It's been 5 years since Pam and I completed our Bruce Trail adventure. Hallmark has compiled a list, intended to prompt purchases for wedding anniversaries, of gift suggestions for years being celebrated. For the fifth? Wood! So my day began, like most other days, with a walk among the trees in the Dundas Valley. And, like most other days, I missed walking with her.
We complete our last and final piece. We hike backwards, in the rain, through extremely rugged and remote to arrive at marker 127.5, map-41, the unpretentious Crane Lake Road. Google recently reached into the chaos of my computer and recovered an awkward selfie from that day. Unaware of YouTube's recommendations to hold the camera to the side, look up, and spin to find the light, we appear pensive rather than pleased. In our round-about way, we reach our destination, but our extraordinary adventure is over. This hike is the last hike. We change into running shoes, deposit our grimy boots on a threadbare towel in the back seat, and steer the car toward home. p. 36