On the straight and narrow: Rideau Trail Day 04 – 02D to 03C

No rain on the radar today, but it was chilly and very windy. This section of the Rideau Trail followed the K&P trail entirely, and we stopped where we next turn east along the Cataraqui trail at waypoint 03C. I guess we technically went 03B to 02D to 03C back to 03B. We parked at the end of Scanlan Rd, and first headed south back down to 02D, the “farthest” point we got to last time.  At the turn around point we had a snack before heading back North. The K&P trail really looks like a train tunnel at some points which felt really neat, but for the most part this section was just long and straight and often with a berm on the side/not much to see. We passed a fair number of other people on this part though – walkers, runners, and cyclists.

When we got back to Scanlan Rd., we agreed we could continue our original plan to 03C as well (next time, we will park in Harrowsmith, and walk to Sydenham and back. There is a washroom at both ends – no peeing in the woods for me next time!) This section of the walk was the nicest part of the day, through a more forested section. At one point the trail has a very steep and substantial drop on both sides and we discussed how crazy it must have been to build the old rail line through there — why was it built so high up like that? We passed fewer people on this leg of the trail, one running man, one cyclist, and one very nice lady with a very friendly dog to visit with! He had been enjoying all the free swims in the area 😉

On the walk back to the car we were starting to get tired and were looking forward to lunch. The last tiny leg back to the car – a “steep” uphill connector trail was the worst part. Nothing like a steep uphill walk after a 20km “hike”.  Another great day getting us about 10k further along the trail!

In other news, Bryan and I are now official members of the Rideau Trail Association for the year. Hoping this will help keep us motivated and engaged on our quest!