Morning Stroll

Wandered down to the sail loft early one morning last week, and is my wont, stopped to snap a few pics along the way.

Taken from the bridge on Bay St. The newspaper has been full of editorials lately with well meaning but naive people stating these marshaling yards are squandering prime waterfront property and should be moved somewhere else, so that fabulous condos can be built in their place. Not a single one of them offers up a solution to the question, the all important question. Where? Where do they imagine they are going to move these marshaling yards to? Railways can’t operate without them, and I’m hard pressed to think where in this area they could move them. Given that a few kilometers north of here is the, if not one of the busiest railroad junctions in all of North America, and that the stretch between here and Oakville is the, if not one of the busiest stretches of track in North America, these calls strike me as blithering foolishness. Sure it would be lovely if they weren’t here. But they’ve been there for 150 years. It’s too late for any of that given the amount of growth that has occurred around here in those decades. And let’s not get into how much it would cost to re-mediate that land.

Bayfront Park.

My view to the left as I sat and had a delicious coffee.

My view to the right as I sat and had a delicious coffee.

Dundurn Castle from the other side.

Burlington on the opposite shore.

Bucolic scenery.

Fowl.

There’s hardly ever any one out.

I walk a lot, and prefer to walk in what might be deemed more “natural” areas. Somewhere with trees and grass and trails and rocks and water. I try to get out and walk as much as I can. It’s good for me physically and mentally. It’s a chance to try out gear and dream about gear to make or modify. It gives me a chance to take photos. I just plain like to explore an area. Walking makes me ready for walking. There are a multitude of reasons and they are all good. Oh, and I also like to get out at any time. Sunny, raining, warm, cold, windy, day time, night time. Doesn’t matter to me.

Now, for all its faults, and it has a few, the area I live has many wonderful spots to do that in. Hamilton and its surroundings, has the lake (Lake Ontario), and the cliff (Niagara Escarpment). It’s a beautiful area and there are many paths and trails of various descriptions, forested areas, parks, waterfalls, scenic views, wildlife. Yet it is within a major metropolitan area. I can easily take a bus or a taxi out to an area and walk back. On bike there are many trails and designated routes to take out to areas to explore. If I wanted to use a car or go in a car, there are places to park and explore from there. If I was in a boat or a canoe or kayak, I could access interesting areas. It’s never that hard to find a quiet, secluded spots, that offers a wonderful respite from the hustle and bustle of life in a city. I’ve featured many of them on here.

But what always strikes me is how relatively few people I ever encounter. It can be the most gorgeous day, perfect temps, smells wonderful, animals flitting about, things to see, water falls to pass by, perfect network of routes for people to follow and explore.

And I almost always only ever encounter a handful of people. A woman walking her dog, a trail runner, a mother and father and their two young kids, a young couple walking a dog, maybe a couple with a child carrier on their back, someone out on a bike, another trail runner.

And that’s it.

Several hours in a wonderful natural area, lots of trees, meadows with flowers, open areas with birds circling overhead, views of the Escarpment, views out over bodies of water. And all I encounter are a small number of other people.
 
I have seen as few as two and as many as a few dozen in a lot of accessible trails and natural areas. There are roads nearby that could facilitate drop off and pick up. Buses will drop you off not far away. Cell phone coverage is a given in any area. But few people seem to take advantage of the tremendous recreational possibilities within a 15 minute drive of where I live. It’s a free activity, it has health benefits, it’s easily accessible. But over many years of walking I have taken note of how few people are ever out beyond the pavement.

Not that I mind having the place largely to myself, but it does freak me out a little. Largely because I’ll bet good money the shopping centre parking lots are jammed.

The past few days have been hot, the radio reporting high humidex levels, high UV ratings. Yet I went out and wandered for several hours each day in the past 10. Sometimes just for an hour, sometimes for many hours. Sometimes with a purpose, other times just to meander with no plan at all. I wandered through both sun and moon lit parks and golf courses and cemeteries, and along trails and roads of varying descriptions. I didn’t find it that unpleasantly hot at all, the bugs were very tolerable, the days are long, the moon was out making it very bright even after the sun set.

On Canada Day I went to the same spot I went last year. It is not that accessible, but it is certainly not that inaccessible either. There were a few boats anchored off shore, but I was the only person on land. I sat on my own little stretch of beach, surrounded by trees and bushes, looked out over the water, had a little fire, had a wonderful dinner, had some aperitifs, watched the fireworks, lounged around for a while longer, packed up and wandered home through the trails and cemeteries, and quiet streets and alleyways.

People are often shocked when I tell them about my nocturnal adventures. “Aren’t you scared?” they’ll ask me in hushed tones. “Of what?” Granted I’m the scariest thing out there, but the truth is, there is no one out there. I rarely ever encounter people at night, even in urban areas. I actually feel much safer in the dark. And it’s also just cooler and quieter. And I also really like using my night vision. Humans actually have surprisingly good night vision, if they just let their eyes adjust. It’s a skill I suppose like any other, but it’s one I have practiced for a long time, and I have learned to become competent at it.

Again, I don’t really mind that I often seem to be one of the few out there. But I have also been observing how it ties in to how utterly disconnected from the natural world so many people are. They hear one mosquito buzz around, and they scurry inside because ”they’re being eaten alive out here.” A few drops of rain, and they have to scurry inside because “they’re getting soaked out here.” The temperature requires putting another top on, and they scurry inside because “they’re freezing to death out here.” They feel a drop of sweat on their brow and they have to scurry inside because “they’re broiling to death out here.” Dusk approaches and all the lights have to be turned on because “they can’t see anything out here.” They walk a kilometer, and they have to scurry inside because “they’re exhausted.” It doesn’t take much to constitute an extreme these days for many people.

Reflections on walking

I have a suspicion that most people envision sitting cross legged on the floor when you mention meditation. but there is a long history in various eastern religious and spiritual practices of walking meditation. I find walking a very meditative act. Besides the getting me around, and the exercise aspect of it, I just find it a great way to get the creative juices flowing and also just to clear my head of negative energy. And while I enjoy the company of others, I’m perfectly content to walk by myself.

I went for years not having a camera (alas, so many missed opportunities). Back then I seemed to enjoy the aspect of covering as much ground in as short a time as I could. Now I find myself meandering a lot more, doing a lot of goofing off with a camera, and the distances covered aren’t as much as they once were. Or maybe I’m getting old and slowing down. Either way, it’s all good. Whether I enjoy the activity for the sake of the activity, or enjoy a fun hobby along the way, I’m engaged in something I enjoy. And in a way, the photography compels me to get out more, and it also compels me to go places I may not have been before.

I suppose another reason why I prefer to do any sort of spiritual fine tuning or whatever you want to call it while wandering about is that I send enough time sitting behind a computer or a light table or a work bench or on a train. I really value any and all opportunity to be on my feet, propelling myself forwards, either aimlessly or towards some destination.

Another aspect I enjoy so much is that you are bound to see and hear and smell and just plain sense many more phenomena than you ever will in a wheeled vehicle. The scope and depth of the sounds of nature that I hear when walking around is amazing. Coming up on scenes that anyone in a car would whiz right past makes me happy. 

It seems hard for some people to fathom, but humanity spread from the center of Africa all the way out to Australia and Tierra Del Fuego. We’re designed to walk. I recall reading a quote by Herzog once where he said that we’ve been estranged from something essential, which is travelling on foot, and leading a nomadic life.

I often receive a stunned reaction when I tell people I just walked 30 kilometers. Why? Are we all really so estranged from this vital and most human activity that they can’t imagine walking a distance like that?

 I hope that if I live to an old age that walking remains a cherished and essential part of it right up until the very end.