August 31, 2019
It was a perfect temperature for hiking and also for mosquitoes. We decided to visit the West Don Parklands to explore the west side of the river and found parking on Maxwell Street where there is access under the power corridor. We followed the West Don River north until we came to private property and were forced to turn back. The picture below is a capture from the Toronto Archives of a 1960 aerial photograph of the area we explored. Our trail has been roughly traced in green while the river is coloured in blue.
Japanese Beetles were plentiful in the field under the meadow that runs under the hydro corridor. They are native to the islands of Japan and were first found in the United States in 1916 and in Canada in 1939. Since then they have spread throughout North America. The adults eat large amounts of foliage and severely damage over 250 different host plants that they feed on. Although there are treatment programs designed to reduce the impact of these beetles the picture below gives a good indication of why they continue to thrive.
At the bottom of the hill the West Don River flows over a small concrete dam and through a dissipator. It is interesting to see the water that flows over the top of the dam and onto the concrete piers hitting them with considerable force and yet arriving at the bottom in a calm pool having dissipated all of the energy it gained through the drop. The top of this dam has become clogged with branches and logs that have floated down stream and become caught up in the first row of piers. Some of it has been there so long that it is silted up and vegetation is growing on the top.
The valley floor has become overgrown with dog strangling vines and wild cucumber vines. The wild cucumber is native to Africa but has become naturalized in the New World. Unlike the dog strangling vine, the wild cucumber does not choke out and kill the vegetation that it grows along with. The fruit are cultivated and eaten in many places such as Brazil where it is used in a meat and vegetable stew.
The West Don River was running slow and at a very low level. Just to the north of here G. Ross Lord Dam and Reservoir are used to collect storm water and release it slowly to prevent flooding in the lower reaches of the river. Therefore, even after a heavy rainfall this section of the river will see a minimal rise in water levels.
The chicory appears to have had a very good year and the plants and flowers were plentiful. Chicory has been used for years as an alternative or additive to coffee. Chicory is used during times of shortage such as The Depression and Second World War by mixing it up to 60% with 40% coffee. It gives the coffee a slightly woody flavour. Tender leaves can also be collected and added directly to salads.
We came to a sign that said that if you find the log bridge to be impassable you should return and take an alternate side trail. This naturally prompted us to go and have a look to see if the bridge was impassable. It wasn’t in very good shape but we did manage to cross carefully.
Once you clear the bridge there is an extended boardwalk that is not in perfect shape but is safe if you watch for the occasional broken board.
The trail follows the river and leads to the Forest Valley Outdoor Education Centre which is operated by the Toronto District School Board. The centre plays host to over 17,000 students each year from 170 different schools who come here to learn about and develop an appreciation for nature. After you pass the buildings on this site you can follow the trail along the river which leads to a place where a pedestrian bridge once crossed the river.
Orange Jewelweed has been used in traditional medicine for years as a remedy for poison ivy exposure. The juice from the flower and leaves can be applied to skin that has been exposed to poison ivy and it has been proven effective at preventing a rash from forming. The one caution is that some people are known to be allergic to jewelweed and can have an even more severe reaction to this plant than the one they may have had to the poison ivy.
In the 1877 county atlas the property at the south east corner of modern Dufferin and Finch is shown as belonging to Mrs. E Reggett. To the west of her property Dufferin street ran north on the Gore and Vaughan Plank Road of which there are still remnants in the valley where Dufferin is shown making its curve. They can be seen at this link. Interpretive signage in the park indicates that a grist mill was operated in this location but it wasn’t shown on the county atlas, indicating it was a later construction.
A little farther along the river we came to the location of the former Reggett grist mill. The ruins themselves appear to be on a fairly small scale for an actual grist mill. They are also made out of poured concrete which shows that they were built some time after 1900. The mill has been gone for a long time but the ruins on the river can be seen in photographs that predate the construction of the outdoor education centre. This suggests that they were not built as part of an educational display but were the actual Reggett mill ruins.
Two steel brackets extend out of the concrete to mount the water wheel on. The recess for the wheel is only a couple of feet in diameter which suggests that this was a very small wheel and was not used to generate significant power.
The water was directed over the wheel or off to the side by moving a board from one channel to another in the head race. Today the whole system is crumbling and a tree is starting to grow at the fork in the channel.
We chose to follow the driveway from the education centre back to the road where we could make our way back to the car. This is an interesting park and it would be cool to see what lies on the east side of the river. Perhaps one day…
Google Maps Link: West Don Parklands
Like us at http://www.facebook.com/hikingthegta
Follow us at http://www.hikingthegta.com
Hiking the GTA 