U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No 407 Hike Report by Joan Brick On our last Autumn hiking day 15 members of our group ventured  off from Canadian towards Mt Clear along the Canadian Creek  trail. We were part of the morning rush with students off to classrooms for their lessons and we were lucky to be heading out  into the bush for our learning adventure.  As we made our way  along the road behind Damascus College (formerly known as St.  Martins in the Pines) we found ourselves gradually being  surrounded by tall pine trees and lovely homes nicely tucked away  in the bush with dams and sheds as well as one with a metal Guard Dog called Rusty! We made our way into the pine plantation and saw the trees with  crystal water droplets hanging off their needle looking leaves and  also saw beautiful looking spider webs covering some the of low-lying  bushes. It was amazing to stand in one place and see th rows and rows of pine trees and feel you were so fa...

 U3A Hike No 406 Hike Report by Terry Bowring Nine  hikers met in the Bunnings Delacombe car park before travelling to the Linton Recreation Reserve to commence the hike. The first third of the hike was along the Ballarat-Skipton Rail trail in a southern, then eastern direction toward Ballarat. After passing the site of the original Linton Station, crossing the Janes Lane Rail Tressel Bridge (see group photo), Happy Valley Station and overhead Trestle Bridge the trail started to climb. Along the Rail Trail we passed the Linton Flora and Fauna Reserve and Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary before stopping for morning tea. A little further along, just over 5km from the start, we turned off the Rail Trail into the bush along a dirt track. The dirt vehicle track, and all other tracks were in good condition and made for easy walking and conversation due to the width of the track. As we ventured further into the bush, the steeper hills started, with a couple of long steep hills. The track c...