, there are all kinds of people, all kinds of languages, a world of people out enjoying a summer day by the lake.  It’s invigorating to be among them. Looking out I had a view of endless water, such a wonderful sense of space in a big, crowded city. Walking back, I had a view of downtown in the distance. What a wonderful week this has been.

Location: Humber College Lakeshore Campus to Lake Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, and back
Length: 4km
Companion: none
Date: 13 July, 2018