More than 40 people participated in the Foliage Walk. It was a cloudy morning when the group met at the Finch Subway Parking Lot. The group arrived at Lion Valley Park around 9:15 a.m. when light rain started. The 4 portables were welcoming signs to everyone. They were not there last year, and the City must have heard our complaints and kept the units around for us.

The precipitation did not stop our Foliage Walk. The trail offered a fair bit of shelter from the rain and the wind. Most of us were prepared and put our umbrella into action. Because of the rainy days in the last few days, the river was muddy and therefore salmon was not easily visible. Dead salmon caucas was found on the river bank. The lookout points revealed more colour than last year. And the foliage contest was carried out when the group arrived at the turning point of the trail near the river. Tara won the CD for the best red maple leaf, Eliza and Carol won the orange, while Hanna won the yellow CD. The group completed the trail around 11:30 a.m.

The good: 4 portables were in operation and in good condition; foliage colour was very good at the lookout points as well as inside the forest; spirit of the group.
The not-so-good: weather; river was muddy in comparison to last year and therefore salmon was not visible.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Foliage Walk and hopefully you found the trail worthwhile for you to take your friends and relatives back there for future visits when the weather is better.

Nelson (October 14th, 2001)
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Foliage Walk - Preview October 8th, 2001 (8:30 - 12:00 noon)

15 people participated in the Foliage preview walk under sunny sky and cool temperature. It was perfect fall weather. The group tried out 2 trails: Riverside trail near Metro Zoo and the Don Valley trail between Leslie/Sheppard and Leslie/Steeles. Those who went to the Oakville 16th Mile Creek trail all agreed that none of these 2 trails can be compared to last year in ALL categories: foliage colour, trail, scenery, landscape, salmon. The Leslie trail does offer excellent washroom facility which may be lacking in the Oakville trail. At best, oakville offers 2 portables. Riverside trail's washroom facility was closed. The group jointly decided the Foliage Walk on October 14th will take place in Oakville.

Rating of the 3 trails (on a scale A to D):
A Last year Oakville 16th Mile Creek trail
C+ Don Valley Leslie trail (lack of foliage colour, not inside the forest, no lookout point, no creek and no salmon/fish). The '+' is given to the washroom.
E Metro Zoo Riverside trail (Yes, it falls out of the scale A to D). There's really and absolutely NOTHING to speak of.

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Foliage Walk and Linedance Afternoon - October 22nd, 2000

Pictures

1. Group (The sunglasses said it all - a perfect Fall weather Day!)
2. One of the many scenic views of the Foliage Walk
3. The Five Dancing Queens - Mendy, Tara, etc.... .
4. The Foliage Walk Leaders
5. The DJ (Tony Ng in Yellow Jacket) and the Dancing Queens
 

Over 90 people and 23 vehicles participated the Foliage Walk. It was a sunny, calm and cool morning. People of all ages enjoyed the walk. The youngest was a 6-year old son of Stella Sham. Although he needed some help walking down some hill, they managed to complete the trail in 2 hours.  Leaves were at a premium up on the branches, and were abundant on the ground. It made the Foliage Contest even more competitive because there were so many to pick from. The winners included Nancy (the red maple leaf), Jeffrey (the bright red maple leaf) and the orange went to a gentleman whose name I forgot (If you read this article, please advise me via email, so I can update it.). They each were awarded a Linedance CD. Salmon were a lot more abundant in August to early October. It was in the late season. Walkers did see some salmon swimming upstream prior to climbing up the steel staircase. It was suggested to organize this event 1-2 weeks earlier so the Fall colour would be at its fullest. We'll take that into consideration next year. We may go back there next Spring when the trout spawning season starts. Thank you all for your participation! My hat is off to those who had the energy to dance the whole afternoon off at Club My Way. I'm sure you had a very sound sleep that night. Your friend...... Nelson My special thanks to Katie (the owner of La Perla) who opened  the facility for us at 7:30 a.m.

The Fall Foliage will be at its full colour the week of October 17th to Oct 22nd in Southern Ontario. There'll be a very special event on Oct 22nd - Foliage Walk and Linedance Afternoon. It allows you to experience the wonder of nature by embracing yourself in the Fall foliage while walking through a trail that offers spectacular view of winding river, salmon swimming upstream, matured forest, hill, bridges, a 70-step steel staircase and several excellent lookout points. This place is located 35 minutes drive from La Perla.

The destination is a spectacular new 12-km trails system on both sides of scenic Sixteen Mile Creek south of Dundas Street in Oakville. Called the Oakville Heritage Trail, it has three trails traversing the area - the east bank, inner valley and west bank trails - and the surface is mainly hard-packed limestone screenings, although hills are paved. We'll explore the inner valley trail and the west bank trail. The trails have been cleverly carved through matured forest and once down by the creek you might think you are in Northern Ontario, not a few minutes' drive west of Toronto. In some spots there are towering cliffs beside the creek and from late August to October you might see Coho and Chinook Salmon swimming up the creek to spawn.

Although the trail is designed as a family-oriented path, it is not recommended for kids that are smaller than 8 or the really 'seniors' since we schedule to complete the entire trail in approxiamtely 2 hours. However, if you really would like to bring along the seniors or the little ones, please be prepared to turn back after the first half of the scenic section of the trail (approximately 20 minutes from the starting point). There's a very large resting area near the parking lot that offers very nice scenery of Fall Foliage.
 
 

Itinerary:

7:30 a.m.	La Perla (car pool - pay $5 per person to car-pool owner)
8:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.	Walking trail (put on your hiking outfit, i.e. no dancing shoes/short skirts, etc., and dress warm for the weather). The trail is very sheltered and  wind should not be a factor. Bring along your cameras and you'll take a lot of pictures. Pay $5 to the car-pool owner to share the transportation cost.
11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.	You arrange your own lunch. Some of the restaurants that are near La Perla include: Mandarin Buffet (Dufferin and Finch) Imperial Buffet (Dufferin and Steeles) Gourmet of China Buffet (Dufferin and Steeles) Locomotive (Vietnam) - Yonge and Steeles Bayview Garden (Dim Sum) - Yonge/Clark
1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.	Linedance Afternoon @ Club My Way (La Perla) - $8 per person. Get tickets from Nelson, Helina Koo or Julie Mak.

For a full 1-day event, your total cost is $13(transportation and dance). You can participate in any one of the three activities: Foliage Walk, lunch or Linedance Afternoon.

You must register with Nelson (H)905-660-0566 to join the Fall Foliage Walk and there's no charge. Detail maps will be provided to car-pool drivers. Please make sure you have at least one cellular phone in each vehicle. You must buy your ticket to go to the 'fun-filled' Linedance Afternoon. Get tickets from Nelson, Helina Koo or Julie Mak.

Foliage Contest
 

Prize 1 Red CD and 1 Orange CD, each recorded with the 10 most popular linedances in the Chinese community + Que Si Que No, 747, Hank Panky, Invincible, Perhaps and Ballymore Boys.

Rules The Red CD will be awarded to the person who found the largest red maple leaf along the Heritage Trail. The leaf must not be removed from the tree. It should have fallen off from the tree before you picked it. The leaf should not have any damage. The Orange CD will be awarded according the same rule as above, but for the orange colour. Yellow and Green maple leaf will not be qualified for this contest.

The CD's will be presented at the Linedance Afternoon event around 4 p.m. the same day. So, you must attend the Linedance Afternoon in order to win the prize(s). Admission fee to this 'fun-filled' event is $8 per person.