09:00 – 22:00
Start: 09:00
Roads: Dry / Clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +25C
Area: Elora, Ontario
Vehicle: Black Toyota Matrix
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Trail Conditions: Damp from rain
Hikers: Wolf, Tori, Brian
Plan: Spend a Week Camping in Elora
GPS: 43 40.50N by 80 26.97W
200806-23: We woke up early around 07:00hrs and Brian arrived around 08:00hrs and we loaded his Toyota Matrix more full than it had ever been, full of tents, sleeping bags, food, and other camp gear we'd need over the week. We left the dogs at home with me mum so we could have a week without them. We arrived at the campsite around 10:00 and set-up our tents and then head into Elora to buy a few food supplies. With my back still very sore from the injuries of last week at camp, We went on a bit of a slow hike around the gorge and got some great photographs. After the short hike we went back to camp and Tori massaged my back for a while, and we made a nice campfire, sat around and talked the night away. We headed to bed around 23:00hrs
200806-24: We got up around 09:00hrs and headed into Elora for Brian to get some supplies for himself, then went back to the campsite and decided to go on the tube ride. It was a blast going through the rapids barefoot with just a shorts, a lifejacket and innertube! We had a wild time, followed by some easy floating to the end. The scenery in the gorge was phenomenal. There were a few rough spots in the gorge, and both Brian and I fell out of our tubes at one point but none of us got any serious injuries, but it sure didn't help my sore back. After the tube ride we returned the tubes to the rental place and went back to camp and relaxed for the rest of the evening and exchanged stories and ate marshmallows and hot dogs cooked over the campfire. We went to bed around 22:30hrs
200806-25: We woke up and relaxed for a bit and went to head out to renew our campsite for the rest of the week. Unfortunately Brian's car had picked up a nail or something and had a flat tyre on the rear drivers side. We limped into town and got it repaired at a local shop, then Brian went into town to buy some more supplies for himself and Tori and I explored some of the little shops in the area who were all barefoot friendly. We bought a few small things like a dragonfly necklace for me at a store called "Jammed Lovely". We also visited a very cool Japanese Tea Shop. After our visit to town we had a quick lunch and then went out for a hike around the gorge itself. We'd been on the hike before, but with my back still troubling me, we took our time to poke around and relax and grab some great photographs. We also met a very cool tattooed couple. The girl had full bangs and blue streaks in her hair, but the rest of her head was shaved! After our long hike we headed back to the campsite to have dinner of roasted hot dogs and marshmallows as well as some freeze-dried camp food. We relaxed by the fire and headed to bed around 23:00hrs.
200806-26: We woke up around 09:30hrs and decided since it had been 4 days, we really need to seek our some showers. A quick drive to the shower facilities made us realise that even at $27.00 per night, the showers were PAY showers! We decided to not shower here and try to go out and find some hiking trails. We ended up finding Ontario's last covered bridge just outside of Elora, as well as a few parks, but no real trails to enjoy. We went back to camp and sat around enjoying the solitude as we were the only ones in the area at the time. I had a chance to rest my back and read Tom Browns Guide to Living With The Earth – a book on bringing spirituality to survivalism, and listen to my iPod. As night came upon us we had a fire and had freeze-dried food for supper then headed to bed around 23:00hrs
200806-27: We decided as there was not much in the way of hiking in this area, we'd pack up and head home. We packed up all our gear, cleaned up the campsite as well as cleaned some of the rubbish left there by previous visitors which included a damaged barbecue unit which we put into the dumpster. We took one last check of the camp to ensure we had not forgotten anything and left camp around 10:00hrs and arrived home in a little more than an hour and a half with Brian at the helm.
It would have been a much more enjoyable week had my back not been still troubling me since camp, at some points I could not properly stand. The hard ground under the tent was a big help in straightening it out. It would have also been a much better trip had there been some hiking trails more readily available to us. The first thing we did after unpacking all our gear from Brians car was go and shower.
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