Urban Wilderness!

[EVCco]

Warden Utility Corridor - cooking with gas

An obstinately long golfing season has, thus far, delayed my aforementioned plans to "pick up on my Missing Links series." So I've been looking elsewhere for places to meander in the meantime; and, with pipelines being so much in the news lately - from the Keystone and Kinder Morgan pipelines out west, to the Line 9 controversy here at home - I figured a tour of some local utility line might be somewhat apropos. Of course, I've already toured (in whole, or in part) a number of these during previous trips as oil and gas lines tend to piggyback on various existing natural and man-made corridors (Line 9, in fact, follows the course of the Finch hydro corridor which I just finished exploring). The one I'm touring today, however, is a bit different in that, although it does share portions of its route with both hydro lines and brief stretches of the Highland and Taylor-Massey creeks, for large parts of its run it serves as nothing but a natural gas line.

You will notice this line on most maps of the city as a thin strip of largely vacant land running north/south between Warden and Pharmacy avenues. I've been unable to ascertain any official name or number for this particular corridor, apart from northern half apparently forming the southern end of "Segment B" in Enbridge's current GTA Project (http://enbridgegasgtaproject.com). Therefore, since this post needs a title, I've taken the liberty of designating this stretch the "Warden Utility Corridor" as the line seems to run ever-so-slightly closer to Warden than Pharmacy, and Warden being ever-so-slightly the more prominent thoroughfare. So, with that, let's begin heading south from Steeles Avenue where the corridor shares space not only with a short hydro line, but also with the grounds of both Bamburgh and Huntsmill parks:

The hydro towers terminate at the Finch Corridor, but the gas line continues on through an alley of residential rear-ends:

Pressing on south of Huntingwood Drive, through Bridlewood and Vradenberg parks, only to reach a dead-end at the 401:

A new hydro line joins the corridor on the other side of the highway, and follows the gas line between more domestic back-sides to Lawrence Avenue East:

The last leg of the journey finds me winding-up in Wexford, but both the gas and hydro lines continue along familiar grounds through the Gatineau Corridor:

 

[adma]

The one I'm touring today, however, is a bit different in that, although it does share portions of its route with both hydro lines and brief stretches of the Highland and Taylor-Massey creeks, for large parts of its run it serves as nothing but a natural gas line.

Actually, I think the whole route was hydro-corridor once upon a time, until much of the land was released for subdivision in, I don't know, the past two or three decades or so--you can tell by the relative newness of the houses that back onto the just-plain-gas-line...

 

[Anna]

Actually, I think the whole route was hydro-corridor once upon a time, until much of the land was released for subdivision in, I don't know, the past two or three decades or so--you can tell by the relative newness of the houses that back onto the just-plain-gas-line...

Yes it was. The hydro corridor was sold off about 15 years ago.

 

[EVCco]

^ Thanks for the clarification guys - I probably should have wrote "large parts of its run now serve as nothing but a natural gas line." There should be little confusion about the past or present utility of this next line, though...


Etobicoke Corridor - continuity issues, pt. 1

The "Missing Links" remain on hold (although I did manage to cover one during the course of compiling this installment), so it's another hydro corridor for this week/month. Indeed, as these installments have been coming in on more of a monthly basis, as of late, I decided to choose a subject that I felt I could knock off in relatively quick succession after my last post. But, the best laid plans of mice and meanderers...

The Etobicoke Hydro Corridor looked, at least on paper, roughly the same length as the Warden Corridor, which I managed to cover in only a day. However, due to certain circumstances - both inherent and external - the Etobicoke Corridor took 3 trips to complete, not including a few supplemental stopgap images from other trips previous to that! The whole resulting mishmash makes for a pair of posts that I couldn't possibly hope to pass-off as a single trek, even if I wanted to. So please ignore the occasional dramatic shift in seasons as we head up another hydro line, starting from the Manby Transmission Station, just south of the Kipling GO Station:

From Kipling Station the corridor runs east of Ashbourne Drive to the Mimico Creek:

A little north of the Mimico's diagonal cut, and Rathburn Road's horizontal crossing, the line takes a slight bend towards the west and eventually meets a vertical intersection with Martin Grove Road:

Past Eglinton one encounters a tiny orphan stream, presumably estranged from the aforementioned Mimico:

Still further north I run up against the mighty 401, requiring either a significant detour in order to continue, or merely a modest return to try another day...:

 

[EVCco]

Etobicoke Corridor - continuity issues, pt. 2

...A week later and I'm back. Now across the 401 - and past the Richview Transmission Station - where, not only does the weather/atmosphere seem to change (a few times, actually), but so do the hydro towers themselves; switching over from the standard double circuit lattice towers to a series of multi-tiered H-frame structures. Despite these architectural differences, the charge passing between them apparently hasn't changed (at least, according to the transmission line map that I've been consulting), remaining at 230kV. On the ground, however, a certain modulation is now quite palpable. As I get underneath the towers in my faintly damp jeans (coming, as I just had, from a shoot at a nearby "link") I begin to notice a slight irritation on my legs around the tops of my insulated rubber boots. At first its merely a mild itching sensation... Then more of a tingling... Suddenly it feels like my calves are being jabbed with a million microscopic fire-tipped needles! It's not until I remove myself from under the wires that I wise up to the situation. From here on out I'm forced to give the corridor a much wider berth, as I navigate the vast industrial jungle either side of the 409:

The circuitous route now imposed on me by those circuits overhead, together with my extracurricular excursion earlier in the day, conspires to cut my walk short, once again, at the banks of the West Humber River:

Attempt #3, though, finds the wires much more friendly, and I'm able to press on from the West Humber to Albion Road in a rather more direct manner:

Hydroelectricity meets old-fashioned hydrology as the ground gets a little marshy between Albion Road and the Albion Creek, eventually breaking out into yet another orphan stream:

In the final stretch, past Albion Creek, the line reverts back to those familiar lattice towers, under which I'm lucky enough to find a #46 bus waiting for me at the Steeles Avenue terminal to take me home:

 

[EVCco]

Here and There - missing links, pt. 2

Well, it took the dawning of a new year, but I'm finally able to deliver another installment of the "missing links" series, in which I attempt to correct certain lacunae in my coverage of the city's waterways; filling-in a few blanks spaces that resulted from an assortment of inconveniently placed golf courses on previous trips. We begin this episode all the way back in 2014 at the Mimico Creek, following as it heads from Skyway Avenue to Dixon Road, through the southern half of the Royal Woodbine Golf Club (the northern half having already been covered exactly 2 years ago to the day!):

Now in 2015, I find myself back at nearly the same stretch of the West Don River that I also found myself at nearly 1 year ago - only this time I'm tracking its trail through the exclusive Rosedale Golf Club, south to north, from Lawrence Park to Hogg's Hollow:

A few days later and I'm at the Black Creek, covering its run through the Oakdale Golf & Country Club, west from Jane Street then south towards Chalkfarm Park. No coincidental anniversary to celebrate this time, only the closing of a longstanding gap dating back to April of 2012:

3 more links to come, sometime in the near future...

 

[EVCco]

Here and There - missing links, pt. 3

I know I've said this a few times here before, but I think now, with this post, I can finally claim to have walked every foot of every little blue squiggle that one can find on either Google Maps or any MapArt street map of the city...for whatever that's worth. And though this boast will surely be proven premature once again, humour me just one more time as I head off to 3 final fairways, beginning back at the Mimico Creek where I traverse the Islington Golf Club, from Kipling Avenue to Dundas Street West:

My next stop brings me to a Y-shaped segment of stream off the Humber River, contained entirely within the Weston Golf & Country Club. It's appendages extend to Lemsford Road, Golfwood Heights, and the nearby CN Rail line respectively; making barely an impression as it winds through the snow-covered greens:

Fittingly, I end things off where it all began, at the site of my very first Urban Wilderness trek - the Black Creek. In that inaugural post, some 3-and-a-half years ago, I showed where the creek both entered and exited the Lambton Golf & Country Club, but failed to navigate any of the in-between. Frankly, at that point, I hadn't any intention of ever doing so. Nor had I any plans to visit more than few stretches of interest along a handful of local waterways. But then, somewhere in all this in-between, caught in the flow of time and carried along by the current of obsession, I found myself 3-and-a-half years older (one could argue the same many wiser) and returning to close the circle; to tread west from Scarlett Road to the Humber:

 

[Promagstyle]

Not to sure where to put this, because I did not find a matching thread. Please move if there is a more suitable thread.

*I don't recommend the activities below, because "Anytime is Train Time." It may look like the line is not functional, but I have seen hi-rail vehicles and occasionally CP Rail Police from Leaside on the tracks.

http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=3&threadid=116645

 

[r937]

Not to sure where to put this, because I did not find a matching thread. Please move if there is a more suitable thread.

*I don't recommend the activities below, because "Anytime is Train Time." It may look like the line is not functional, but I have seen hi-rail vehicles and occasionally CP Rail Police from Leaside on the tracks.

http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=3&threadid=116645

let me put this completely to rest -- that line is completely abandoned (although it remains in metrolinx's inventory of possible future assets for, oh, i dunno, an LRT, or a linear park...)

the last train along the don branch was CP's "holiday train" in 2007, and the connection to the CP mainline has since been completely severed (as anyone would know who has walked the line recently)

check out this article from 2010 -- http://torontoist.com/2010/09/don_rail_branch_stays_gold/

 

[Promagstyle]

let me put this completely to rest -- that line is completely abandoned (although it remains in metrolinx's inventory of possible future assets for, oh, i dunno, an LRT, or a linear park...)

the last train along the don branch was CP's "holiday train" in 2007, and the connection to the CP mainline has since been completely severed (as anyone would know who has walked the line recently)

check out this article from 2010 -- http://torontoist.com/2010/09/don_rail_branch_stays_gold/

Yeah, its severed at Leaside, but its still connected down at the Union Station Corridor.

 

[EVCco]

For anyone interested - although the UT blog function has apparently been disabled now, all of the Urban Wilderness entries have been archived here:

https://web.archive.org/web/2015021...ronto.ca/forum/blog.php/7509-Urban-Wilderness

Unfortunately most of the links don't work, so in order to view a specific page you'll have to use the Wayback Machine search bar by entering the following URLs:

http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/blog.php/7509-Urban-Wilderness/page1
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/blog.php/7509-Urban-Wilderness/page2
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/blog.php/7509-Urban-Wilderness/page3
etc...

 

[Armour]

Winner of The Great Toronto Tree Hunt

• Dawn Redwood in Edwards Gardens
• NOMINATOR: Jason Ramsay-Brown
• NEAREST MAJOR INTERSECTION TO THE TREE OR NAME OF PARK: Edwards Gardens / Toronto Botanical Garden
• NOMINATION CATEGORY: Uniqueness
• BRIEF STORY: Metasequoia (dawn redwood) are one of the few deciduous conifers, and very rare in Toronto. They are often referred to as "living fossils" as the species was first cataloged by palaeobotanists in 1941 and was believed to be extinct until living specimens were identified in China a few years later. This one, which can be found in Edwards Gardens near the Children's Centre and Teaching Garden, is believed to be one of the oldest standing in Toronto. It is said to have been planted in 1960, on a site chosen to ensure it would would be bathed in the early morning sunlight on June 20 each year, the birthday of the wife of the gardener who planted it.

 

[Armour]

Toronto's Rivers of Life: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/06/20/torontos-rivers-of-life.html

 

[EVCco]

I finally got around to making a proper mirror/archive of the old blog:
http://evcco.blogspot.ca

...and trip directory, with working links again:
http://urbanwilderness.yuku.com/topic/2

Hopefully I'll get around to doing some new trips again, possibly come springtime.
Keep checking here, or at the above links...

 

[philmar]

Ice storm 2013: The Kay Gardner Belt Line trail closed by Phil Marion, on Flickr

ducks on The Don by Phil Marion, on Flickr

Red dragonfly by Phil Marion, on Flickr

duck in Riverdale Zoo pond by Phil Marion, on Flickr

Toronto Belt Line after a snowfall by Phil Marion, on Flickr