Urban Wilderness!

[Lone Primate]

It occurs to me, too, how thoroughly The Maple Leaf Forever has vanished from the public space of the country. For my dad, it was "the national anthem" (though not for my mother; she's from Quebec) back in the 40s and 50s. But I didn't hear it until I was in high school. Sometime in the space in between, the song pretty much vanished. I think we can put that down to the original words. Glorying in Britain is not really what this country's been about in my lifetime.

I like the new words, though; the ones that Anne Murray sang at the last game at Maple Leaf Gardens. I'd love to see that version and its inclusive sentiments take on new life, maybe as our flag anthem (yesterday was Flag Day, folks! 47th anniversary of the "new" flag).

 

[EVCco]

fantastic, EVCco, what a monstrously large hike, i'm guessing at least five or six hours, because i've been up and down that entire stretch myself although never all in the same day!!

going up the west don river on the east side is actually pretty easy, the west side is a lot more challenging, and a better representative of "urban wilderness"

the chain basket you showed under the hiscott bridge is the target for hole #6 on the 18-hole frisbee golf course laid in last summer in e.t.seton, which i play often (e.g. http://rudy.ca/frisbee-golf-in-the-snow.html -- similar "horse and rider only" photo)

Actually, I think it only took about 4 hours or so. There's footpaths pretty much the whole way, so I wasn't held up with any bushwhacking.

Good to know what the chain baskets are. I figured they were something frisbee-related...either that or very poorly designed waste bins!

Imagine some douche tagging a memorial like that one to Alexander Muir. Mail boxes and factory walls aren't good enough for these talentless cries for attention? Seriously, those people should be tied to a tree every day for a month for eight hours for people to bring their dogs by to piss on. I think they'd quickly get the idea that there's not much difference in what they're doing.

Some guy asks you to do a mural? Different story. Mind you, the second the paint's dry, some artless, no-talent "tagger" will come along...

Life in the big city I guess. Or anywhere these days, unfortunately.
At least they were kind enough to tag both sides so as to maintain a sense of symmetry...

 

[Goldie]

Not quite "wildnerness", however --- Highland Creek as it passes under Markham Rd. at Progress Ave.

 

[EVCco]

^ perhaps its "not quite 'wildnerness',"
but it's perfect "Urban Wilderness" - just as this thread intended!

speaking of which...


Etobicoke Creek - western wander, part 1

Having covered Scarborough, Toronto, North York, and East York in my last few excursions, I felt it was high time to head back west. So I headed as far west as a single TTC token allowed; to Marie Curtis Park and the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek, from whence I then treked north:

Under the bridge which bridges Lake Shore Boulevard West in Toronto with Lakeshore Road East in Mississauga; and on into Maurice J. Breen Park:

Unfinished trails, flooding, and coyotes?! Apparently the path headed into Enfield Park may be the most dangerous one in the city! Nevertheless, I venture on:

Into Etobicoke Valley Park now, along the "Alderwood Interpretive Trail":

Somewhere under the QEW I shoot the 1,000th photo of my Panoramio account:

Out into the Sherway Drive area:

Islands in the stream:

Through the Queensway into Terra Innomina:

For those wondering where "The Fag Tent" is, it's right across from the frozen waterfall:

Here, in the middle of a deep, dark woods, it would appear that a 6 year old girl exploded. Perhaps she was hit by the entire car (or remnants thereof) I found out there a bit further on. In fact, there's not much I didn't find in this filthy wilderness dumping ground:

Past Dundas Street and into Markland Woods, where the creek forks into the next leg of my journey:

 

[r937]

wow, another fascinating journey, nice job, evcco

do you plan these excursions in advance?

i want to come with...

 

[EVCco]

Renforth Creek - western wander, part 2

The Renforth Creek breaks off from the Etobicoke at the eastern end of Markland Wood Country Club, and from there heads north into Neilson Park - and thus, so do I:

North of Bloor West into Bloordale Park South:

Under Toledo Road into Bloordale Park North:

Further north, through Burnhamthorpe Road, both new and Old:

A tiny bridge at a tiny intersection - the Renforth forks, and I head first up the left prong to Rathburn Road:

Back to the right fork, where I head past Rathburn into Centennial Park:

The creek opens up into a series of ponds, yet narrows in between, at points, to less than a foot wide:

Through another frisbee-golf course where, at last, the creek empties into a vast marsh:

So r937, what's your guess on how long this one took?

 

[RichA]

Interesting seeing the debris fields from the flooding of a few years back

wow, another fascinating journey, nice job, evcco

do you plan these excursions in advance?

i want to come with...

I obtained some decent shots and video of the "Lover's Bridge" at Edward's Gardens collapsing and floating away.

 

[r937]

So r937, what's your guess on how long this one took?

everything today, starting at the lake?

6 hours

 

[EVCco]

I timed this one out exactly...
A mere 4 hours, 56 minutes, and 41 seconds from the first photo to the last.

Taking into account subway/bus travel, however, the whole trip was closer to 8 hours!

 

[EVCco]

In answer to your question above, I don't really plan these excursions. I basically just wait until my knees stop clicking and the blisters on my feet have healed from the last adventure, then, whenever the mood strikes me, and if the weather seems to be cooperating, I just head out; usually deciding where to go that morning, as I did yesterday...



Spadina Parkway - express trip

I had actually planned on doing the rest of the Sauriol Conservation Area, then perhaps heading up the Deerlick Creek. But, at the last minute, I felt this week I should take a break from my customary 4-5 hour slogs through the middle of nowhere, and opted for a shorter, more civilised trip - down the old proposed route of the Spadina Expressway, starting at Eglinton West station and heading south down Everden Road:

Crossing Ava Road I enter Cedarvale Park:

Lest one get the impression that the Urban Wilderness thread is only about following Toronto's rivers and creeks, I also chose this trek for the purpose of showcasing some of the city's non-riparian landscapes. Nevertheless, I discover that a little stream flows here too - one which seemingly eminates out of someone's backyard:

We travel back in time now, to a couple of pictures of the Glen Cedar bridge that I took in 2006, at the height of my pedestrian bridge photography phase:

Back to 2012:

Under Bathurst Street and we're transported back in time again, from 2012 to 2003, and from the brown, bare winter to the budding green of spring:

Past Relmar Gardens and its February once again:

A little matter of Tichester Road and St. Michael's College breaks the Wilderness for a block or so:

Over St. Clair Ave and the wilderness resumes in the Nordheimer Ravine:

As I had anticipated this trip to be a rather quick and easy one, I decided to don some nicer clothes than my usual wilderness-wear. So, naturally, around this point I trip and slide down the ravine, covering my pants and jacket with mud. Well, at least I got to the bottom quickly and easily:

I finally reach Spadina Road, where the expressway was to head south. But the wilderness continues southeast, into Winston Churchill Park, so I head on through:

I traverse Churchill Park, past a number of notable structures, to the end of the line in Roycroft Park at Boulton Drive:

Here I stop and ponder whether to head a few blocks east and loop back to where I began via the Belt Line Trail. But I decide to save it for another day and I head back home to do some laundry...

 

[Northern Light]

Hi EVCco,

Want to say thanks for your documentary work, great pics.

Also wanted to give you some info, since i work on restoring the wilderness you document...

Cedarvale Park (and ravine) is indeed riparian....or was..... In preparation for the southerly extension of the Allen Road/Spadina Expressway, the creek there was buried.

That's Castlefrank Creek (yes as in the subway station)

It flowed south-east through to what is now Ramsden Park ( a former quarry), then on to Rosedale Valley, roughly where the road of the same name is today, before emptying into the Don River, below where 'Castle Frank' was once located (now Rosedale School for the Arts)

To see the whole route of the creek, follow this link to the Lost Rivers website.

http://www.lostrivers.ca/castllfrankbrook.htm

 

[EVCco]

Thank you Northern Light, what a great site! I'm going to start consulting it for my trips in these areas from now on. I'm already reorganizing some of my previous pictures accordingly...

I'll have to head back to the Yellow Creek area soon: http://www.lostrivers.ca/Warch2005.htm
I've never seen a deer in the city before! The most exotic wildlife I've come across so far is a few foxes and rabbits.

 

[r937]

evcco, you're not familiar with the lost rivers site? isn't it fabulous? i've been up and down every one of those creeks -- but not yet an entire one in a single day!

not being an arborist, i find myself skipping over the occasional lengthy asides about tree species, but the historical information in lostrivers.ca is interesting, and the maps of the waterways are invaluable

mind you, traversing the route of a lost creek in the city requires frequent "go-arounds" -- here's a shot taken this past sunday of mud creek from lytton park, looking southeast --

as for deer, i've seen (and got pictures of) two -- one in mount pleasant cemetery, not a hundred yards from where i live on bayview

 

[EVCco]

Great pic! I wish I was familiar with the lost rivers site before. I've been navigating all this time with an old MapArt street map, which leaves a bit to be desired in the waterways department. On my last trip, along the Etobicoke, the map didn't even show the Little Etobicoke Creek, which left me quite confused when I came across it! I thought I'd reached the Renforth Creek much earler than expected...

 

[r937]

it's unfortunate that the lostrivers site covers only the tributaries of the (west) don, and a few creeks through downtown

i'd love to see updates for the humber