Toronto Pearson International Airport features many interesting facets to itself. Even though it does not operate a clandestine power station anymore, there still is a quirky trail running along the Etobicoke Creek on the federally owned property.
This post is rather short, as the trail is quite uninteresting. Mostly because on both sides are fenced off with barbed wire preventing most of exploration and observation.
Of biggest interest is YYZ Bees. It is a noble endeavour to tackle the problem of the pollinators’ decline that the ecosystems face these days.
Another thing to notice in a ford on the trail. It must be pretty swell to rip through it on a bicycle when the water torrents through the channel from all those runways.
Not too far away is, what I presume at least, a firefighter training compound. Great place to catch some post-apocalyptic retro bus vibes.
The 2013 flood episode brought beavers from up north deep into the urban Toronto. Contributor Sqaureplate noticed them along Etobicoke Creek all the way down to The Queensway. The most amusing scene was them building a dam across the cold refreshing runoff from the municipal ski hill. Unfortunately for the beavers the runoff ended within a day or so that May and the castorian long-term vision went unfulfilled.
The waters that the beavers in this article chose are way more enduring and interesting. They rise in the moraines of Caledon and flow through the natural wonder of Heart Lake. These waters then flow through the pride and joy of Brampton, Chinguacosy Park, lifting and rocking pedal boats for the patrons’ joy and ultimate leisure. For some reason, the designers of YYZ decided it prudent to bury the creek under the runways and as soon as it emerges in the ravine, it is met by the dam that make the famous waters roar in their full glory before joining Etobicoke Creek somewhere out there in the reeds downstream.
The last point of interest in this article is the Britannia Shack that this time of the year can be visible from across the bank.
For one reason or another people employ their pioneer new world spirits though building pretty elaborate lodgings along the creek. This one is now abandoned. It features a chicken coop that presumably help poultry and a bbq unit that likely saw the best rotisserie in the GTHA area. The proprietor of the place probably had a strong love-hate relationship with the coyotes and foxes coveting her hen house.
I will probably rarely, if ever visit these environs again. It is too restricted there and the end of the trail dumps you in an unassuming warehouse/ industrial area. I will leave it to the bees, beavers and other creatures that will hopefully decide to use the corridor further more south and treat me with their presence in my more regular haunts.
This post is part of the series inspired by an amazing resource: Hiking The GTA.
This post is also a tall order.
Nothing says Montreal like poignant bridges. That is because the fine metropolis sprawls over Hochelaga Archipelago and that’s why you need to build lots and lots of extravagant bridges without even considering the future maintenance implications.
Wait? What was that in the last link? Corruption?
That’s right! New York is a concrete jungle of buildings, while Montreal is concrete jungle of bridges. When you drive through the city, there are bridges on top of each other going high above land(!). That is because such stupendous projects are very easy to graft, given complexity and stellar budgets that tend to go over 4-8 fold. Well, not too easy. Some people actually get caught.
Global shitholes like Russia and China are only catching onto this bridgeteering now. Each in their own way, I guess. Oh Canada!
Both Toronto and Ottawa got a taste of the bridge mania. At least two super-bridges stand along the former Toronto-Montreal lines. Both of these marvels are now abandoned. One theme stands tall with the Toronto bridge: it is now owned by another corrupt entity and a big budget magnate (easier for grafts, I guess) of quirky brownsites–Metrolinx.
Also this line features not one, but two bridges over the unassuming Don River (really a minor silty creek). That’s a Montreal-level flagrancy. At least the second one is way less over-the-top (still abandoned).
Beware!: there are active rail lines using the more practicable bridges nearby. Make sure that you are on the correct line. Otherwise, you may be hit by another public organisation’s of questionable practices rail vehicle.
There will not be trains on the protagonist line of this post. That is because at one point it is actually severed by trail construction.
Also, the rails are fairly grown in. There are many reasons why the operators, at least in Canada, won’t put trains through there. One of them being brush fires from sparks, heat produced and static electricity.
Over much of the forested part, the canopy also creates a tunnel of greenery. Unlike in Ukraine, a train will not stumble upon you here.
I felt quite sketchy being on the bridge. However, there were no signs against being there. People of homeless persuasion had their real estate on and closely adjacent to the tracks, etc. Right below, there is something called Green Brick Works (?!). White people indulging their hipster, sexist and hippie tendencies neither gave me a first nor second look. Hope that the bricks they lay are ever more green.
Google approves of and features great panorama views of the bridge as well:
Even the Street View features some brave gents attempting bungee jumping (?) over the edge.
Unlike those gents, I would not trust the balconies up there.
Please enjoy my other pictures from atop the bridge:
The bridge is quite tall. Obviously through the above photos you will not enjoy the height through personal depth perception and sweaty palms/ weak knees of visiting the attraction. Here are some pics from the base of the bridge that may demonstrate the height slightly better.
Sadly, some lost suicide-minded individuals use bridges over Don Valley for their ends. Please don’t. I and your choice of Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Great Spirit, or Vishnu, etc. love you. Bloor-Danforth bridge installed catch nets against such stunts.
I intend to visit the Half-Mile-Bridge again. Although it is quite out of the way for me. So it will not likely happen. The area around is quite uninteresting to me. Don River creek is characteristically polluted and on of Canada’s busiest highways nearby just ruins it. Maybe I will take out-of-country visiting family members there to show off. Maybe.
This post is part of the series inspired by an amazing resource: Hiking The GTA.
Just west of an unassuming urban sprawl sleepy suburb city of Brampton lies rural wilderness of Halton Hills. You don’t have to venture too far out from the accustomed urbanness, a mere 6km from public transit, gets you to the famously erosion-resistant Niagara Escarpment and a very special waterfalls tumbling over it in style.
In an earlier article, I invite you to visit a more urban natural waterfall, should you require more accessibility.
The stream that creates it is called Rogers Creek. If the Internet community ever names this falls, it refers to the destination as Terra Cotta Falls. The toponym is by no means official. The fact that the waterfall is beyond the borders of the so named conservation area further complicates the situation. I believe that the proud owner of this widget of ecotourism is the Region of Peel’s School Board. Yes, the same school board from the shores of Caledon Lake.
The Waterfall is allegedly accessible via the Bruce Trail. However, I decided against the meandering roundabout ( and especially unnecessarily up and down) ways of the trail architects for a direct cut through the woods. Most of the way, the forest is no unlike any other. Sometimes, however, witching interesting improvements will surely stumble onto you.
Following Rogers Creek towards the falls is as challenging as dealing with the Rogers Company as a customer. However, fellow humans built crude versions of inuksuks to confirm the correct path.
Ultimately, you reach the falls. The creek falls over in separate ribbon formations over the harder top layer. Layers beneath are quite undercut, allowing me to enjoy the spectacle from behind the veil. Water is also taking shortcuts through the cavern’s roof and seeps spontaneously from the sides of the bowl creating a lush, almost tropical atmosphere.
There was no one else there, creating a secluded swimming experience though the decently deep plunge pool and the pleasant natural shower of the falls itself. To improve the experience, I would advise clearing the pieces of shale and dolomite from the bottom.
I also stumbled on a smashed beer bottle there that thankfully did not injure me. Don’t do this, seriously bad joojoo will come your way. Be better than Brock U students!
Of course, I will visit this falls again and again through different seasons. It surpassed my expectations, while still being quite local, relatively accessible and around other destinations on my radar.
See you at the Terra Cotta Falls, thanks for reading and happy destinations.
This post is part of the series inspired by an amazing resource: Hiking The GTA.
Everyone is familiar that the nearby Hamilton is rightfully the waterfall capital of the world! I am a driver of great skill, yet that is of no avail when the traffic to there is of the urgency of the the river at Port Credit.
Fortunately, various shale formations are also exposed by the ravine systems of local GTA. Yes, the same shale that is used for fracking. Some of such shale stone is dense enough to even trap combustible gas. Mullet Creek, much like its northern cousin just outside of Terra Cotta Conservation Area was not powerful enough to erode through such layers yet, leading to a feast for the eyes that is the topic of this post.
While Toronto happily buried and bulldozed over all its smaller creeks, Mississauga let a few of them flow and display their quirky features to the world. Thanks to such a development pattern, you may now ditch your travel plans to Hamilton, potentially saving your life. Go spend that saved-up gas money on a store-bought mineral water instead.
My access point to the ravine was at the bridge off Burnhamthorpe Rd W. The initial descent is quite steep with neither trails nor paths as such. Watch out for noxious trash that comes of those that use the bridge like pigs that they are.
The floor of the ravine is quite clean and hiker friendly, due to dense canopy above.
Almost immediately, just past remnants of an old dam, is the 3ft high Lower Wahoosh Cascade. It is nothing too impressive, except for a nice flat dry piece of bedrock in the middle that may be used for rest, etc purposes. From that piece of bedrock, you may get your first glimpse of the main attraction in the distance.
The main Wahoosh Falls is best described through the pictures below. What I may add is that it is really a scaled down version of the Niagara Falls. The American Falls’ analogy has its water disappearing into the cracks in the rock just before it would tumble over the edge. Those waters emerge from between the immediate layers of the stone, still giving us a falls to enjoy.
Below the Canadian Falls’ analogy, there is a deep plunge pool that can be used for a refreshing dip by the bravest of the visitors. You may also entertain yourself with a fun optical illusion whilst there.
For the human component of the post, I ventured out and spoke with an owner of a waterfront property on the edge of the ravine. Lets call him Andrew. He notes that the falls was once a more public affair. There’s even an abandoned parking lot being taken over by the forces and nature somewhere on the creek bank near the Mississauga Road and a plaque with the name and some background of/on the falls.
Venturing downstream, the creek hits a dam of debris and soccer-balls. All that temporarily stops the flow of the water course and creates a lush hydroponic swamp. There are a number of fire-pits as well as an uberfun swing-rope over the creek.
Mullet re-emerges from that mess through a reverse delta of streams, surprisingly smaller when it reassembles itself. Probably some of the water seeps directly into the Credit River or is taken up by the Amazon-style undergrowth. Hopefully Mexican Bamboo does not find its way here, otherwise that place will be exactly hell. It was literally too dark to take decent pictures there as it is.
Soon after, the quagmire opens into a wide and bright confluence with the Credit River.
I will not visit the lower Mullet Creek again, but will definitely return to admire the falls itself. I must check it out in different seasons, bring family and friends to share this discovery, etc. In fact one of my colleagues went on this hike right after seeing the above pictures of my phone.
For every outdoor-minded GTA resident, an inner geographer wakes up at least once a year. For Fullprice, it often happens in the midst of winter, when he idles in a store and pops open a hard copy map book, or more often goes to maps.google.ca and scutters past residential blocks of say Hamilton, Brampton or Vaughan and marks some interesting bodies of water or forest tracts.
Such an outdoor-minded GTA resident certainly notices an enticing, almost perfectly circular hydrological treasure called Caledon Lake. She may also click on a satellite view of the place and notice that this piece of Eden gets quite deep/ not swampy at all. Of-course such a natural lake can’t be too deep and thereby would warm up quite quickly into the season. What a great reward after those punitive Canadian winters, eh?
The only really relevant info-blog post that exist is a 2009 one from Inside Caledon. Noteworthy are the comically insane barrage of comments. Clearly some the local cottagers are out to create an acrimonious atmosphere over their neighbourhood.
Highlight of the comments:
The other time I was there we watched an older man with one of the residences on Cranberry Lane washing out a bucket and what I believe was used paint brushes in the water of this lake. Well done, old top. [Maybe that’s why they seek such an absolute privacy, to abuse the water that they clearly see that exclusively theirs to do whatever.]
Make Sure you take a good picture of us Duck Hunting Spet 28 on the lake, and post it on here. We have scouted the area lots of ducks and geese and very excited for the opener. Cant wait we have 3 groups of 4 men per group covering most fly ways. And there’s nothing you can do about it but watch and take pictures
There is no public access to this lake… Even the inlets and outlets are privately owned. Go on MLS.ca… (?)
I am actually a resident at Caledon lake. Now we do paya hefty fee to own property there and it is very disrespectful when people come on and ignore signs to go fishing. We are not a trout club. Its just like if I went onto your farm and took all your crops. I mean its something you shouldnt do right? So do not go to caledon lake because you willl be removed and fined. Thank you.
we just want to “go water skiing and not to be hasseled by people.”
“So do not go to caledon (sic) lake because you willl (sic) be removed and fined.” Excuse me? You can remove someone from private land, but you still haven’t established that the surrounding landowners own the water.
Prospectively, People living on Lake Ontario should claim lake is theirs and refuse others access
the owners own the lake and the water in it.
people complaining are envious and have a sense of entitlement to use the lake just because its there. This lake is not a provincial park as far as i know, nor is it a public beach. its a community of people that own a large percentage of the lake front and quite possibly own the lake itself.
most of you complaining about not being allowed to use the lake are ignorant and moronic. You people are posting ways to access the lake and looking for a loop hole
It is possible, as far as I know, to own the lake or river bottom, but NOT the water above it.
You people only own 30% of the shore line, but don’t want others access it.
This is complete and udder bullshit, couldnt there atleast be a boat ramp to allow people on the water? I understand you don’t want them on your LAND but that’s why we want the water.. I live 20 minute walk from this place and am not allowed in.. BULLSHIT
We on caledon lake will continue being vigilant towards trespassers.
Maybe next time I’ll perform a citizens arrest and hold someone until police show up..
sarcasm : we prefer to utilize public safety officers at a cost to all taxpayers to harass our fellow man whenever he may try and enjoy this natural feature himself. If this was Texas, we’d shoot on site.
good thing to see some people with a sense of humour
If you tried to preform a citizens arrest on me you’d probably end up with a broken jaw.
Ontarios slogan is “yours to discover” I’ll adventure to any private locations regardless of the negative actions people may give me, you do not own the waterways so have fun seeing me fish 1 foot from your shoreline
Now Fullprice’ve been to other parts of Ontario, where local residents in league with the municipality co-opt an end of a road allowance and mark it as private. These residents actually put work into the property and never gave problems to say a weary respectful traveller, who comes by for a 10 minutes’ soak of the body and spirit. Here is an example along Lake Simcoe:
Or here:
Also an image search yielded the following insane sign. Fullprice took a liberty of saving it, since it is from an archived blog that may be gone from the internet at any moment. Original here.
This practice is exceptionally illegal. Fullprice will send you here for a succinct explanation. Also, there are civil and criminal implications in addition to the provincial sanctions. Upon Fullprice’s arrival, the sign was removed. Not sure about the ‘traps.’
Fullprice arrived via the tremendously scenic Mississauga Rd. At the end of it is a public road allowance right of way. Fullprice followed it to a point.
Fullprice will not describe the route that he followed to the lake. He will state for a record that he took every care to not trespass. Should he have failed, such trespass was at most de minimis. In addition, such access was done in order to enter a bed of navigable water that belongs to him as a resident of Ontario (right of way of necessity). Note that if you enter the lake with, say a kayak, you will not be trespassing, despite any sign. More on law to follow.
Destination
The lake is fed by a branch of Credit River in its headwaters. Despite the summer being exceptionally arid and many streams elsewhere being now nothing, but parched beds of rocks and clay, a constant cool crystal-clear stream of water stubbornly fills Caledon Lake from the West. Fullprice would not suggest entering this enticing moving water at such point, as the bed is all very deep muck.
The outlet is equally of decent volume, but with slightly warmer water at the South-West of the lake. Fullprice’s verdict is that both inlet and outlet are navigable by kayak and even certain sizes of lightly-packed canoes. Fullprice have seen people brave worse.
The outlet is also crested with a cute thin patch of buggy whips.
For a comparison, it is at least thrice the flow of the stream between Cameron and Cyprus lakes up around Tobermory, which is certainly considered navigable. Caledon Lake is a superior local option.
Towards the North lies a picturesque area where the lake features lots of riparian vegetation. Watch out for black flies that obviously come from the fast-flowing streams of the Credit River, indicating an ultimate cleanliness of the water in a most unpleasant way. While on the Beach Area of the lake, there are no mosquitoes, since the fish eat their larva, this area has some standing marshy areas, around which the little buggers may give you a mild inconvenience.
Heading back south, between the inlet and the outlet lies a splendid natural beach.
Here, the bed of the lake is a tad spongy, but supported all of Fullprice’s 200lbs. He would recommend water shoes or some sort of crocs in any case. The shallows go on for a while, but the lake gets quite deep. At one point, Fullprice could not free-dive to the bottom. The water is clear, with a very pleasant azure tint. Usually in Ontario the natural micro-flora of living lakes by this time of the year gives unpleasant rusty-brown, black, milky gray or dark-green hues. This one was rather pleasant, second only to maybe tropical saltwaters of the Caribbean.
Admin:Fullprice swam undisturbed for about 10 – 15 minutes. It was heaven. Fullprice was filled with sheer pleasure and thankful serendipity for finding this destination and was happy for the cottagers living on such special parcel of land. #Finallymadeit
Then a small aluminum motor-boat appeared creeping the perimeter of the lake from the north. Noticing it, Fullprice was still splashing around and taking in the sheer beauty of the surroundings, periodically diving into the darker, slightly chillier depths of his new liquid surrounding. The peaceful quiet of the deep was now invaded by the thrashing propeller of the craft.
Fullprice in a display of courtesy waved hello at his fellow humans, as they passed along.
“Are you okay, bro?” – Asked a beta-male looking individual up on the boat
“Yea, the lake is great!” – Replied Fullprice with a smile of courtesy and decency
“Uhm, which uh, like cottage are you with?” – Asked one of the females
“I am just coming down the trails.”
Silence
“With the board of education.” – Ambiguously answers Fullprice
“Uh Uh, Ok” – comes from the vessel, as it continues circumnavigating the deep part of the lake. They then proceed pointing somewhere at the outlet and drifting towards the cottage shore, still following the edge of deep core of the body of water
Not long after, Fullprice notices that the sun is speeding towards horizon and it is time to start leaving. Just as Fullprice tracks back the trail, the beta-male, now shirtless, yet in a different, much speedier boat thrashes at a Somali-pirate speed around the lake, creating massive tumult throughout the lake. Luckily, Fullprice was not in the lake at the time, as it would create a very dangerous situation.
Had Fullprice been in the water, he might have been struck by the boat that was not in full control by the operator, given the excessive speed. Further, it is his opinion that the waves targeting him qualified as a civil case of battery. Fullprice shook his head in disbelief, as this fellow made insane rounds around the lake, much like a dumb belligerent hornet around its nest, later regretting of not filming it. The above behaviour leads to a reasonable inference that the beta-male was fairly intoxicated.
This was clearly very negligent behaviour and disrespect to the law, which the cottagers selectively quote when it suits and benefits them. Charges can be pressed for assault with a deadly weapon. Technically the cottagers can counter-sue with trespass, but since there is no harm done to them, the damages are usually very nominal, like $5.
Note Fullprice is not a lawyer and this does not intend to create any sort of lawyer-client relationship. Fullprice simply shares information and opinion regarding the lake and the people.
However, since these people are so prone to active antagonism, altercation and even boat rage, Caledon Lake may prove an opportune place for certain litigious people to execute successful schemes of personal enrichment. Hopefully such profiteers force our beta male to sell his cottage to humans that enjoy their property as people and not as Mr Burns’ hounds from The Simpsons.
Also the beach area was spoiled by smell of carrion. It emanated from the following pile of decomposing fish.
Fullprice’s guess is that the cottagers did this to spoil their opposite beach in order to deter visitors.
This is a very special find of a lake. Obviously, Fullprice will visit it again, but earlier in the season next year. It is relatively shallow and should warm up quicker than the deeper, more expansive or more northern alternatives. Fullprice will avoid it for the rest of the season, as other, closer water bodies are also pleasant by now and will remain warm for some longer time of the year.
Addendum – The Law
Again Fullprice is not a lawyer, but is a responsible citizen who informs himself on the law in order not to get bullied by people such as these cottagers and the like. Furthermore, for a definitive investigation, the crown patent to this lot is needed.
If Fullprice was a resident of Orangeville or surrounding areas, he would be very displeased that people of such character co-opt the entire lake. The cottage association seems to be very old, established in 1885 (backup). However, the link above notes that the association was not the only access to the lake and a hotel was once proposed to be built along the shores. That article also recognises that:
the southwestern shore forms a Conservation Area used by the local school board to teach Nature Studies and the northern lakes and ponds provided marl to the early concrete industry at the turn of the century. .
The above screenshot is of help. It is taken from the Land Use Policy Atlas. It can be inferred that the south portion of the lake is a whole separate lot altogether. It appears to be a conservation area that is operated by the Peel Board of Education and the school is out for the summer. It offers programs for the schools under its jurisdiction and makes boring educational videos for the internet at large. Their lot is clearly posted from the road sides.
The confusing thing is that the No Trespassing to the lake sign that formerly was sporting something about ‘traps’ is deep within the neighbour lot. Maybe the cottagers are trying their hand at adverse possession, aka a land grab, from the unsuspecting school board. That operation of old common law is still apparently alive in these parts of Ontario, according to a local law firm.
In Ontario crown patents are issued under the Public Lands Act. It is a general practice of lakes like this that the granting patent reserved a 66ft allowance along the lakeshore, often described as a “road allowance.” Fullprice infers from the picture about that the cottagers hired a lawyer that went to the unscrupulous municipality and got the allowance “closed.”
Huzzah our loyuh closed the road allowance, that sure mean we own the lake, and the waters that enter it, and like the airpace, and the mineral lights beneath, and will citizen arrest yall from a friggin boat. #kingofthecastle
The cottagers comprehended that now the entire lakefront is their’s and their’s alone, since they simply closed the road allowance. This may explain why they opine that the lake is now private and wholly their own, even as it stretches beyond their parcel. In reality, all it means that they can use their property up to the lakeshore, whilst the allowance remains closed. The municipality is clearly in the wrong, as it effectively stole access of a navigable body of water from the school board and the public enjoying the trails and streams of Caledon Lake Forest tract. Responsible local residents need to contact their municipality to urge them to open the public allowance and to finally designate the lake as a Cultural Heritage Landscape.
Speaking of unscrupulous municipality, Caledon is made of beautiful scenic villages, but also or weird over-size recluse compounds. As an urban dweller, Fullprice can comprehend living as a farmer, but to build a architecturally-bizarre plywood castle in the woods and to brave such boredom is beyond him. Caledon is Florida of Ontario, at least in terms of weird news. Eg: a disgraced lawyer purveying toilet-hand-made bacteria water for us all. They don’t take kindly to new industry, labelling the most basic element of our reality a hazardous chemical and harass visiting little green men (1) (2), who done so much good for our civilisation, according to the History Channel. Given all that, it is little wonder that the local humans of Caledon Lake create a George Zimmerman – Trayvon Martin situation in the making.
Fullprice can foresee people stooping down to the impugned cottagers’ level and do something like pour sludge in the lake, sink their boats or introduce zebra mussel. Fullprice urges visitors and kayakers to refrain from any criminal or immoral behaviour. An appropriate course of action may be to organise a local flashmob to the lake and of course profit handsomely if the belligerent locals proceed in their civil-criminal ways of threatening unlawful confinement, assault, battery, negligence, etc. Also please press criminal charges if such behaviour occurs.
Such weirdness uploads to the political level. The province even appointed recently a provincial facilitator to help solve the dysfunction that Caledon brings to the Peel Regional Council. Even a local newspaper describes local politics as “a bizarre tale of smear campaigns, hired thugs and small-town vengeance.” These are the people who closed the road allowance.
Recall that the article describes the lake, inlet and outlet as navigable. Ontario has a history steeped in canoeing. The sport is also very much in vogue right now, enjoying a kind of resurgence. The lake is very much navigable, as the residents prove it by using even motor boats on it. Credit River itself is a mecca for canoeing, which is officially promoted (1) (2). The act quoted in this paragraph is quite bare-bone, but judges have elaborate on it quite a bit at trial level. The cases sometimes tend to be contradictory, but here is a leading example.
Fullprice proposes that the lake is clearly navigable, but even if it is not, he suspects that the West coast is simply a closed road allowance, meaning that in the worst case, the cottagers’ property extends merely to the centre of the lake. But it is my opinion that the lake is wholly navigable, meaning that the general public has ownership to this natural severance of the property and requires a reasonable access to it. Furthermore, patents in Ontario retain foreshore for the benefit of general public. Kayakers, etc, can land on any shores of such lakes for any reasonable necessity, including tiredness/ sickness or to access a nearby public road. Note that you cannot use this right to access the lake. This is only for one-way movement out of the water. Note that unlike idiosyncratic municipalities, judges are people of the community who understand the increased difficulty of the access to the outdoors, etc. Also the law is still being developed and the judgements tend to be recreationalist friendly. EG.
Fullprice notices some confusion about this provincial act being changed. To his knowledge, it was never changed, but is continuously developed by cases.
Another note is that is the locals give you trouble, simply request for their title. With older cottage properties such as these, they are really faulty, as little to no care was done in registering them by non-professionals. It is reasonable to assume that the cottagers’ title is so faulty, that they are essentially a bunch of squatter bullies trying to establish a no-go zone/ turf.
There is also an entirely separate federal regime under the Navigation Protection Act. Please note not to conflate or transfer its ideas and protection with its provincial counterpart. It is an entirely different body of law and cases.
Of note, also are realtors and their puffery that this is a private lake, an outpost of Muskoka. Such deceptive marketing obviously hikes the price of the property, earning them handsome commissions, even though it is misleading and gives the new owners wrong ideas. Also how dare they compare this lake to Muskoka. Despite Caledon Lake being an invaluable local gem, Muskoka is really no comparison.
One least note is that the lake is in the heart of GTA’s Greenbelt, created in order for the metropolis’ residents to enjoy the outdoors (without gunning 500 clicks north and burning all that fossil fuel) by protecting it from development. If the cottagers remain unreasonable, maybe it is time to re-channel the public Credit River and leave the bullies ion the muck and dust.
Overall, Fullprice invites everybody to enjoy the lake.
City of Mississauga and City of Kariya have a twined relationship. Unlike Toronto that went out of its way to create a mini-Wikipedia page as well as a whole separate listing for the whole internet-connected world about its twin cities, Mississauga chose a smaller, more local option of celebrating its relationship–a park in the retail and condominium heart of its city. To be fair, average folk also sports the pleasure of footing the bills of high-level bureaucrats having little conventions in the name of city-to-city partnership too in the big T.
Of my limited research, Kariya is a rather industrial city of 150k people, where headquarters of the Toyota are located. That means Woodstock and Cambridge have more representative parks of Kariya, industrial parks that is. Admittedly, Mississauga city planners aimed to capture the entire “flavour of Japan” in this park, whatever that means.
Curiously, Mississauga Park in Kariya tries to capture flavour of Canada (?) with a lot of flowers (possibly a hint of British garden, but not landscaping culture) and an Eiffel Toweresque welding of a Norwegian Maple leaf.
Other spectacles of Mississauga Park repping the big M are a log cabin, Canadian native petroglyphs (?), a replica of a typical civic centre, and a super tacky bear in a canoe statue.
The Destination
The park itself is on a bit of elevation from the street level and immediately strikes you as not your average city green lot. Whereas the other local parks perfectly demonstrate policy of abandonment conservationism, Kariya is overflowing with upkeep and arrangement. All this in a city that otherwise just fences off parkland from human access, creating unsightly patches of overgrowth. EG:
Another very noteworthy feature are super cool yet functional bike racks. I dig minimalism a lot.
Kari means wild goose in Japanese. And this is a sign on the northern gate of the park:
In a great cooperation between people, geese and the sign, there was no one goose, only ducks.
Obviously there is a zen garden.
At the entrance there is tsukubai washbasin for your fancy tea ceremonies and a art-piece depicting a shogun warrior.
Here’s the rest of the park for your viewing pleasure. The southern side is a work in progress with an unfortunate mosquito-friendly stagnation puddle.
The groundskeeper’s shed is pleasantly artful. They patriotically use John Deere. Why? Because we won the war.
I rang the peace bell seven times for world peace. It did not work.
As a completionist, I also took some liberty to explore the forested North-Eastern corner of the park. It features the hardware that I’m guessing powers the flow in the streams, etc, a majestic view of the pond (watch out for used condoms) and a secret power outlet beside the main deck. Enjoy.
I expected mossy rocks and at least mexican bamboo in this park. There were none, but in any case, I had a peaceful and unique experience. Kariya Park is definitely worth a visit.
I probably would not come back to this place, as it is out of the way and Mississauga’s drivers are ridiculously negligent/ blind or something.
From L to R: Bus Map, Pond Clearly Visible on Earth, Missing on the Maps
When I was looking at the live map of bus locations, I noticed a lake not too far and not to close from me. The service does not use the Google Maps, which was hiding this neighbourhood gem from me all these years.
Upon arriving, together with a nicely paved trail, me and other bloggers notice a post-Soviet grade of garbage accumulation all around. This is a less affluent part of town, but still one wonders where are the local community clean up initiatives or the city services that officially prioritize this specific neighbourhood. For all the lip service given to Etobicoke north of Eglinton, it may be seasonable for all those “working hard representing you” to grab a bag, a pair of grippers and a couple of municipal photographers and do something productive for the residents uninspired by the tragedy of the commons at Wincott Park.
The lifeline of the pond is a surprisingly fast flowing Humber Creek, another fairly secret neighbourhood gem (does not even have a Wikipedia page). Here, it actually flows north (away from the lake), which is unheard of in Toronto, due to the very noticeable slope that the immense Lake Ontario creates for itself (1,640 km3 of water).
Update: turns out that the reason for the northward flow is that the creek is actually a living fossil, flowing to the shore of the ancient lake Iroquois that made waves here 13 000 y ago.
Waters of the creek are partially diverted into this pond; the pond itself actually is visibly flowing to the north as well; thus the shallow water remains clear and odour free. Downstream (minus the underground portion), the creek re-emerges flowing South-East, offering lots of enjoyable woods along the bank, including some stately estates down the flow. City was performing maintenance in the more affluent areas, at least.
The pond itself is a treat. Lots of places to hang around, be it on the benches, rocks or grassy patches. Trees planted around are maturing, including a wall of cedar from the east. Cat-tails are taking hold of the banks and ducks are eyeing you for a feeding type from the water level and the rocks placed in the middle.
The park goers were African Canadians. When I was taking pictures, they seemed uneasy. One young gentleman asked me if “all is good?” Such demographic, outside of the communities from the Horn of Africa are unfortunately uncommon in the wonderful urban green spaces of the city.
I will definitely swing by this pond whenever I am passing through the area. Kudos to the City for electing to build a pond instead of those underground storage tanks that then spew stagnant water and lower the quality of the city’s waterfront. Let the ecosystem and the UV rays keep the water productive. Also hoping that Toronto steps up to the international culture of daylighting its lost creeks and rivers.
An interesting thing about Toronto is that it started growing from a harbor on a lake. As the city’s manifest destiny inevitably (and despite any Geenbelt Act) will lead it being from coast to coast (between Lake Ontario and Lake Toronto (Simcoe)), the people upwater begin spoiling the water downsteam.
With fears of typhoid feaver and other maladies, the generations before decided to off with the streams and burry them out of sight and mind. Recently, Lost Rivers of Toronto did a good job of exploring and informing on this issue, so not much is worth repeating here. However, it is important to note that all of downtown and immediate areas around it are part of their own watershed of sewer pipe rivers and creeks unconnected with neither Humber, nor Don rives.
One of them is Taddle. It starts in the beautiful upclass neigbourhood of Wychwood Barns. Kudos to them for preserving the headwaters pond and a tad portion of the creek. The neighborhood is also worth the visit. <http://www.blogto.com/upload/2010/05/20100522-taddle-grate.jpg> **Tip of the hat to Blog TO for always interesting content.
It used to pass University of Toronto and featured a pond along its way there. Because of the common to all these creeks problem, the waterway became too stinky for everyone’s liking and it was tunneled away. It was a suprizingly sizeable water body too (<http://www.blogto.com/upload/2012/03/20120329-Taddle-Huron.jpg>) and would
have been a great asset for the University and the City. Shame.
Philosopher’s walk is a dry ravine where the creek once flowed. It is sandwiched between the Ontario Legislature, Royal Ontario Museum, some sort of meteorological installation and a bunch of University buildings/ athletic fields. A curious note is the kink in the Queen’s Park Crescent W that was made to accommodate the hero of this post. I wish there was a Google Streetview of the place during the construction. Note: that may not be the case exactly, but an archival aerial photograph clearly shows that the creek was interracting with the street plan: <http://jpeg2000.eloquent-systems.com/toronto.html?image=ser12/s0012_fl1947_it0018g.jp2>. (Upper Left Corner)
The path makes for a terrible shortcut because of the meandering trail design. Many ups and downs, bridges and curves steals minutes of your time each time you choose to make the walk pat of your journey. However, it is a decent destination with many lawns, benches and the fact that you almost always get to see the iconic CN Tower from this vantage point. Despite being located in a very populated area, few people traversed the walk when I was there.
Water likes going downstream. At the bottom of the ravine there were a bunch of ice accumulations. I also noted a bunch of drains and concrete/ stone ditches, meaning that you can actually enjoy running water here when it rains or thaws. You can do it, but I do not like being outside in the rain or mud. Tell me how it goes. Also take time to enjoy the elaborate gates at each entrance to the destination.
I will not probably come back here often, unless it is for the Nuit Blanche. Last year they had some sort of dry ice installation in the ravine. I somehow missed it.
Thanks for Reading
Admin: Pie
P.S . I did not experience any philosophical thoughts or met a philosopher on the walk.
The walk is nicely paved. There are obstacles along the way.
The educational installation syncs you with the history and heritage.
It all started when the winter was slow to start. I googled for a snow cover map of the province and found out that
there is actually a ‘less than 5 cm’ cover starting from Haliburton. In a bout of excitement and though some
additional googling, I purchased tickets to Sudbury, where there are hills and a city, called the ‘capital of Northern
Ontario.’ Being funemployed, I settled for the advance purchase, meaning, I had to wait 14 days for the destination.
By the time that my date came, the snow settled here too. That meant a lighter trip without the slopes gear. Also, no
wondering if the bus company will be fussy about my snowboard with a commercial eye of separating me from a few more
dollars.
The bus to Sudbury was the Alberta line. The message display on the bus mentioned Calgary, I believe. On the back,
there was a Greyhound branded trailer attached. That lead me to imagine the people going one-way there. Maybe it will be
me one day. Western Canada offers plenty of tempting destinations, as well as better job prospects (so the story goes).
The bus was filled with colouful folk that can only come together on a coach bus. The ratio around me was spoiled by a
group of dudes making a documentary of a sort on their travel. That behavior echoed certain horror film plot techniques 🙂 ::ghost:: .
The plan obviously involved the Big Nickle, as well as a stroll around the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, maybe the Fielding Bird Sanctuary, climb for the views through the Minnow Lake Conservation Area, check out the New Sudbury and the local retail culture of the area, see Downtown Sudbury and, for a big finish, take the municipal bus to Capreol and trek to see the penultimate awesomeness of Wanapitei Lake — a lake in a space impact crater within a bigger such crater.
However, I had a different fate in store. One of less, yet somewhat more/different adventure and challenge.
Leaving from my parents’ home, and after a session of ‘you are not leaving in that ______,’ I ended up being packed in
impossible knee high boots and a half room-occupying goose dawn jacket that they procured someday back in the
day during my years in Ottawa, them imagining it being some sort of one way Siberia on Titan destination, where people were sent for allegedly making a drunken joke about the contemporary drunk leader of USSR, but really for being owed money to by the
neighbors. Actually, Ottawa is kind of like that, but thankfully only for like 1 or 2 weeks of the year.
With such jacket, I was boiling while zipper was closed and uncomfortable while open. People on the street were
looking at me with a smirk, amusement, and sleepy judgement among other expressions that I could identify with my
advanced social wisdom and awareness prowess, as per my resume. The jacket was huge too; so huge so that it violated entire provincial and federal highway traffic acts, regulations, manuals, policies, guidelines and related jurisprudence.
The shoes were a whole another story. Only on the way to the Big Nickel, I experienced curious pain in my soles.
Few blisters would not stop me, so I carried on. By the time I reached downtown, the pain was unbearable, so I took
the bus to Laurentian U. On my final return, I was literally howling like a coywolf from the pain.
Upon removing the boots and declaring the end to the trip, I found the carnage pretty amusing. The weather turned to the worse too and there was some trouble with the buses. On the eturn to Toronto, I almost got my face smashed by a raving and delirious human, for whom I was tying to hold it. Welcome back to the sketchy parts of the province. Hope he finds his Buddha/Jesus/Mohammed/Joseph Smith. That night, I ended up hanging out in town with my friends as my feet healed rather quickly. I guess fresh northern air and a nap did the trick.
Taking out the above factor, the little vacation was very enjoyable. I especially like the rocky and hilly landscape
and how well the architecture often incorporates it. Sometime homes were built into rocky outcrops. I wonder
how it woks out on the inside. Also noticeable was the attractiveness of the ladies there, on tinder and out and
about. That was most likely yes thanks to the diversity of the community, including native, fanco-ontarian and other many
sudburger types.
The Big Nickel and its hill are situated inconveniently outside of town. Upon trying to reach it from the main
street, I impacted a school bus yard and then a speedway. Finding that way too dangerous and being too young to die, I
explored the side-streets. The Quinn St proved to be a jackpot with a snowed-in path at its cul that leads to a big
prize of a dumpster of some sort of lame museum establishment on the peak. The real destination and the cultural icon
was very impressive. I also appreciated that nothing up there was vandalized by philistines with spray paint. Cudos.
My research informed me that somewhere on the way back there was a swimming pool. As a land mammal in the process of
becoming a marine one, I could not miss an opportunity to hold some breath under water and suspend my then deteriorating
feet in some form of hydrogen oxide/ chlorine. The address that I brought with me was wrong and I spent an hour too little
searching for the real thing. Not wanting to wait that hour (for public swim) and learning of the prohibitive price of a entry
(somewhere north of $5), I decided to fast forward my itinerary.
I stumbled into downtown, somehow missing the famous Bridge of Nations. The only thing impressive there was the local
Wacky Wings franchise staring down the police station, or the other way around. The new city hall looked
somewhat interesting and the old city hall was not too impressive. There were some statues to local fish of distinction.
The municipal bus terminal provides excellent and frequent service to the university, but not to other places. I decided to head there instead of the crater. The bus driver was very outspoken and opinionated, typical of a small town. The university has great
views of the central lake. I was too much in pain to go and check out the famous skate path. Being a giant nerd, I
took a breather reading at the library there. There is a room with live flame fireplace. The only thing cooler than
that was the fast wifi that is completely open. No passwords or usernames involved whatsoever. Of note are also the
geological and naturalistic displays on the walls.
I went to Sudbury, in part, to have a chance to see the northern lights. Overcast ruined such chances. There was some
glow in the clouds, much like the one I saw in Ottawa during high solar activity. I assume it was the real deal; good
enough, not gonna ruin the magic by learning that it was some old light pollution or something. It seemed to move around, but that might have been my mind/ imagination embellishing the actual scene.
Across the bus station, there is a francophone college with beautiful grounds. The rocky outcrops are impressive in
themselves and provide for beautiful vistas. The slopes are covered with impressive pine and birch forests. There seems
to be a great ‘make out spot’ just off the road and a great picnic gazebo just down the path. Local youngsters hang
out and about the area.
Sudbury is also a major railway hub, bringing back nostalgic memories of childhood sounds, sights and vibes of my fist hometown. Impressive smokestacks with tips hiding in the overcast provide an interesting accent on the cityscape.
I may return to this destination in order to finally reach the above mentioned crater lake. Seeing photos of the north
coast of said lake will place it on you bucket list for sure (http://storage.thesudburystar.com/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297598058038_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x&stmp=1408772821460). I also would not mind to see the famous ‘slag pours,’ but
I don’t know the right people to access such feasts for the eyes (www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIL2Uv29zAM). The bad part
is that Greyhound has the monopoly on the destination, so the tips there are more expensive than they should be.
I know that there are snazzier versions of these. And yes, I’ve spent my share of hours on the Ottawa’s post-card famous Rideau canal. I, too, have heard of the Gage Park in Brampton, Sudbury’s Ramsey Lake Skate Path, and the Richmond Green Skate Trail in the York Region, etc. However, if you turn off the well-traveled snob within and set your mind the right way, you will doubtlessly enjoy this local gem. And it gets quite busy here too, validating this fine destination.
The location is too convenient, being right at the foot of Kipling Avenue. 44 TTC bus runs late and empties right outside.
The setting is equally captivating. The backdrop is a brick powerhouse. This season also brings Christmas lights and trees. The parkland around is also fascinating: part of it is a man-made outcrop onto the lake that sets you up for a great jog and is also a great spot in itself on the sunrise coast of Lake Ontario.
The rest of the parkland is former delta of at least 3 lost creeks (main ones were Jackson and North) that actually returned back to life during the most recent monster storm of the summer. If you got time and the weather is your friend, the neighbor acres are to be incorporated into this destination.
The rink itself is icy enough, despite the missing snow in the adjacency. During the operating hours, it is lit with mini street lanterns throughout the infinity-symbol-shaped skating trail.
Towards the power-house, there are benches to stretch your legs that will be sore after all that skating with a more open rink-sized area for learning or refreshing those mad skating and stopping skills necessary for impressing other trail-goers. The power house, as the rumor goes, hosts a heated change area as well.
Overall, this is an amazing destination. Given the mild winter, meaning that the natural snow and ice is reluctant to form in my usual hauntings, I will most likely return to this destination.
Thank you for reading and wishing the best Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, etc.
Contributor Saucyfingers, By Appointment to Admin Cottager
MuhDestinations 
