I had hoped that we could have at least met in person by this point in the year, at least in a small distant gathering. But by the middle of April, such a dream had been dashed. But that doesn’t mean that we couldn’t run a third virtual event. Having skipped March because it got far too busy actually to plan something out. At the end of April, the date had been set, the virtual pub setup, and time to go. I had already decided to stick close to home for the month. With the weather improving, I booked an early morning hike at Mount Nemo, one of the many conservation areas on the Niagara Escarpment. I took my Nikon FE and a 35mm lens loaded with Eastman Double-X, and my Nikon D750 with my recently acquired 28-70mm f/2.8D lens. When I arrived, I was only the third car in the parking lot. Thankfully Mount Nemo, while popular, has some more technical trails that most hikers with children avoid, but even this early, it was quiet.
I ended up hiking the entire loop, a full five kilometres on the trails, which made the day much better, and I’m glad I took an early morning option as, by the time I got back, the trails were starting to fill up as was the parking lot. And the afternoon pub had a good turn out. While it’s nothing like being able to fill up an entire bar, it’s always good to see friends, even if it is only through a screen. The next event is planned for June; the format remains unknown as it will all depend on how things are looking in Ontario by that point.