Day 3: St Jacobs Market to Wilmot Line

 My plan for the day was actually to leave where I left off at the St Jacobs Market, go beyond Wilmot line and through Schneider's Bush and Musselman Woods, then beyond -- all the way to the Nith.

It was a nice surprise to find that the Market was open on Canada Day. I was not expecting that.




The Avon Path shown in ONDAGO took me right through some obviously private property, through some dude's farm, past their barn and down a lane. And then apparently I was supposed to walk through their field of soybeans! There was no path there, and I was quite uncomfortable with the idea of trespassing right through the middle of a crop. Maybe the Avon Trail organizers have permission from the farmer to do this, but it seemed pretty uncool to me. If there's going to be a trail then there should actually be a Trail, that doesn't involved trampling someone's crop.

Instead of following ONDAGO precisely, I kept going straight on to Benjamin Road, and then hung a left on Westmount. 

Then the trail skirts the perimeter of Laurel Creek Conservation Area, followed by a most gruesome uphill stretch. Ugh

Then it was a decent trek through Columbia Forest, though in spots it was quite dense with mosquitoes. I got disoriented and ended up on a parallel trail, not quite following the precise path of the Avon according to the ONDAGO app. But I did eventually rejoin the Avon after a little detour through some mountain biking trails... I'm giving myself credit for this one, I'm not going to go back and re-do that section of trail.







When I got to the Entrance of Schneider Woods at Wilmot Line, I was SWARMED by hundreds of mosquitoes, joined by black flies and deer flies, attacking faster than I could swat them away. It was truly ridiculous. I had sunscreen but I didn't think to pack any insect repellent. Dumb move.

Then a DEER TICK landed on my arm, and I was like FUCK THIS and booked it back to the road.


No trail is worth getting Lyme disease. I'll come back and try this stretch of the trail after the first frost. 

  


Here is the point where I stopped, so I know where I need to pick up the trail.



To get back to my car, instead of going through the forest again I took the more direct route down Wilmot Line to Conservation Drive, hung a right straight back to the market district. 

Here is a summary of how much Avon I've completed:



On the scale of the entire trail:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1: HVT from University Ave to Arthur st

Image
March 24, 2025 First trek on the Avon Trail with the goal of covering the entire thing in one calendar year. This is a familiar section of the trail, called the Health Valley trail, which I have hiked many times -- but I usually stop at the bridge and come back. This time I continued on until Arthur st. There is still ice on the Conestoga river, and giant slabs of ice on the shore. Though it's a cool day, the sun is hot and everything is dripping and melty. Most of the trail is still covered in snow, sometimes up to ankle deep.
Read more

Day 2: Conestogo to HVT, and HVT to St Jacobs Market

Image
 Day 2: 2025-05-30 Filled in gaps not travelled on Day 1. Starting at the trail head in Conestogo, covered the distance to the entry point for the Health Valley Trail on University Ave. That is where I started hiking on Day 1. Then I continued on main roads all the way to St Jacobs, where I hooked back up with the Avon at Arthur st -- where I left off on Day 1. Then continued down the Avon Trail to King st. So now I have covered the Avon Trail from its start up to the intersection of King and Farmers Market Road. Next time I tackle a section, I can start at the Farmer's Market, maybe parking at the Value Village or Walmart.  Total today: 23.8km Achieved my goal, and did a little extra distance too by looping through downtown St Jacobs Thus far I have done from points A to B on the big map. There is still such an incredibly long way to go. It's daunting to do this alone because with each section of trail I have to travel it twice -- once in each direction -- so I can get back t...
Read more