In an effort to shed the pounds I’ve acquired while eating all of the feta in Greece, I’ve revamped my life lately and have been kickin’ ass at the gym and elsewhere. This also means less consumption of booze. It’s wonderful how many things you can fit into your day when you’re not nursing a hangover on the futon.

I hit the Father Troy’s Trail on Saturday with Maggie and Steve to complete the 8.6-kilometre route from Flatrock to Torbay. Being part of the East Coast Trail, it’s not a loop and so we had to park a car each at separate ends. 18 kilometres would have been silly.

Start in Flatrock. It’s easier that way.It was a perfect day for hiking: nice and cool, with hardly a breath of wind to ruffle our hair. The trail remained relatively empty, too. The route takes you along the coast around Flatrock, through some dense pine forest, across boggy marshland, and eventually back into society. There were cows. Do not tip them.

Lavender!I attempted to be artistic by capturing some mossy rocks. Yay.

Maggie, anticipating berry bushes, brought along a plastic container to collect blueberries and the like. I had full intentions of helping her out, but nothing beats big, juicy Newfoundland blueberries, and so I ended up shoving half of them into my mouth instead. Who needs to wash them first? I survived childhood, after all.

Maggie rocks the most awesome hat. And that’s my man, Ollie. He’s handsome. And he poops a lot.We stumbled across some raspberry and strawberry bushes as well. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this information. I want them all to myself.

Hint: Don’t eat too many. Nobody wants to crap themselves on the trail.

The trail is easy to moderate in all places, with only two steep climbs to make you winded. Snacks are advisable. With the two dogs, and the occasional pause for berry pickin’, we finished the whole thing off in about four hours. We took our time, though. I swear I’m not completely out of shape.

There are some pretty dramatic drop-offs along the way, like the one shown above. I’d advise not letting your dog off-leash, perhaps. Not for those afraid of heights.