Before I even arrived at UoT, I was beyond excited to find out the university has an outdoors club. Back at my home university in Australia, we also have an outdoor club, through which I have had so many great experiences and met so many incredible people. I hoped UTOC would be similar. I certainly was not disappointed!
After meeting some of the execs at the clubs’ fair, I was keen to get started. The first UTOC trip I went on was a camping trip to Darlington provincial park and the end of my first full week at UoT, organised by incredible execs Julia and Daniel. While it was only one night, we filled that evening with a night hike, stargazing and plenty of pizza. Fellow UTOCer Chris brought his telescope, and we got a magnificent view of both Saturn and Jupiter! After a night of little sleep (who knew that train line would be so loud??) we started the morning off with bagels and jam, followed by a swim in Lake Ontario. The freezing (by my Australian standards) water gave me a kick start for the day. Then we all headed back Toronto feeling refreshed after a brief respite among the trees.
Not long after this first trip, keen to keep going, I joined a group of fellow UTOCers for a trip to Rouge Urban National Park. I was amazed to learn that such a vast green space is held within the GTA. We had fun exploring the various hiking trails within the park as Fall was beginning to show its colours.
The very next day, I joined the kayaking trip to the Humber River, organised by Zach, UTOC vice president. A group of about twenty of us showed up eager to explore Toronto by water. The river is a marvellous hidden oasis within the city! We enjoyed paddling along at our own paces, stopping to explore the three marshes along our route, Shangri La Marsh, Deer Marsh and Turtle Marsh. We paddled all the way down to the Humber Bay Arch Bridge, where the waves started to get a bit more exciting, before turning around.
I eagerly signed up for the first new members trip to the cabin at the end of September, after hearing so many wonderful stories about it. Our days were filled with hiking sections of the Bruce trail, exploring the area around Metcalfe rock, and venturing into the Dining Hall cave. It was a very cool experience to sit in silence in the pitch dark of the cave. We also tried doing some chants together, enjoying the incredible acoustics offered by the cave walls. In the evenings, our large group came together for games and laughs. The last night, we all gathered by a campfire to make s’mores, sing songs, and get frustrated over the number of pink elephants that seemed to be everywhere.
UTOC has not only allowed me to go on some amazing group trips, but also some excellent solo adventures! I took the opportunity being around outdoorsy people who know Toronto well to find out what the best places to visit within the city are. I was recommended to check out Tommy Thompson Park, the trails within the Don Valley near the Evergreen brickworks, and High Park. So, the weekend following the cabin trip I set out on my bike to explore Tommy Thompson Park. I was not disappointed by the lush greenery, excellent view of the city skyline, and the wildlife. I was lucky enough to see a group of white-tailed deer and an American toad sitting in the middle of the road! I really enjoyed visiting the Evergreen Brickworks, with its beautiful trails and focus on sustainable living. There is so much life and greenery held within the city!
Through UTOC, I have met so many incredible outdoorsy people to go on adventures with. A group of us (all avid climbers) decided to go to a day trip to Niagara Glen for some bouldering. Though the cold day made it difficult to keep a hold on the rock (our poor fingers!), we pushed ourselves to send some climbs while enjoying the beautiful environment that surrounded us.
For some reason, I chose to wake up early on a Saturday morning to run in and out of a freezing lake. And to my surprise, so did another 15 or so people. UTOC exec Mikhail seemed to take great joy in telling us a very long story about Sam and the polar bear, with each ‘act’ punctuated by sprinting in and out of the icy water (there were a lot of death glares thrown Mikhail’s way while he made us stand around in the chilly winds) At the end of it all Mikhail provided some truly delicious hot chocolate, so all was forgiven! While not the most pleasant experience, it was a lot of fun and was all laughed and bonded as we were turning blue.
At the end of October, I signed up for the cabin maintenance weekend, eager to help out in any way I could in the upkeep of this club gem. The team worked hard on repairs to the cabin’s roof, especially Scott, as well as other odd jobs such as fixing floorboards and chopping firewood to prepare for the fast-approaching winter cold. It was rewarding to do some hard work with all the others, finishing each day feeling tired but satisfied.
However, it wasn’t all hard work, and we had some time for exploring. I even had the confidence to lead a group of keen fellow UTOCers through the Dining Hall Cave. It was so wonderful to see everyone helping each other through the more challenging sections, being kind and patient whenever someone got a bit nervous.
Despite the damp conditions, Mike and Tyler managed to get a good fire going. We spent the night around the campfire, listening to some good music and some of us (Tyler) attempting to cook some sausages over the flames.
It’s not only the big, magnificent trips that have made an impact, but the smaller social events that have made my time in Toronto so special. The new members bonfire night, climb and pubs nights, and afternoons of crocheting in Queen’s Park were wonderful opportunities to have some fun and meet many wonderful people from the club.
That being said, the bigger trips have been absolutely amazing! One of the highlights of my time in Toronto has to be the camping trip to Killbear Provincial Park I went on with the incredible Liz, Esra and Talia. We headed out early Saturday morning to make the drive up to the park, with the others making sure we stopped at an ON Route so I could have a classic Ontario road-trip experience! When we arrived at the campsite, we quickly set up our tents in preparation for the cold night, ate some lunch and then set out on a hike. As we hiked around the Georgian Bay, we made several stops to admire the fungi and new growth around the paths.
We took some time to sit on the rocks by the water, enjoying being out in nature for a short time.
After watching the sunset by the water, we headed back to our campsite for dinner. Liz put in a valiant effort to get a fire going, but unfortunately the damp, almost squishy firewood would not cooperate. So, we quickly cooked our dinner using our stoves and retreated into a tent for some pre-bedtime crocheting. It was so nice and cozy in the tent, and once our chilled fingers warmed up we were all crochet machines! Eventually, our tiredness got the better of us, so we packed away our hooks and yarn and piled on the layers for cold night.
The next morning, we ate breakfast, got some crocheting done, and packed up camp quickly so we’d have time to check out the nature centre. There were many cool displays talking about the geological history of the park, the traditions and history of the Anishnaabek people, and even enclosures containing two snakes, Fred the Eastern Foxsnake and Rita the Eastern Mississauga Rattlesnake. I was so surprised to learn Ontario only has one venomous snake, a welcome change from what I’m used to!
It was such a wonderful weekend, and I cannot thank Liz, Esra and Talia enough for showing me even a small part of the beauty Ontario has to offer!
I have had a great time exploring Toronto’s extensive ravine system. The urban forest is something to behold! I especially enjoyed joining Esra and a substantial group of UTOCers on a walk through the Nordheimer and Cedarvale Ravines. I find it absolutely incredible that these beautiful trails are hidden throughout Toronto. We enjoyed a leisurely walk along the paths, admiring what was left of the fall colours and saying hello to the various dogs on the trail. We finished our walk at Casa Loma for a spectacular view of the city.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Toronto, especially all the fun things I have gotten to do with UTOC. However, my time is not yet over! There are still winter activities I plan to try, like skiing ice climbing and snowshoeing, all of which will be firsts for me (I haven’t even seen snow yet!). I am so incredibly grateful to UTOC for giving me all these fantastic experiences and allowing me to meet wonderful people who have made my time in Toronto so memorable (and are going to make it very tough to leave at the end of the year!)
I still plan on “doing it outside” as much as I can while I’m still here :)