Past the parking lot was another trail following the edge on the west side cliff of Tews Falls. The cliff on this side was even steeper. Some cedars grew from crevices of rock strata. This well explained the meaning of life. Sometimes, my steps crunched over pine cones, spruce cones, and branchlets. Surprisingly, a small red berry peeped out of layers of needles on the ground under a tamarack.
According to Gracie, all but my group had parked their cars at the lot near Webster’s Falls. I had missed the roll call and one by one self-introduction organized by Gracie at the parking lot. Missing that greatly pleased me! Now, they were trudging along the river in the gorge. Obviously, the river was Spencer Creek though Gracie hadn’t mentioned which river. To catch up with them was literally a piece of dim sum to me. My fellow team mates had got collected by Gracie from around Tews Falls. What a group of hiking snails! But the thing was, as Gracie said, all knew I’d got lost. I turned from a vanguard to a rearguard just because one girl would like to start hiking from Webster’s Falls first. But it was nice, because I had difficulty in finding an outlet to release my energy.
Big trees with acorns scattered on the ground were around the lookout for Webster’s Falls. This lookout was fifty metres away from the parking lot where I finally found our car.
This was a big one! The water flow was much larger and wider than Tews though it varied with seasons. The air was permeated with moisture. Among the large sound of the falls, I heard kids screaming from the bottom of the gorge and they sounded they were definitely having fun there. Off right in the distance was an arch bridge straddling a river. That’s Spencer Creek, the source of the waterfalls. People around me were taking pictures non-stop. A woman was video-shooting the scenery of the waterfalls and the gorge with her own commentary in French. I shifted aside a bit to room her for shooting a better view.
When I was getting across the cobblestone arch bridge, I saw the washroom ahead. Too bad! I didn’t have mood to use it. Suddenly, a number of big water-drops fell on my head and neck.
“Who the heck is doing what?” I grumbled and looked back. No one was really right beside. As I turned around back, a skein of Canada geese landed on the grassland on east side of the bridge. In a few seconds, another three flitted over my head and joined the flock, leaving the other two behind in the creek on the other side and leaving me standing behind in wet. I couldn’t remember what Old Captain Haddock did to the llama that had spit water upon him, but I was pretty sure Old Captain wouldn’t let the geese slip unpunished. “Blistering barnacles” would be used to insult them at least.
Along the waterfalls was a set of metal and rocky stairs leading to the bottom of the gorge. The Beijing girl was right. The stairs were damp. I walked carefully, holding the handrail on right side.
“Oh my God!” A woman behind me shouted. I looked back. The woman's plastic bag dropped and the foods inside scattered. When she was trying to collect the things from everywhere, her kid walked down the stairs toward me, ALONE! Without a split-second hesitation, I stepped up back instantly and got hold of the kid’s hand when he hadn’t completed his third step, waiting for the mum til she got her collection done.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” The mum sounded Slav to me.
“You are welcome. Your son is three or ...”
“Three, almost three.”
“He is a brave kid. But make sure he is not left unattended.”
“Da.”

Watching the falls from the bottom was a different view, and thus a different feeling too. I didn’t stay long to admire the scenery as I had people to catch up with. The trail along the creek was also wet. In the creek bed laid many cobblestones. A trickle branching off from the main stream came across a big rock blocking its way, but it lapped the rock a bit, turned a swirlpool, and then escaped all the way downstream to re-join Spencer Creek.
I was never able to tell what kind of fungi were edible and what not. Along the trail, some grew on rotten trunks lain aside, some at the bottom of trees. I stopped at a riverbend where some reeds and bulrushes were on the opposite shore. I crouched down, cupped my hands to bright up a handful of water. The water was clear. In my hometown, sometimes it was what the industry facilities alongshore produced that determined the color of river water. I prayed for a better ecological environment for my hometown people every day. Here, I didn’t have to worry about things like this.
“Excuse me.”
I turned around. A couple, both in grey hairs and in their fifties were standing in front of me.
“Hi.” I greeted.
“Do you know how we can go to ... ” the man pulled out a small piece of paper and continued, “do you know how we can go to these places?”
The writing was not very clear, but I could still distinguish the words.
“Yes, I do. I just visited Dundas Peak, Tews Falls, and Webster’s Falls.” I replied, pointing at the writing.
The man turned to his wife and seemed to explain in Hindu to her.
“So you guys came into the gorge or the valley from that side, right?” I asked, pointing the south.
“I’m not sure, I guess so,” answered the man.
The woman added something and the man explained in English. “Yes, we are from that way. My daughter said these are the ones we should visit. My daughter is in a university in Hamilton. We came to visit her.”
“Great. She isn’t with you here?”
“She is sick today.”
“Oh, hope she will be fine soon. All right. The path is like a loop. So now, you walk upstream along this river and the first waterfalls the trail leads you to is Webster’s Falls.” Noticing a big camera hanging on his neck, I further explained, “you can take pictures at the bottom of the falls, and also, there’s a very good lookout located on the other side of the falls. It gives you both views of the falls and the gorge, and ... ”
“How can I find that lookout?” the man broke in to ask.
“When you take pictures at the bottom of the falls, you will see a set of steel and rocky stairs nearby. The stairs are wet. Make sure you walk steadily and don’t get slipped. There’s a handrail by its side. It’s safer to hold it while you walk on the stairs. But the handrail is on your left side. So if people come down from upstairs, you may stop and stand by and let them pass, then you hold the rail and move on. Actually, if only young guys come down, don’t worry, guess you can still hold the handrail and walk on because you two are seniors and they are juniors. They can wait aside til you two pass. The stairs will lead you to the top of the falls. You will see a washroom on your left and a cobblestone foot bridge on your right. You get across the bridge and follow the trail, and then you will see a big chestnut tree, no, I mean, a big oak tree, the lookout is right beside the tree.”
The man turned and said something to his wife. The wife said something back to him. Then he said, “my wife said, we won’t have to go to that lookout for taking pictures, because we might get lost. We only want to go to the places my daughter wrote on the note.”
“But that’s on the way there, I mean, the way you go to Tews Falls. Here,” I pointed to the words on the note, “and then you go to Dundas Peak.”
“Okay, so again, how shall I go to the three places? Tell me one by one, one at a time, please.”
“Sure.” I cleared my throat. “You walk upstream along this creek. Just follow this trail and it will lead you to the bottom of Webster’s Falls first. There is a set of stairs right beside. You won’t miss it because you will see people move upstairs and downstairs all the time. So you take the stairs to go up to the top, and you will see a washroom on the left and a bridge on the right. Get across the bridge and keep following the trail, then you will get to a lookout point located beside a big oak tree. That’s where you can take pictures.”
“What is oak tree? What does it look like?” asked the man.
“You will see a lot of acorns on the ground under the tree.”
“What is acorn? What does acorn look like?”
“Uh, it’s round, flat shell, it’s oak nut. When you are there, you will see a parking lot. On its northeast corner, there is a trail. Don’t go to northwest corner, because there is also a road there, but that’s for cars.”
“But I won’t be able to tell which one is northeast and which one is northwest,” added the man, worried.
“The trail will be on the right and the road, left. The surface of that trail is neither cement nor asphalt, and the surface of the road is.”
“Achia.”
“So you follow that trail and it will lead to another parking lot which is for Tews Falls. When you get to the lot, you turn right and cross a truss bridge, no, I mean a bailey bridge, no, that’s not bailey bridge either, what the heck am I talking about?” I shook my head and said, “sorry, never mind, it’s just a bridge, a teenie tiny bridge. So you get across the bridge and turn right, then you will find both a lookout platform and Tews Falls. Actually, you can simply follow the sound of the waterfalls, you won’t miss it. The trail is beside the lookout platform. You keep going along the trail from there and Dundas Peak is about one or two miles farther on. The peak is on the right of the trail. Like I said, the path is a loop. So you guys can move along further from Dundas Peak to where you came into this gorge. Nice and simple, right?”
The couple were looking at me, speechless.
“Okay, let’s do it again. You go along this river and you will see Webster’s Falls at the end. There is a set of stairs near the falls. Take stairs to go up to the top, you will see a bridge. Get across the bridge and follow the trail, you will find a big oak tree with many acorns on the ground and the lookout point is right beside. From there, you will also see a parking lot. It’s near. On its northeast corner, the trail continues and leads you to another parking lot. From there, you will see a tiny bridge, cross it and you will see another lookout platform and Tews Falls. Keep moving along the trail from there, you will get to Dundas Peak. So, are you Okay now?”
“Yes, I’m going to go along the river to find Webster’s Falls at the end. I will see a bridge and cross it, and ... ”
“No, you won’t be able to cross it until you see it. There is a set of stairs near the falls. You have to take stairs to go up to the top, and then, you will see the bridge. Right?”
“Right. And I cross the bridge, and follow the sound of the waterfalls, I will get to Tews Falls ... ”
“No, no, you can’t follow the sound to get to Tews Falls there, the sound you will hear there only leads you back to Webster’s Falls. And after crossing the bridge, you will follow the trail to a lookout point near a big oak tree. That’s where you want to take pictures, right?”
“But what does oak tree look like again?”
I wanted to take a look at my watch, but I didn’t. It would be somewhat impolite.
“Uh, uncle, you know what, let’s put that oak tree aside for a moment. Let’s start over again. You go along the creek to get to Webster’s Falls and take stairs to go to the top; then you cross a bridge, follow the trail, and you will find a lookout point and a parking lot; and then, you follow the trail on the northeast corner of the parking lot to go to another parking lot and you will see another bridge on the right, cross the bridge and you will get to Tews Falls; you keep following the trail along the cliff and you will eventually find Dundas Peak. So, is it clear now, uncle?”
“Achia. A, I go along the creek to get to Webster’s Falls and take stairs to go to the top. Two, I follow the trail on the northeast corner of a parking lot to go to another parking lot and will cross a bridge on my right side and I will see Tews Falls. D, I keep following the trail along the cliff and will find Dundas Peak. Am I right now?” The man looked at me, waiting for my answer.
I cleared my throat. “One, you go along the creek to get to Webster’s Falls and take stairs to go to the top. B, you cross a bridge, follow the trail, and you will find a lookout point and a parking lot. Pick the trail on the northeast corner of the lot to go to another parking lot, cross another bridge on your right and you will reach at Tews Falls. Four, you keep following the trail along the cliff and the trail will lead you to Dundas Peak.”
“Achia, move along the creek to Webster’s Falls, take stairs to go to the top, cross a bridge and follow the trail till I find a lookout point where I take photos, and a parking lot. The trail continues on the northeast corner of the lot and leads me to another parking lot. There is another bridge right beside I need to get across and I will find Tews Falls. If I keep following the trail, I will reach at Dundas Peak. Am I right this time?”
Thank God, I finally heft a sigh of relief. I knew everyone including myself would get as old as him one day though.
“You said, the path is a loop,” the man asked. “So now, how will I move along further from Dundas Peak to where I came into this valley?”
I raised my wrist and looked at the watch.

The creek warbled joyfully. I paced up. The woods, the shore, the grass, and the water were all dipped in the air of early spring. Everything was so fresh, as was I myself. I felt like running, I felt like jumping, and I felt like kicking, punching, wiggling my never ever sexy butt, and yelling out a few words of any disgusting song. I was as lunatic as a little bear just woken from hibernation after a long winter. Truly, pretty, as a word, would never be enough to define the season here. But I could hardly afford to appreciate the beauty of nature this moment as none of my fellow hikers was seen yet. I felt a little itchy somewhere on my back. I, however, didn't care to give a scratch. Plus, my hand, very likely, couldn't reach there precisely anyway. It was until climbing a slope that I found Spencer Creek flew into a big hole and turned to subterranean stream. What a change!
It was time for me to turn east now. I stepped on the embankment of the railroad the Beijing girl had mentioned, looking around.
“Excuse me and good day! Did you see a group of Chinese ahead?” I asked a lady with two kids coming up.
“Oh, there’s a whole bunch of them. Yes, that way.” The lady pointed.
“I’m with them,” I explained. “I’m the only one lagging behind. How far are they?”
“Don’t worry. They are right ahead. In a few minutes, you will catch them.”
I lip-synced to her, “Thank you! Have a great day!”
Smiled, she did the same back, “You are welcome. You too.”
Standing not far ahead was a female. Wasn’t that Gracie? She was waiting for me!
High atop a mast was a maple leaf flag flying against the wind in the distance where the town of Dundas stood.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“Long story. Actually no, nothing. Thank you so much for waiting for me here,” said I, excited.
“Don’t mention it. We’re worrying about you.”
“Thank you. My friend told me, you are a very nice person, so is Michel.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
“Sorry for making you guys worry about me. I wanted to be a vanguard, but it turned out I could only be a rearguard.”
Gracie smiled. “I asked Michel to take others to move on while I stay behind to collect you. They aren’t far ahead. They walk and talk and enjoy the weather and the scenery around. Your team mates don’t have your phone number. They didn’t know where you were.”
“I was ten or fifteen minutes ahead of them, or maybe more. I walked too fast.”
“They sent one to find you, but the search went resultless. Hey, there are many people directly coming from Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, and Mississauga to join us here.”
“They are? Guess they managed to find the community notice. It’s a very nice day for hiking today.” I reasoned.
“Yes. Many girls came today. The pity is, you missed the self-introduction.”
“That’s all right. I’m here for hiking. By the way, are there any good boys you think I can make friends with?”
Gracie stared at me, frowning.
“What?!” I asked.

Following the path on a slope with shrubs on both sides was a sharp turn. I saw George and all my team mates again.
“Hey, thank you guys for not waiting for me.” I gave George a thump on the shoulder and laughed. People turned and looked this side.
“Hey, we waited for you and we sent him to look for you.” George pointed to the Sichuan man.
“Thank you for not finding me as well, bro.” I waved to him. “No, I’m just kidding. Thank you guys.”
“Where did you go?” Jane asked.
“Dundas Peak.”
“Where is it?”
“You will see it soon. I thought you guys were right behind me.”
“Is he the lost one?” A man asked George in a low voice.
Nodding the head and rubbing the shoulder, George said, “our team had five faces when we set off. Then when you guys met us, our team had only four faces. So, our team lost face.”
Was that a revenge for my thump on his shoulder?
By the time I came back to Dundas Peak again, the Beijing girl and her friend had already gone. I checked around. The Indian couple were not here yet. The taller Manchurian seemed to have disappeared from the hiking loop. People started to take rest and take pictures.
In a sudden, I saw the girl in green I had talked to at Don Mills Station. Her friend Lina was beside. I felt like ask the girl about something, but when I summoned up my courage to go to her, a bald man in his late forties overtook me and walked to the girl. I stopped there, hesitated, and then chose to walk away.
“Are you really tired, buddy?” I asked a young boy with a doll face and crew cut hair style sitting on the ground.
He looked up and chuckled. “Yes, I’m dead. Just see me dead.” The boy turned and said to a girl sitting close by, “it’s all your fault.”
The girl made face back to him.
“She’s my colleague,” the boy explained to me. “It was her who pulled me here.”
“Your colleague?”
“Yes, my colleague in the bank.”
“You look very young. Are you sure you are allowed to work at your age in the bank?” said I, trying to tickle him in words.
“I’m already twenty-six. You are young too, and you are twenty-?”
“Seven.” I joked. I also noticed several girls beside in their early thirties look upset after my answer. But I felt flattered that people still saw me in twenties.
“Yeah!” the boy exclaimed and stood up. “We are new generation of the time! High five!” the boy held out his palm high.
I gave him a big one.
The sky turned between light green and light blue. I rolled up the sleeves to get my forearms exposed under the sunshine. Another skein of geese were flying over. The two legs of the formation were perfectly equal, 7 versus 7. The boy’s colleague counted and shouted, “fifteen in total.”
The boy also looked up after collecting the bag of nuts I passed to him and giving me a bottle of water.
Strange. The shape of the clouds in the distance reminded me of spun sugar. But it was not uncommon that anything weird hit my mind from time to time. I looked around and tried to spot the garbage bin whereas it took me no more than a minute to dry the water bottle although I had already drunk a lot of water.
“What’s the time?” The boy pointed to his wrist.
I stretched out my left hand to show him time.
“My cell,” he gestured a phone receiver beside his ear first, and then continued with his thumb pointing backward, “is in the car.”
“Hey buddy, you are Canadian now.” I yelled.
“Oh yah? What made you think so?”
“Canadian people like to use gestures and body language so much and they gesture almost every moment. When they ask someone not to forget to call, they gesture a receiver beside ear. Whey they ask about time, they point to wrist. Even when they are talking on phone, they keep gesturing, regardless the one on the other end of the phone can see it or not. See? You did exactly the same as Canadians.”
“Haha. When you are in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
“Right,” I agreed.
“Need another bottle of water?” The boy was shaking the new bottle.
“No, thanks buddy. I already drank too much.”
The boy turned and put the bottle back to his backbag.
“Oh, excuse me,” asked I.
“Yes?” The boy turned around.
“Uh, where's the washroom?” I pointed to my crotch, trying to be Canadian.

When we left Dundas Peak, I walked ahead of all others. This time, I became the vanguard again. I was not tired at all. I could be as energetic as a perpetual motion machine. And I was happy because my hiking distance was 1.5 times others. What a grand day!

Notes:

01. Old Captain Haddock - the main figure in Herge's "Adventures of Tintin"; the letter "H" in Haddock is silent, just like the letter "H" in Belgium author name Herge doesn't pronounce either (《丁丁历险记》中的“老船长阿道克”，因为源自于法文，所以H是不发音的。就像其比利时作者Herge，中文译名为“埃尔热”，而非“海尔热”).