Waterfront Trail Toronto: Who finds the way...

That was quite an adventurous afternoon hike! After thoroughly searching all the archives and libraries including the Latvian Center, it was time for a hike along Toronto's 'coast'.

Waterfront Trail, a waterfront hiking trail along Lake Ontario, sounded promising. I started at a point  in Scarborough that was easily accessible.

The beginning was fine, but soon I found myself facing some pretty high cliffs and the paths up and forward didn't seem quite right anymore. When the path straight ahead by the water no longer continued, I followed one of the very steep trails and ended up in thick underbrush after a while. There was a worn path, so I followed it. 

I obviously wasn't the first one. At some point, the path became wider again, then narrower again; at some point, I stood in front of fences and private property. There was no way forward. Well, what now? I am only willing to go back as a last resort, so let's see how it goes.

I looked for a passage because according to Google, the path should continue behind this factory site. After a long search, I actually found a gate that wasn't locked, and I ended up on a company premises. Many trucks, forklifts. But I couldn't get out of there either. I stumbled around there and eventually found a security guard's cabin. 

He was almost in disbelief. Where did I come from if I didn't get in? - that's how I interpreted his facial expression. 

No, I wasn't allowed to leave the premises now, I had to stay there. He discussed with a colleague whether he should call the police because I had entered the premises without permission and it was unclear where I came from and what I was looking for.

After a while, three people were present, including the boss. After they believed me - some more skeptically than others - that I had gotten lost, I showed them which door in the gate was open, and they became more relaxed. My argument that I didn't want to spy on trade secrets and that I would immediately go to the security guard and ask how to get back to 'freedom' again initially fell on deaf ears.

I had to leave a copy of my passport and the security guard eventually seemed excited because he had never seen a German passport before. I then also showed him - almost as an apology - a German ID card and my driver's license.

After this about 40-minute break and probably at least a 30-minute detour before, I continued.

It took me a while again to 'find' the Waterfront Trail, the 'waterfront promenade path' - at least that's how it seemed to me. The signage is bad to nonexistent and despite my otherwise good sense of direction, some sections were hard to find for me - quite obvious, as described above. The trail doesn't seem to be particularly busy.

That surprises me because to have the feeling of being by the sea in the middle of a big city, why wouldn't more people want that? Bird chirping, waves crashing, and all that in glorious sunshine. 

There is even a whole website because the hiking trail is part of a whole long-distance trail around the great Canadian lakes. But maybe too many people get lost on the way... It is not easy to find - at least not in the Toronto metropolitan region. Even the workers at the company assured me that they had never heard of such a hiking trail.

At least when you get closer to the city center, there is more life again.