 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. 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.  Today’s hike started at the northern part of the Iroquoia section, just south of the 401 highway, where it borders the Toronto section. After a brief bit of road walking we took a left into Kelso Conservation Area. This is where you can see the Niagara escarpment all around you – look up and the rocky ridge is standing meters tall and then suddenly you find yourself standing on top of the ridge looking over the valley between Kelso and the Hilton Falls park. I wasn’t expecting this and it kind of took my breath away. Love surprises like this! The rather strange thing about this end-to-end was how it very quickly started to feel like hikers were in a race. Our previous end-to-ends didn’t feel like that. On each hike there were super keen hikers who bolted out the bus and made for the hills as quickly as possible so we never really saw them and there’s no way I could keep up with them quite frankly. People do an end-to-end for all sorts of reasons – sense of accomplishment, best personal time, a walk in the woods, etc. But we kept having to remind ourselves that it wasn’t a race as people passed us. Let others race, we’re here to hike and enjoy the experience. My sister and I are the kind of hikers that like to stop, look around, and take pictures. The Bruce Trail is simply stunning and worth capturing even for the amateur photographer with just an iPhone. If you’re racing, then you might be missing nature’s beauty. You have to stop to look up on the Bruce Trail because the terrain is rocky, with tree roots crossing the path, and if you look up for just a moment you’re likely to trip (ahem, I may have once or twice). Over the last few hikes, we’ve established a routine where we stop at certain times to make sure we eat something to keep our energy level up so we never get hangry. Hangry + hiking is an unpleasant combination which we try to avoid as best we can. By taking small breaks we let the rushed hikers pass us. Generally we’ve been in the last group of hikers to arrive at the day’s finishing point and we’re okay with that. We’re all getting to the same point, we just want to make sure we enjoy the hike while getting there. Sometimes it’s about the journey, not just what time you get to the destination. From Kelso to Crawford Lake – the trail took us through forests glowing in fall colours. All you could hear was the sounds of the leaves crunching under your feet. We’ve hiked around Crawford Lake trails before and so I knew there was a look-out point that would make a very good place to stop for a break and a snack. This particular spot had a bench! Yay! A place to sit – such a treat. It had an amazing view overlooking Nassagaweya Canyon to Rattlesnake Point. We couldn’t sit for too long as the air was quite cool (hence the toque) but we had a nice little break and enjoyed every second. Looking back now, the rest of the day is a bit of a blur – more forest, more trail, more rocks, more boardwalk, more bridges, and more beauty before a long section of road that would take us back to our car (no picture of the road – after a while the roads all start to look the same) at Mount Nemo Conservation Area. Day one's distance total was 30 KMS. I quite enjoyed this section and I’m still blown away that this amazing trail is just an hour’s drive from Toronto. It’s a great place to get outside if you like forest trails and spectacular views.
Next: Day 2
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2022
|
