“November is usually such a disagreeable month…as if the year had suddenly found out that she was growing old and could do nothing but weep and fret over it. This year is growing old gracefully…just like a stately old lady who knows she can be charming even with gray hair and wrinkles. We’ve had lovely days and delicious twilights.”
― L.M. Montgomery

It reminded me of a scene from The Hobbit, as Bilbo enters Smaug’s lair and sees gold strewn everywhere, pouring across the floor and flowing between the columns. Though this is not gold, rather, an abundance of oak and beech leaves covering the rugged forest floor near Bancroft Ontario, flowing like a golden river between the rocks and trees.

Four mild November days and bright sunshine made the forest a wonderland of colour and light, especially accented by the golden leaves which were everywhere, on the tops of ridges, on ledges, and in deep valleys, everything was alight in the same golden glow. It really was surreal.

The image above is just one of many I made while hiking through tone of the deep valleys that is so typical of this region. Many ridges are a challenge to climb, so some careful planning is required before the attempt is made. This particular valley is quite shallow but many feature sheer drops and I’ve found my way through them with several years of exploring. It’s always a pleasure to get back here.

iPhone 5s back camera @ 4.2mm
1/120 sec;   f/2.2;   ISO 64

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