Urban Wilderness!

[EVCco]

Silver Creek - twin creeks: flurry walk with me, pt. 1

Inclement weather and a sore foot kept me off the trails last week, so I figured it was time for another double-header this time around. Off to Etobicoke then, to tackle a pair of creeks which sprout northwest from the Humber River on either side of Eglinton Avenue, beginning with Silver Creek - the one south of Eglinton - which meets the Humber on the border between James Gardens and Scarlett Mills Park:

Quickly through Edenbridge Drive and I'm out into the (mostly) unclaimed strip of land between Valecrest and North Drive:

Right before heading under Royal York Road I once again spot a deer, off in the distance on the other side of the creek. Having failed to capture a pic the last couple of times I've come across one, I thought I'd give my camera's primitive zoom function a try and see what I could get. Well, perhaps it's best I didn't get a nice tight shot here, as the deer was rather lustily evacuating itself at the time:

A brief trek through the brief Edenbrook Park:

Over the bridge now and into St. George's Country Club where the creek ends not in Silver Creek Park (where you'd expect it once did), but just south of Eglinton, by which I traverse back to my next creek:

 

[EVCco]

Humber Creek - twin creeks: flurry walk with me, pt. 2

The second creek of the day seems to go (or have gone by) a number of different names - Chapman Creek, Sturgeon Creek, and the Little Humber being three of them that I could find. The most prevalent, however, seems to be Humber Creek, so that's what I'll go by here. Whatever you may choose to call it though, as it turns out, I actually already covered a short portion of it running from Scarlett Road to the Humber River on a previous journey; so let's not waste any time in coming through the other side of Scarlett and into Chapman Valley Park:

Somewhere along the way - let's say here - Chapman Valley Park becomes Weston Wood Park:

Under three streets in quick succession now - Brittany Court, Royal York Road, and The Westway:

Past Sanctuary Cemetery and into Alex Marchetti Park, with its own series of three bridges:

The bridge-ness business continues under Islington Avenue:

Past Islington the creek takes an upturn as it bends around the Briarcrest Manor apartment complex:

Under we go again - though not beneath a street this time - but under the apartment complex itself:

Out into Wincott Park, where the Humber Creek produces a pond...:

...then continues on toward Wincott Drive:

One last, little push through Wincott before terminating just shy of Dixon Road:

 

[r937]

fascinating stories, evcco, i especially liked the "rather lustily" description...

the last creek, where you ended your journey, is where i lived in 1954 --

the creek was barely a yard across, but it did have little fishies in it, i remember trying to catch one with a piece of bread on a safety pin on a string! (i was only 5 at the time)

the aerial photo is from http://library.mcmaster.ca/maps/airphotos/zoom/1954-1955_436793.htm and apparently someone traced the course of the creeks onto the maps -- you can see that the creek continued north, across dixon road, kipling, the 401, and almost to martin grove at the GO tracks

there are many more of these photos of southern Ontario at http://library.mcmaster.ca/maps/airphotos/1954_55.htm

 

[EVCco]

Well, how about that!

Talk about an area changing in your lifetime...
Dixon is pretty much a concrete jungle at this point. It's hard to imagine it as a place for farms and cottages today.
I take it you also didn't have jumbo jets flying over head every 5 minutes to Pearson. Was there much traffic to Malton Airport at the time?

Also, did the creek go by any of the names I mentioned back then that you can recall, or was it just simply "the creek"?

 

[r937]

I take it you also didn't have jumbo jets flying over head every 5 minutes to Pearson. Was there much traffic to Malton Airport at the time?

i don't recall airplane traffic there at all, and of course as a 5-year-old i wasn't aware of any creek names

a few years later (1957-1961) we lived near martin grove and richview side road (now eglinton) and i do recall the avro arrow flying over a couple times...

 

[EVCco]

German Mills Creek - double double, pt. 1

It's a day after the great snowfall of '13 and, for the second week in a row, I'm out to tackle 2 streams at once - going for that rare double double. This time up in North York, along the German Mills and Duncan Woods creeks.

As some of you may remember, the last time that I followed the East Don River I took a wrong turn down the German Mills Creek, ending up somewhere in Bestview Park before realizing my mistake. Yesterday, just as I turned past the Tim Horton's in Finch subway station on my way to the bus, the thought occurred that perhaps this trip itself might be another mistake. I mean, what do all those park signs usually say about "No Winter Maintenance?" Might I be more in for double trouble, than a double double - fighting my way through waist deep snow drifts, lost (even snowblind!) with no path to follow through the frozen wastes...only to end up buried in an avalanche under some forgotten overpass?

Well, luckily, when I arrived at the East Don Parkland I was pleased to find that some intrepid early-morning skiers had already cleared a trail almost all the way through. Nevertheless, it was still pretty slow going, with snow up to my knees much of the way, as these pics will attest to:

On beyond Bestway at last, through the Pinewood-Goldenwood pedestrian bridge:

A theme begins to develop by the CN rail bridge:

Continuing east, towards Leslie Street:

A last little bit before Steeles Ave, and the final part of this half of the trek:

 

[EVCco]

Duncan Woods Creek - double double, pt. 2

So much for the sugar, now for the cream... I should probably point out that while crossing back over Steeles (to where the Duncan meets the German just to the south, in the Steeles-Leslie Greenbelt) I dinged my knee rather badly on a metal road barrier hidden in a snowbank. So now, in addition to all this snow, I also had a bit of a limp to deal with. From here on out, then, it was pretty much a matter of getting through everything as quickly and painlessly as possible, which is why I didn't take very many pictures here. To be honest, though, there isn't really a lot to take pictures of along the Duncan Woods Creek. That is, I didn't see much of interest. Of course, it could all very well just have been buried:

Further south, through Duncan Creek Park:

Trailing the coffee-coloured creek into Zircon Park:

A few finishing shots at the creek's terminus in Wellesbourne Park:

At the end of the day, then, what would have usually been about a 2 hour trek (at most) ending up taking twice as long thanks to all the snow.
Now, I'm not much of a coffee drinker myself - but after a hike like that I could certainly use a nice, warm beverage...if not two.

 

[Mustapha]

As usual, a great virtual 'walk' and fascinating and great input from r937.

 

[EVCco]

Centennial Creek - off-putting

This is another of those creeks which I've been putting off. I had always assumed, from viewing maps of the area, that covering this creek would be a bit of a nuisance. For one thing, it runs nearly its entire course through people's backyards, which, obviously, is problematic. For another, it ends its course in the vast Stevenson Swamp - an almost impenetrable marshland at the bottom of Highland Creek - which I wouldn't even attempt to access in the warmer months. Nevertheless, we can't put these things off forever. So I finally stop my procrastination, and begin this week's trek at the creek's initial outfall near Meadowvale and White Ave. Right off the bat I encounter a pond here - which I usually only tend to find near the end of my hikes. Hopefully, then, I'm not going the wrong way!:

Through Kingston Road and Highway 2a:

Pressing south to Lawson Road:

Further out into the backyards of the Centennial neighbourhood. I must say, I've never seen quite so many private bridges, from one property to another, across one creek. These folks must be mighty neighbourly. Along the way, in fact, one folk was neighbourly enough to point out where exactly his property was, and which side of the fence to stay on. Another woman yelled something I couldn't quite make-out, though I assume it was some friendly greeting or salutation of the neighbourly sort. Other than that, however, I didn't run across too many folks out here:

Briefly out of the backyards now, and behind St. Brendan Catholic School:

Another frozen underpass, through Clemes Drive. With the stalactite-like icicles, and primitive graffiti, one can almost imagine they're exploring the famous caves of Lascaux under here. Well...maybe not. Back, then, to the backyards - and more bridges than ever!:

Under Lawrence Ave, now, where I'm in for a suprise!:

The creek branches back north right under the road:

Back above ground I follow this new stream to its quick demise at Bathgate Drive:

Returning to Lawrence Ave I make a sports-themed final push through the private properties:

Into the great wide open of the Stevenson Swamp, to end at the Highland Creek:

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

Thank you again Sire!


Regards,
J T

 

[Earlscourt_Lad]

Silver Creek - twin creeks: flurry walk with me, pt. 1

I trust you didn't run into Bob...

 

[EVCco]

Gramercy, good Sir Cunningham!

I trust you didn't run into Bob...

I stayed well clear of the Black Lodge....

 

[datgtatrailsguy]

I enjoyed your jorneys as usual EVCco. Do you have a preference for when you go out? Winter, summer? I have to admit that we haven't been motivated to head out since the white stuff hit. Something about the smell of the grass and the trees that make us inspired.

 

[EVCco]

Each season definitely has its own charms. If you're interested mostly in checking out the flora & fauna, spring and summer are obviously better. But if you're just into exploring, I actually prefer winter. You can see a lot farther, and get into more off-the-beaten-path-type spots without all the foliage around. And, of course, there's no bugs to bite you every 5 seconds! Also, as much as I love the smell of grass and trees myself, on a hot, muggy, summer's day there's some pretty funky smells out there too - especially by the water...

 

[cc46]

Really enjoyed viewing this thread today.
Thanks for all of the work.