Whilst Sue tried to rediscover her ‘ski legs’ down by the river (we’ll know more about the after effects tomorrow), Helen and I drove up to Kingsmere for a regulation 16km ‘potter’ to Champlain Lookout and back in around 3 hours.
We headed first up to Wattsford’s Lookout.
In 1921 Captain Gerald Wattsford, a veteran of the Boer War, purchased 100 acres of land just below this point. The 13-bedroom house (Kingsmere Lodge) with private golf course and tennis court that he built must have had a short but colourful existence, as by 1948 the land had been bought by the Federal District Commission. The house no longer exists.
Trail 30 soon joins trail 1 – Ridge Road – and heads off towards Keogan Cabin.
Today was warm (only minus 7C), so despite the cloud the trails were quite busy. Continuing past Keogan and Shilly Shally cabins, and on up the Khyber Pass, we reached the viewpoint known as Champlain Lookout. Haze, as well as low cloud, limited our view today.
We adjourned to Huron Cabin, a busy place today, for lunch – courtesy of the roaring stove on which to toast our sandwiches, then down Champlain and Fortune Parkways to Gossips’ Corner.
The return along Ridge Road and trail 30 to P7 car park made for a pleasant conclusion to this three hour excursion, especially as I encountered some lads who claimed to admire my technique in descending the hill with the Ridge Road/Trail 30 junction that they had failed to negotiate without getting covered in snow.
That’s a first!
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