The Mighty Bruce Adventures: 2018

Monday, 15 October 2018

Hike # 27 & 28 Autumn Hiking

Hike # 27 - km 23.8 to 42.1 in the Beaver Valley.

Hike # 28 - km 42.1 to 56.2 in the Beaver Valley.

Autumn is our favourite time to hike. The beauty of the colours, no bugs and cooler temperatures make for almost perfect conditions on a sunny day. We did experience a tumultuous day on Saturday with the weather constantly changing - causing us to remove and then put back on layers of clothing, hats and gloves repeatedly. A brief period of intense ice pellets and wind was not too pleasant, but we carried on as there is no choice on the trail.

The scenery in this section of the Bruce Trail is certainly some of the most beautiful we have seen thus far. The views from the top of the escarpment overlooking the valleys filled with fall colour was breathtaking.

What makes the trail in this section breathtaking in it's beauty also makes it difficult. We hiked up and down steep hills numerous times and scrambled up and over rocks. Much of the trail was covered in newly fallen leaves which created a beautiful but treacherous carpet as we could not see rocks, roots and holes ready to trip us up at any time.

Tough as the hiking was we enjoyed every minute (well, maybe up until the last couple km's) and we hope to get another hike in before the snow flies!

I will let the photos tell the rest of the story. The first picture is the last I took at our end point at Eugenia Falls. What a beautiful spot.

Looking out at the late afternoon sun at Eugenia Falls Conservation Area

Chilly morning - happy hikers ready to go

We always have to say hello to the horses along the way

The horse whisperer

Glorious colours

Across the farm

How do we get up here?

Up up we go

The face of the escarpment

We stumbled on a camp fire. Too bad we didn't have marshmallows.

Smoke gets in your eyes

Holding up the rock

Rock climbing

Views for miles

Up higher than the treetops

Across the fields

Beautiful maple tree

Just after the hail storm

Hitch-hiker

Up again.. and again

High on top of the escarpment

Over the treetops

End of day one

Start of day two

Down a big hill

more colourful maple

Worth the climb for this view

And this

Old bridge at Eugenia Falls

From the top of the falls

The end which is the beginning next time.

Monday, 24 September 2018

Hike # 26 - A Good Stretch of the Legs

Hike # 26 - km 2.3 to km 23.8 in the Beaver Valley.

And just like that, summer is over, it's the first day of Autumn, and here we are hiking once again. It was a wonderful and busy summer for all of us although we weren't hiking - occupied with other activities. Our fellow hiker Nancy broke her wrist! She was still going to join us (what a trooper), but something came up and so it was just the three of us this time out.

The day started out chilly and overcast, but soon the clouds broke up and the sunshine came through. It is our favourite time of year to hike - nice cool air without any bugs to bother us! Plus there are usually apples to pick along the way. We did not see anything in the way of wildlife (we talk too much), but we did see evidence of black bears (or just one bear who also likes this section of the trail) and porcupine. The leaves are just starting to change and in a few weeks time when we return for another hike they should be well along.

The trail took us through some beautiful deciduous forest (Len Gertler Memorial Loree Forest) and along many pastures. We were in one such pasture with a herd of grazing cattle and thankfully they did not notice us. After our last cow encounter, I was less afraid of seeing a bear - ha ha.

It was very cool to find a sign telling us we were hiking on an old mail road circa 1830 - 1850! Once again we enjoyed breathtaking views of the bay, the glory of the canopy of leaves overhead and the sense of well-being that comes with every hike.

As we hiked along, I thought about how we intended to complete the trail, end-to-end over the course of 3 seasons, but how circumstances and the usual stuff that life throws at you had slowed our progress down. Still, we have set our intention to finish, and as we continue along our journey toward our end goal, I am certain we will reach our goal no matter if it takes us another 4 years or more.

Accomplishing your goals does not always come easily or quickly, but every time you move in the direction of your goal you are that much closer to achieving it! Set your intentions and just keep going!