On Monday I started an affair. The awkward greet of an acquaintance in his home. Fumbling with strange clothes and collars. He sensed my inexperience and showed me what to do. The nervous tension as we built trust in each other. The elation and joy of a new experience and of the connection, understanding and respect we began to develop for each other.
No, my husband has nothing to worry about. It’s my dog that needs to hire the P.I.
I have a friend whose hours at work have changed and now she’ll be away from her house for most of the day. Her dog won’t make a whole day without being let out at least once during the day. We’ve made arrangements for me to stop by once a day for a brief walk.
I did feel kind of guilty not bringing my dog along. These two are actually walk buddies. They know each other well and get along famously. But my dog is still in the puppy phase, and while he’s generally well behaved and follows commands well, when there is another dog around its nutzoid time. He loses all focus and sees, hears, smells and thinks of nothing else except that other dog. He pulls, he does violent ballet leaps in the air, he sprints helter skelter to the very end of his leash, he jumps on his friend and on my friend. Usually it takes a good long walk by ourselves or a run in the dog park to burn a little energy before we can consider a shared walk, and even then it can be a bit nightmarish for the first few minutes of happy greeting. Once he’s settled it’s not so bad. I know that I have to keep working on the socialization skills with my dog and also know that his friend will pass on some good leash manners, but the thought of handling the two of them together makes me nervous. At any rate, I figured it would probably be best for me to at least walk this other dog a few times alone so I could get a good feel of how he walks. He was a dream dog to walk, so I think we’ll be okay together.
(The new guy in my life. November 22, 2010.)
I took him down to Pine Point Park in Etobicoke (Rexdale). This is a regular haunt, primarily because it can either be done as a short walk on it’s own or as a long extended walk if you continue north into Summerlea Park. It is a peaceful park that follows the Humber River. I usually park at the Hadrian Drive entrance and on this particular occasion I decided to head south, which I haven’t done before. Pine Point Park is located right at the entrance/exit ramps for the 401 on Islington Avenue, on the north side of the 401. While you generally will be quickly free of the noise and bustle of the highway by heading North, travelling South takes you right into it, forcing you under a gritty, graffiti-tagged underpass. The noise of the traffic above is amplified and somewhat distressing. The drone of cars speeding along, trucks changing gears, loud banging and clangs. It is dark and damp and smells, and covered in all sorts of unpolite, rude and crude graffiti. This is not a place to get your inner peace on.
(Not the most inviting sight. November 22, 2010)
Immediately after the overpass, you are forced to make a choice. You can go right, but that path is just a dirt path that will just take you right out to Islington (often, while walking along Islington I had seen people exiting this path and had wondered where they were coming from). Left takes you over a high bridge and across the river.
The path continues on for a short while and then connects with Crawford-Jones Memorial Park. This park is named after Jim Crawford, an area policeman, and Herb Jones, a local contractor who both heroically worked together to save many lives during Hurricane Hazel. Mr. Crawford received a medal of merit for his actions. He also witnessed the last execution at the Don Valley Jail, and in fact, the last executions conducted in Canada.
The park is not fitting of its namesakes. While clean, it is small, with a solitary picnic table. We see not one other soul in our time there. What once had been an open field has now been planted with many trees in the recent spate of city-wide forestry efforts. In a grove of older trees, someone feeling keen civic spirit has felt it obligatory to hang bags of doggy poo from branches; the blue and clear bagged fecal ornaments bob heavily in the wind. The path dead ends at Cardell Avenue.
My new guy and I backtrack back to familiar territory, Pine Point Park. This park is a multi-use community park. A soccer field is on site; a pool, hockey arena and tennis court are nearby. There is ample parking at the park and despite its popularity, it is never full. It features a short heavily used, paved trail (Bicycle Route 15). In the summertime, the entrance can be litter strewn, but in the spring and fall, it is relatively clean. Following the trail north, you are flanked on the left by a steep wooded hill. To the right, the Humber is bottle green and meanders past a small island, tracing broad, graceful curves.
At this time of year, the trees are bare, leaves heavily carpet the ground below. A stately heron stands guard on the banks of the river. As you walk, the city din lessens, and is only disturbed by planes on approach to the airport. We cross the Humber by footbridge just south of Albion Road. Here we could continue northward to Summerlea, or take the pedestrian connection towards Weston Road, but alas, our time is almost up and we turn around and head back to Hadrian drive.
{A small path not noticed before to explore another day.)
Useful Information:
- Duration of Walk: Roughly one hour (based on short legs, picture taking and doggy care)
- Difficulty: EASY. Relatively flat terrain throughout.
- Parking: For Pine Point Park, generous parking is available off Hadrian Drive. For Crawford-Jones Park, parking is available off Dee Ave. [? – I didn’t personally check out the street, I’m getting this off of the City Trail map]. You can access Pine Point Park by TTC by taking Islington Route 37North and getting off at Allenby St. and walking east several blocks until it dead ends in the park.
- Washrooms: No. I will note that there was a Port-a-Potty this past summer located by the parking for Pine Point Park, however I cannot vouch whether it was available for public use.
- Local Coffee Haunts: No. But I suppose you could hit the McDonalds located a few blocks away inside the Walmart on Islington.
- Safety Factor: Crawford-Jones Park: Very Low, at least the walk from Pine Point. Walk at your own risk, have a buddy. Pine-Point Park: Medium-High. Walk at lunch time when the teachers from a local school crowd this park for their break. Buddies are best.
- Special Gear?: No. A good pair sneakers is all you need.
- Suitable for Dog Walking?: Yes. Dogs must be on leash here.
Happy Trails!
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