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Bridges on the Rideau Trail

Last week we walked the Rideau Trail twice.  

On the first walk we crossed this bridge.  Yes, it truly is a bridge, and the dark part is a hole in the bridge.  Fortunately there wasn’t much water under it, but I did not like it at all!

 

Although at first this section of the trail seemed a bit drab, it had its moments of majesty

 

and also of beauty.

The next walk was along a river, and at the very end of our hike we were going to cross a scary bridge, narrow and without railings, over a rain-swollen river.  I planned to make Miss 8 crawl, and I would crawl right along beside her.

The walk to the bridge was pleasant, but long.  The children were full of energy as usual.  My friend and I, however, were tired and glad that we were almost at the end, although I was still very nervous about crossing that river.  Then we got to the bridge.

Gone!  They had taken the bridge out for the winter!  At least no one could fall into the water, but now we had to walk all that way back.  The sun was setting, and it was cold. We walked, very slowly, resting on the tires of fertilizer wagons, the only warm surface we could find.  

I am so grateful my friend’s husband was with us!  He and the children hurried ahead to the car and came to our rescue.

Thanks to Mr. 15 of Teen Geek for the photos. 

Details:  Our fifth Rideau Trail walk was from Huntley and Brownlee to the corner of an unopened road allowance and Eagleson Road, about 3 km.  This is on map #14 in the Rideau Trail Guidebook and is Trail Change #4 on the website.    It was cool and breezy.
Walk #6 was from an unopened road allowance on Eagleson Road to the corner of Richmond Road and Steeplehill, which is on map #15 in the Guidebook.  Because the summer bridge had been removed, we had to backtrack about a kilometer, but we walked about 3 ½ km of the trail.  It was chilly, just above freezing.  So far we have walked approximately 23 km.

5 Comments

  1. kympossible says:

    That first picture is a bit spooky! I’d be nervous on that bridge as well. I’m really enjoying your Rideau Trail adventures – places I’d like to visit if we ever get to eastern Ontario for a vacation.

  2. Annie Kate says:

    It was a bit spooky!

    Thanks for letting me know you’re enjoying our trail adventures. 🙂 We’re planning another walk today, but it is mostly along a road, so I don’t think we’ll have any adventures…maybe.

    Annie Kate

  3. Sarah says:

    Those red berries are stunning!
    The bridges remind me of where we lived in Africa. Bridges were quite often ‘holey’ and sometimes we all used to get out of the vehicle except for the driver and walk/jump across ‘just in case’. And then there’s the tale of how a Godly man felt the Lord telling him to get a bridge on a disused road fixed. He obeyed and within a week my parents arrived to see if that was the place to build a hospital. Turned out it was and there is a thriving, if very basic, hospital functioning there now, the only one for many many miles around. Had the bridge not been fixed it would have been built elsewhere.

    1. Annie Kate says:

      How exciting that must have been. And what a blessing for the community that he obeyed!

      I didn’t know you’d lived in Africa. What an interesting background you have. You must be telling your children stories all the time.

      Annie Kate

  4. What a neat “log” of your wanderings! So glad you had someone with you, too, who could help out in the end!

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