Canada Day on the Trails
Good morning friends!
How are you? First up today I’ve got a little PSA for you. It came to my attention over the weekend that my Contact Me form on the toolbar above hasn’t been working since the end of May. I made a switch to the template a little while ago and apparently that wasn’t a wise thing to do. If you’ve been trying to submit messages via that form, I really, really apologize! Things are all fixed now though, so don’t worry – your submissions are not disappearing into thin air!
Ok, now over to more exciting matters! If you’re celebrating the Canada Day long weekend, I hope you enjoyed a few extra zzz’s this morning. If not, don’t worry – I got some for you! Although sleeping in for me means lying in bed until around 7 or 8 am at the latest, I did indeed wake up nice and slowly this morning. Last night I was so tired that I nearly beat the sun to bed, and sadly, I was not awake to see any fireworks. My afternoon was spent with the lovely Ange and her hubby Eric on a hike at Websters Falls and Tews Falls, both in the Hamilton area. The weather was gorgeous and we couldn’t wait to get outside, so each of us packed some hiking fuel, lots of water, and our cameras, and hit the trails.
Fresh fruit and an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad that I threw together with heaps of spiralized zucchini – I’m addicted!
Veggies and a little Love Grown Foods granola in the best flavour, Apple Walnut!
We began at the top of Websters Falls, where we were joined by lots of other hikers and families and celebrating Canada Day.
This waterfall is located really close to two parking lots, and there are a couple of easily accessible lookout points, like the one below:
The water level was a lot lower than at other times of year, thanks to this heat wave we’ve been experiencing! The views from the top were lovely, but we wanted something a little more challenging. Ange and Eric scoped out the area a couple of weekends ago, so they were already familiar with the route we needed to take to get down to the bottom. After moving the car to another nearby lot, we hiked for about half an hour along the rocky – and in some parts, very muddy – trails.
The great thing about hiking with Ange and Eric (and their camera equipment!) is that I learn things about photography that I wouldn’t otherwise have tried out myself. For example, check out the two waterfall photos below. In the first, the water doesn’t look like it’s flowing smoothly. To do this, my camera’s shutter speed had to be on a fast setting.
In comparison, the next photo of the same waterfall was taken with a much slower shutter speed, which creates a much more continuous flow look.
Cool hey? Ok, maybe not for you, but I spent ages playing with it!
With Eric as the tripod-carrying leader of our little hiking pack, we eventually reached our destination. By this point, we were pretty hot (my car was showing 36C/97F) so we sat down for some snacks and dipped our toes in the water.
Just as Ange commented that we hadn’t seen any wildlife on our hike, this little guy appeared:
After having also seen a one on my hike of the Kelso trails a few weekends ago, I’m beginning to think I have a natural attraction to frogs! Maybe it’s a sign??
We headed back via the route we followed in towards the car, and although I didn’t feel very tired at the time, exhaustion hit me like a brick by the time I arrived back home! The night finished with a much needed shower to get the mud off of my legs, a quick dinner, and a big bowl of this:
In other news, Eat Spin Run Repeat is finally on Facebook! I know, I know, it’s about time, right? Pop on over and check out the fan page. If you click ‘Like’, you’ll soon see my daily post notifications in your news feed.
Alright, that’s all I have for you this morning! I’m off to enjoy one more day of freedom before it’s back-to-reality time, and I hope you do the same! Have a wonderful day!








Sounds like you had a great long weekend! Those photos of the waterfall are really cool – one of these days I should learn how to take better photos! My sister is actually into photograph so I have a teacher close by!
Sleeping in is 7 or 8 am for me too! Haha. Enjoy the day off!
Ooh that’s handy! I bet there are some great spots for photography in Toronto too. I wish I’d had time to take a few shots in the Distillery District this weekend but sadly it was a very quick trip. Guess I’ll just have to come back!
Enjoy your day off too Danielle!
What a beautiful hike! I know, sleeping in for us is like 7 too!
This sounds like a perfect day to me
That frog is a beautiful little guy!
How fun that you could go hiking with Angela & her husband. I’m hoping to do some hiking/camping this week & cannot wait for the fresh air & to be away from all the hustle of modern life.
I know, isn’t he cute?! I love the bright green colours on him. And agreed on the hiking – it’s so nice to get away from technology once in a while!
isn’t the weather this weekend just fantastic! we are so lucky!
what a perfect day for hiking – so glad you got to meet up with angela and eric. i haven’t hiked in that spot – looks so beautiful!
in june, i did a 30 day photography challenge so i totally appreciate your waterfall photos, comparing the differences -> that is one of the techniques i learned! i also love the waterfall photo right above the watermelon photo (at the end of your post).
enjoy the day, angela!
Thanks Cathy! Isn’t learning about photography interesting? It’s something I didn’t think I’d ever get into.. but now I’m seriously considering getting a macro lens… if only lenses didn’t cost so much! Enjoy your Monday too!
Looks like a beautiful hike!!! I miss hiking but it is just far too hot here right now (over the weekend we reached 111F… ughhhh!) Enjoy your day off today!!
oh my goodness, yes I heard about your crazy hot temps down there. Stay cool today!
Those waterfall pictures are why I need a tripod! Amazing. I love you little froggy friend too! Happy Canada Day!
What a fun day of hiking! It looks beautiful. And the waterfall pictures are really neat. Glad you enjoyed your Canada Day!
It’s beautiful there! Wow! I didn’t know it reached those temps in Canada!
Yay, you have Facebook! Just liked your page
Wow, you weren’t kidding… this place is amazing! I love that they let you go on deeper trails and actually go on the falls. Many of the parks in Alberta have that stuff gated off and ask that people don’t go near it. So lame. Sounds like you guys had a really rad day, filled with awesome eats, too. I still haven’t tried Love Grown… need to find out where I can purchase it. Out of all the flavors I’ve seen, the apple that you mentioned definitely looks the best!
The stairs to Websters Falls were apparently closed when we were there – lame hey?! I’m not too sure why. The trail down to the bottom of Tews Falls was definitely not one I would have been able to find myself. Eric had done some research ahead of time and I think he found the directions in a forum! I was glad that he and Ange tested it out a few weekends ago because they got a little lost the first time… but on this particular trip, he knew exactly where we needed to go!
PS Let me know if you can’t find any Love Grown.. I might be able to arrange a little care package.
Wahoo for Canada Day and what a special way to spend it! That’s what we did for last Canada Day – hiked and picnicked…this year, we had a special meal!