First Day Hike 2019

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine contacted me about taking part in the Ontario Parks First Day Hike Challenge. There was no question at all that I was in! Ontario Parks had posted the details of the challenge, whose goal is to promote healthy parks healthy people (#HPHP) and to get people outside to enjoy all that the parks have to offer on the first day of the year, on their social media sites. Basically, get out and hike some trails in a provincial park, share your adventures on social media, and tag Ontario Parks with the hashtag #FirstDayHike.

So, since my boys were heading off to ski for the morning at a local ski hill, I picked up my friend and we headed out to Presqui’le Provincial Park to participate in the challenge. At the time we didn’t know how many hikes we might do, but the day ended with us completing a hat trick since it was such a great day to be outside!

Hike #1 started at Jobes’ Woods Trial. It’s a nice little trail that goes through a forest of maples that was once a farm settlement, and is the oldest deciduous forest in this area. We had both noticed just how barren and brown everything was looking thanks to the previous night’s heavy rain having washed away what little snow had fallen here so far this winter.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once back at the car, we both agreed that we had to do some more hiking, so we decided to also head to the Marsh Boardwalk and Owen Point trail. It just so happened that we passed the Owen Point trail first so that was hike #2. This trail goes through some tall grasses until you reach a point where two sections of beach intersect and reach out to an island that is a nesting bird habitat.

The wind was also a bit stronger out on the point which made for much colder temperatures, so I was glad that I had my toque with me. It was fantastic to see so many other friendly people out enjoying the day despite the wind and cold.

• 

• 

• 

For hike #3, we headed to the Marsh Boardwalk. This hike includes an elevated wooden lookout where we took a few minutes to see if we could spot any wildlife. No such luck, but at one point the sun came out from behind the clouds and the marsh grasses just started glowing! It was definitely a beautiful day for all this hiking, which explains why when we got back to the car the parking lot was almost full.

We then hit the trail, which is mostly boardwalk through the marsh, and enjoyed the sun warming our backs. We also found the wildlife we were looking for as we approached an educational spot on the walk where we found a couple of swans enjoying the water and parts of the marsh were actually still frozen. I guess all that rain didn’t take away all the winter here yet.

After 3 hikes, it was time to call it a day and to go get ourselves a warm treat at Starbucks. We had a great morning at the park and we look forward to doing it again. If, and I mean if….. we get some snow, we will plan a snow shoeing hike as well.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Hopefully some of you got outside to participate in the First Day Hike challenge! From what I was able to see on social media there were many submissions from Presqu’ile!! Happy Hiking and Happy New Year!