Finally! Back on the Bruce Trail after nearly two and a half years. I was excited. My sister and I had signed up for the Dufferin Hi-Lands end-to-end in 2020 but, like everything else, it got cancelled. So, when I saw that it was back for 2022, we registered immediately. 

The weather forecast was going to be abnormally hot for a weekend in May. Definitely not ideal hiking weather, certainly not when the day is 31 kms. In this case, when the temperature matched the number of kms for the day, we should have known it was going to be a challenging day.

Having hiked five other Bruce Trail section end-to-ends though, I figured that this wouldn't be too difficult. And at first, it didn't seem to be, that is until the sun starting blazing down.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Brushed the winter dust off my hiking gear (finally!) and headed up to the Blue Mountains for a two-day hiking adventure on the third weekend in May with my sister and our friends Jaime and Susie.

​Our goal: complete the 66KM+ Blue Mountains Bruce Trail end-to-end relatively unscathed. Perhaps it was a bit too ambitious, but what you don’t know, you don’t know.
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In any case, we hiked, limped, and came close to crawling to the end, but we did it! Hey – 66KM+ is a lofty goal to complete in two days.

This was a hard day. I was tired, sore, cold, grumpy, and achy – not the way I had hoped to arrive at the end. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Today wasn’t going to be my favourite day of hiking, despite how lovely my instagram pictures look. Don’t get me wrong, some of the hike was gorgeous, some of it not so much.

But overall, today could have easily changed my love of hiking to something a little less friendly.
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The day’s home base was the same place as the day before in the parking lot at the Mohawk Ice rink. It was another cold morning that required multiple layers and a toque and gloves. The hike organizer gave us the usual morning instructions before leaving the parking lot. This would have been a great time to remind people of trail etiquette – particularly that if someone is behind you to offer to let them pass. For some reason, so many people on this particular hike had never heard about this etiquette before so a refresher would have been nice.

Third weekend in a row now of hiking 27-33KMS/day. Easy peasy now. For the next two days, we tackled the second half of our Iroquoia Bruce Trail end-to-end.

By the end of this weekend we will have hiked 192 KMS total in seven days of hiking. That’s 70 KMS from Caledon Hills end-to-end + 122 KMS from Iroquoia end-to-end. I think we can be proud of that – sore muscles, achy knees, bruises, black toenails and all!

Home base for the next two days was the Mohawk Ice Rink. This is where we would be walking to each day. The most awesome thing about this particular meeting point – is that it had a washroom! Hikers rejoice! Not only could we go before we got on the bus, but it also gave us a place to go and change after too. As someone who is truly not a fan of doing nature’s call in nature, this was a big ol’ Bonus.
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This picture (above) was the view from where we started the day’s hike. Same place as the previous Sunday – Syndenham Look Out. We weren’t the only ones there that morning. Many folks were there, coffee in hand, to watch the sun rise. It had just come over the horizon about 15 minutes before we got there. Quite spectacular.

It was a very brisk morning on Day 2 of our Iroquoia Bruce Trail end-to-end adventure. We got in the car to drive to the meeting point and boy, was I grateful for heated seats! Such a small luxury but so much appreciated in that wee hour before dawn when despite all the layers of merino wool, I still felt a chill. It was only October 14 and you could already see your breath.

The starting point for today was the Sydenham Look Out. We would be walking east and north on the trail back to Mount Nemo Conversation Area.

There we are bright eyed and ready to tackle the trail ahead. It was promising to be a great day.
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I’ve mentioned before that we like to keep our own pace, that we like to let the crowd hike ahead so that we can feel like we’re hiking on our own and not in a group of 80+ hikers. I don’t like to feel rushed when I hike. It’s about the journey.

Ontario is like a painted canvas in October – with strokes of orange, red, green, and yellow hues brushed across the landscape. Truly quite stunning. And there is no better place to take in all this beauty than on the Bruce Trail.
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For two weekends in October we tackled 122 KMS on the Iroquoia Bruce Trail end-to-end. Each day averaged 30 KMS. Here is a recap of Day 1.

With four days’ rest after completing the Caledon Hills end-to-end, my knee had sufficiently recovered. I had also purchased another knee support wrap so I was ready to hit the trail.

​As usual, we were arrived at the check in point before dawn, hopped on the bus and had a quick bite to eat while hoping that the sun rises before we hit the trail. Just a short 15 min drive and there we were stepping off the bus like a bunch of eager school kids.

“They’re called the Caledon ‘Hills’ for a reason,” said our end-to-end organizer as we sat on the bus ready to take on day 1 of 3 on the Fall Colours End-to-End.

It was Thanksgiving weekend – the Canadian one – and over the three days ahead we would hike the entire length of the Caledon Hills section of the Bruce trail, all 70.2 KMS in rain, fog and through the most spectacular forests glowing in yellow, red, and orange leaves.
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We were up before dawn and on the road while it was still night to drive to the first meeting point for Day 1 of our second official Bruce Trail end-to-end hike. As with all club organized end-to-end hikes, we parked the car at the spot where we will end the day. We got on the bus with all the other excited and eager hikers and drove to the starting point – the northern point of the Caledon Hills sections, just south of Mono Mills.

This was our last day on the Niagara Bruce Trail. Legs sore and feet throbbing, wearing just barely dried clothes from the past two-day’s mud escapades – we arrived early at Queenston Heights to catch the bus.

I could already tell it was going to be a good day. First of all this location had a washroom (bonus!), the sun was shinning and it was holiday Monday.

​When we got on the bus, someone asked what the distance was for the day’s hike. Our lovely hike organizer hesitated a bit knowing how everyone has aches and pains. There would be a detour she said that would add a couple of kilometers to the day – and to that a collective moan. The day’s distance was 29KMS (or so).

Before we left the parking lot at Queenston Heights, she gave us a pep talk like the previous two days – reminder where the rest stations would be, trail etiquette and to do tick checks. She told us that over the course of the three days many people had dropped out. The number of dropouts grew everyday and that meant we were part of the strong (or stubborn) troops who were staying the course to the finish line. ​

Day 2 of a 3 day hike – it’s that day that surprises you and the kind that you need a cheerleading squad to get you moving in the morning despite any training you’ve done.

Yesterday’s mudapolooza should have indicated that on day 2, I would be extraordinarily stiff.

It’s that feeling when you slide out of bed and put your feet on the floor and every molecule in your body screams at you from the souls of your feet. Yes, that indescribable feeling of pain every time you move. When you wonder if your legs can even get you to the washroom, and you think, “how the hell am I going to hike 27 KM today?!”
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There we are all smiles as we stepped onto the Niagara Bruce Trail on Day 1 of a 3-day end-to-end hike. I’m so happy that we have a picture of us smiling (even in the rain) because a few hours later, after trudging through the mud, it’s safe to say we weren’t smiling quite as much.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here.
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Every summer for the last few years I’ve packed a bag and gone hiking in another country (Iceland, Scotland, Ireland) but this summer I decided to stay closer to home and tackle the Bruce Trail.