We like to have a range of different Sunday hikes during the fall months while we wait for ski season to arrive. Some are long, some are hilly and some are both. And then sometimes we have a hike that is neither very long nor hilly. Our hike last Sunday at Île Bizard was one of those.
The promise was for a flat hike of 8 – 9 km in 2 hours. What’s more, the Île Bizard location made it easier for many people to get there. This seemed to be an irresistible combination for many of you as we had a season-record of 36 hikers turn out on Sunday.
We gathered at the parking lot on the northern side of the island a few minutes before 10 am. The sky was cloudy and the temp was -2 C, but there was no wind. There was some initial concern when the clock reached 10 and our hike leaders (and Île Bizard residents), Theo & Monique, were nowhere to be seen. However, they arrived a few seconds later and quickly dispelled any suggestions they had got lost!
Monique quickly got us organized for the group photo, putting her camera on a timer so she could get in the photo also. Then we set off. But unlike every other time the club has hiked at this park, Theo did not take us across the road towards the main part of the park, but instead took us 500 m towards the shore where we walked along a lovely and secluded beach area. Even many long-time West Island residents had never seen this side of Île Bizard!
We back-tracked to the parking lot and then crossed the road towards the main trail network. We soon encountered one of the highlights of the park, the long wooden boardwalk across the swampy wetland. The thin layer of clear ice on top of the water made for some nice scenery (and some even nicer photos, like this one — don’t forget to take a look at the rest of them!).
Our large group was often strung out over a few hundred meters as some paused to take a nature-photo break at the boardwalk, or the other type of nature break at the outhouse at the trail junction a few kilometers after we started. But Theo kept track of us all and made sure nobody missed any turns. He was aided in part by Mark S, who was “hiking” on his fat bike and 
acted as our sweep / sheepdog to make sure any stragglers did not get dropped.
As promised, we got back just before noon, after hiking 7.8 km. It’s probably our shortest Sunday hike, but everybody was very pleased all the same to have gotten out for some good exercise and still have all afternoon to start getting ready for the holidays. A big thanks to Theo and Monique for taking such good care of us!
Post script to Toms report
Theo has set a new standard for leading hikes.
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