Beach on the Indian River

Beach on the Indian River
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Wow, what a great day!!!! Twenty-four of us met at York Mills relatively early Sunday morning and headed up together to the Warsaw Caves Conservation Area (we could because we had enough drivers! Yay!!!). Once we (or most of us) arrived, we headed straight for the caves, people pulling on all the extra layers of clothing we had been informed we would need for the chilly caves.

When we got to the caves, we realized that these were not wide caverns that you could walk into, but little crawl spaces between slabs of jumbled rock. It looked a little tricky getting in there! (So I promptly decided that these caves were probably not for me.) Most people, however, did make it down into at least one cave.

Contrary to all that we had read, additional layers of clothing were *not* necessary. I felt so sorry for everyone when they came out of their first cave, beads of sweat dripping from their brows, and panting for breath because they were overdressed! A pile of backpacks, sweaters, and jackets quickly developed outside the caves.

Apparently there were some underground chambers where several people could fit, and enjoy the creepy darkness when everyone turned off their headlamps and flashlights. Someone (JB?) saw a couple of bats, and I heard a couple people mention spiders and slimy surfaces deep in Cave #1, but for the most part, everyone really seemed to enjoy the novel experience. I will never forget how fascinating it was to hear voices coming from under the ground!

While we were at the caves, there were several families who arrived to do some exploring as well. One little boy (about 9 years old, maybe) gashed his forehead in one of the caves and was led out of the area by his father, bleeding quite a bit, but still able to walk on his own and being very brave. The general consensus from our group was that the caves were pretty tricky and slippery in places, and that it would be quite easy to slip and injure yourself. Fortunately, the only incidents we had were two cut fingertips, which were easily taken care of with a first aid kit.

We had such a fabulous, fun group of people yesterday. As Melanie and I waited for the others outside the caves, I started taking pictures of our gang to try to capture the sense of accomplishment that I could see they felt in successfully navigating these caves. While most people good-naturedly endured my “paparazzi” behaviour, the sight of a camera aimed in her direction nearly sent Jennifer B. into a tizzy; she had gone farther than anyone in Cave #1 and her clothes were covered in slimy dirt. (That’s just a variant of battle scars, Jennifer!!!)

Very early on, I realized how photogenic Iman was. And in his good-humoured way, he played up to my camera; unlike everyone else who emerged from Cave #1 with their head down, Iman came out looking up and smiling – ready for the camera!!! It was very funny. (I think Golnaz just smiled and shook her head at his behaviour. LOL)

After a couple of hours of caving (which really only seemed like 20 minutes or so), we headed to the little beach/picnic area for lunch. We took up three picnic tables in the shade, and conversation at each one seemed lively and pleasant. After lunch, many of us took the Kettle Trail, which featured more jumbled rock (left by receding glaciers, I believe), a pretty lookout over the Indian River, and kettles (round holes gouged in rock by debris swirling in water). I hear that Brent did a great job as he fell naturally into the lead position of this hike.

Late in the afternoon, some people cooled off in the Indian River (which was very shallow), while others sat on the small beach or riverside, chatting lazily or watching some of the visiting families enjoying the sand and water. The conservation area seemed to have a lovely refreshing breeze the entire time we were there.

Before we headed back to our vehicles, we gathered together for some group photos, which were a lot of fun to take. (It took some cajoling to get past the Canadian reserve, but soon I got big smiles from everyone and the pictures came out great!)

On the way back home, Jenn P. guided us to Lakefield, where we found an ice cream parlor with delicious product and ridiculously large scoops!

After returning back to Toronto, 14 – 16 of us met up at a pub for some dinner and liquid refreshment. Speaking personally, I enjoyed sitting out on the patio and getting to know Mi Young, Tom, Maia, and Prashanth better; and it looked as though people in both directions down the table were enjoying their conversations as well.

It was a great day!!!!