Adventuring with Anand

On Sunday morning I was over at the neighbours having a cup of coffee. I was telling Anand about clambering up the James Street stairs, and then also going down the Wentworth Street stairs, back up, back down, back up and then back down again. I told him about the great view. I mentioned that I was in the mood to grab my pack and do it again.

“Want to come?” I asked, half jokingly. 

“Sure!” he said.

His dad offered to drop us off, and pick us up if need be.

I went home, collected my stuff, and we headed off. He had his bag with a water bottle, some snacks, binoculars, compass, a few other important things. I’ve been training him well. We went to the Dundurn Street stairs, a 326 step climb. (Of the six stairs that lead up the Escarpment, this is the second highest one.) Didn’t seem at all daunted by it, and without any great difficulty, stomped up to the top.

When we got to the top, we sat and had a snack, and spent a while looking at stuff through our binoculars. I had a map and showed him how to use it and visible landmarks to figure out exactly where he was on the map. I also explained a bit about the Niagara Escarpment, and how it was formed.

When we climbed back down the stairs, at the point where the Bruce Trail crosses it, we hung a left and headed over to the Chedoke Falls.

He had suggested that I should bring my trekking poles along, and they proved to be worthwhile indeed. While much of the recent snow was already disappearing, in the shade of the forest, the trail was still covered in it. It was compacted and very icy as a result. I gave him one of the poles, adjusted it to the right height for him, and took the other one for myself. It made for much more secure footing on the often rough trail.

We got to the edge of the gorge and Anand asked if we could go down into it. It required a bit of a detour and some scrambling down the hill. I took the opportunity to show him how to walk down hills and how to place the pole to help steady himself. 

“Mommy would poop her pants if she saw us doing this!”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing she isn’t here to see it.”

The ravine is very rock strewn, and doesn’t really allow for a very good view of the falls. We tried to get further back in the gorge to check it out, but I decided that given the amount of snow and ice still on the rocks, and the force of the stream that we wouldn’t go in all the way. I told him that we would come back in a few months, when there was no ice to slip on, and the water would be much calmer.

“Hey uncle Thomas, check this out! It looks like a cave.”

“Take your trekking pole and poke around in the back. Check if there is a bear still hibernating in there.”

“What?! Oh, you’re just tricking me.”

We strolled back along the Radial Trail and stopped where we had started. I called his parents who had been enjoying some time on Locke Street, and they came and picked us up.

He’s a great kid, bright, a wonderful sense of humour, and a willingness to go and explore. I have no problems heading off on my own, but getting to spend a few hours with him, showing him why I enjoy wandering around so much, and teaching him some of the skills that go along with it, made it far more enjoyable. I didn’t go nearly as far or as fast as I ordinarily would have, but having him along as my little sidekick was way better.