My wish to do a tree-top walk has been fulfilled. My spouse and I made a trip to the Haliburton Forests which borders on Algonquin Park to do the canopy walk. As it was mid-May, there were just four of us on this tour. It started with a 10-15 minute ride in a station wagon through the forest; then a half-km walk through a varied forest of hemlock, spruce, poplar, birch and other woods. In fact this forest has 25 different tree species. Our guide,Vilna, a friendly, chatty, young woman, then guided us into a canoe that took us, with us paddling, of course, across Pelaw Lake (or maybe river), a 10 minute ride to another part of the forest.
We walked to a shed that contained the harnesses we were to wear while on the canopy walk. It was only then a short distance to where we climbed some stairs, attached ourselves with two straps, as directed, to a cable that went from tree to tree. And also between the trees was a wooden walk comprising of two boards, making our suspended walk about two feet wide. Walking on the suspended trek was not as difficult as I had imagined since we could hold on to the ropes on each side of the built-up walking contraption. The most difficult part was getting around each tree that we came to. We had to undo one attachment from the cable, and attach to another on the other side of the tree before detaching the second strap.
The walk is about half a km, and is said to be the longest of its kind in the world. We were between 10 and 20 metres above the forest floor, and it varied from one area to another. It was easiest to look about when we arrived at a tree as it gave us more stability. I found myself concentrating on walking in between the trees to keep my balance on the swaying walk. However, it was an interesting walk, and I did enjoy it. About two-thirds of the way, we came to a platform where we enjoyed a granola bar and a drink. This whole process took about four hours - until we arrived back at the office.
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