Hike #13 - December 29, 2020

Today's hike is to finish off the section I couldn't complete on Saturday because I couldn't find the trail. 

I had been trying to avoid parking at Hilton Falls Conservation Area, since reservations are for only 2 hours and I knew my previous hike would be 4 or 5 hours. Since I simply need to hike less than 3 km and then back again, I figure 2 hours will do it. 

Even better, I have company - my friend M and her dog. It's been ages since we've hiked together. We had been joined by one of her kids when we hiked Silver Creek Conservation Area in the summer. 

I choose not to wear my icers this time. This is a mistake. The snow has been packed down, melted, and then frozen again so it's all ice. 

This is a short and sweet hike. The sun is out; I have good company; and we are back to our cars within the two-hour reservation time. 

I had hoped we would have time to see Hilton Falls, but it's awfully people-y and we're out of time. Next time. 

Stats:

starting near marker: 0.0

ending near marker: 2.7

total hiked today: 2.7 x 2 = 5.4

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 89.3 km

Hike #12 - December 26, 2020

With the pandemic raging on and the recommendation that folks stay close to home, I decide to switch things up and stay close to home. While the Bruce Trail has a Toronto section, it's not really *in* Toronto, but 45 minutes north-west, starting in Milton.

Part of what I enjoy about these hikes is the planning. I like planning. I like control. This is absolutely a response to trauma.  With the pandemic, there is no other aspect in my life right now with structure or certainty. 

Sometimes I get so stuck in the planning, I forget that the plan I come up with at home might not play out once I arrive at the trailhead. 

For this hike, I found an access trail at the end of the road, but it wasn't officially designated as a parking spot in the trail guide. I took a look at Google maps and saw that there was a conservation area close enough with a single parking space available. 

When I showed up, after the person leaving got their car un-stuck, I parked and geared up, ready to go. 

But I am further from the trailhead than I realized. In fact, if I had stayed in my car and just driven 650 metres, I would have found an even better spot to park, with easier access to the trail leading to the trail. Because I'm wearing my spikes and can't just walk on the road, I end up adding 1 km to my hike to the access trail. 

It's snowy and I'm ready! I have icers! I have poles! I need to go up the side of the escarpment to get to the trail and it's gorgeous. 

There are folks with snowshoes at the trail and they are not doing well. The trail isn't very wide and it's pretty rocky. I feel good about my decision to not invest in snowshoes yet. 

Before too long I come across a person looking for his dog, who has bolted while they're on the trail. We are in the middle of nowhere and he is terrified. I get his name and number and quickly post to the Bruce Trail FB group with his name, number, description of the dog and screenshot of the map. 

By the time I check my phone an hour later, folks in the group have found posts in another group about the dog and are making the connection. By the time I finish my hike and check with the owner, he's on his way home with his dog. I love social media when it's used for the greater good. 

This is my first hike in snow and I'm pretty impressed with myself. The path has been packed down by other hikers and it's easy to navigate. Plus, I'm at the edge of the escarpment and everything is covered with snow and it's just gorgeous. 

I am working my way backwards for this hike, starting off around the 6.0 marker with the plan to hike to Hilton Falls Conservation Area (marker 0.0) and then back again. 

As the trail passes over Sixth Line/Nassagaweya (from the Mississauga word nazhesahgewayyong, meaning 'river with two outlets), I lose the white blazes. I try to forge on and pick up some faint white blazes but it's clear to me that this is not the current trail. 

I spend about 20 minutes trying to find the proper trail and decide it's best to turn back. The views on the way back are incredible, especially since I can take my time. I can see Toronto off in the distance. 

It's good to get back to the car, but it's even better to get home to enjoy that post-hike shower. 

Stats:

starting near marker 2.7

ending near marker 6.0

total hiked today: 3.3 x 2

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 86.6 km

Hike #11, December 21 2020

I am hiking on a Monday. Why? Because my landlord said that they were going to shut off the heat to repair it. If I'm going to be cold all day, I might as well be hiking. 

Plus, it's the winter solstice, so it seem fitting to be outside. 

I originally planned this as a 5 km out-and-back hike, with the goal of coming back for one more 5 km out-and-back to complete the Niagara section. Stay tuned for my change of plans. 

That snow from Saturday? It is now melted and created mud. So much mud. My hike starts off with an uphill muddy climb. Using my poles means I don't have to scramble on all fours to get purchase. I had to take a photo from the top to share with my mum, who asks why she can't join me. 

Not far from this hill, I come across scat. I'm not going to include a picture, because that's gross, but I'm pretty sure it's coyote scat. It's got fur; looks like the coyote enjoyed a squirrel. 

Around 76.1, I come across my very first logbook. You better believe that I added my name to that notebook and then used the sanitizer in the box to clean my hands. The scent of this bothered me for another hour. 

Hey, look, mushrooms! 

Hey, look, "waterfalls"

At some point, I figure I'm going to press on. The mud is ridiculous and I can't imagine turning around and traversing it again. I briefly check my Uber app and it seems that there are drivers available around this area. I had previously checked this on Friday afternoon and it didn't show anyone, but I figure more drivers are available in the run-up to Xmas. 

Did I say the mud is ridiculous? It's ridiculous. I'm relying heavily on my poles because every time I take a step, my foot starts sliding. I just want to finish up this section, especially as there's expected to be another shutdown and I'm unsure what that will mean for 'non-essential travel'. 

A short rant at this point...since the announcement, my hiking FB group is full of people insisting that no hikers should travel to "their" region to hike the trails in "their" area. You know, for SAFETY. Which I get, totally. But as someone living in downtown Toronto, I don't have ready access to nearly abandoned trails where I can wander. I'm not going to head to the lake, or High Park. I can't access nature unless I drive at least 45 minutes away. I don't think those folks understand what it's like to be sitting in a highrise apartment 6 days a week, barely moving from my kitchen table for 8 hours/day. I'm not going to get into it with anyone, but I know those same people have NO PROBLEM AT ALL coming to Toronto for theatre, for health care, for speciality shopping. Maybe not during a pandemic, but it feels like Toronto is available to everyone and anyone, but nature areas are reserved for the people who live there. 

Anyway. I forge on. I will get to the end of the section and call a cab back to my car. This is the plan. ONWARD THRU THE FUCKING MUD. 

The end is pretty anti-climatic, because the foot bridge that connects Niagara to Iroquioa is...closed.  (Note for self - learn how to spell Iroquioa). 

Right, onwards to the closest plaza to call an Uber. Which are not available. At all. Try a local cab company. The number is out of service. Standing outside the Food Basics, I do what I hate to do...I call my parents for help. They're just 30 minutes away and my mum has been bugging to see me. This is just going to have to be the way we do it. 

The wait gives me a chance to eat my snacks and to re-apply my layers. It's cold once I stop moving and the sweat starts drying onto my body. I'm already excited for my post-hike shower. 

The 20 minutes we spend getting back to my car (via a winery where I do a curbside pickup [I planned ahead!] is just about the amount of time I want to spend with my parents. I buy them a bottle of white for their troubles and shoo them off once they drop me off, as I need to go pee in the woods and don't need them waiting around for that. 

Remember the mud? My boots are a mess. Around hike #5, I got into the habit of just leaving my boots in the car and wearing other footwear for the drive and I'm so grateful I'm able to take these off. I'll wait until they dry and then deal with them. I use a pocket knife for the treads and I'll have to get a stiff brush to deal with the sides. 

Home! Take the dog out and shower. Post hike showers are the very best showers. And that planned ahead trip to the winery? I have wine to celebrate the end of the Niagara section. 

Stats:

starting near marker 73.5

ending near marker 83.3

total hiked today: 9.8 km

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 83.8

End of the Niagara Section

Hike #10, December 19 2020

 It's been a lot easier to avoid Xmas this year. No commute means I'm not subjected to ads on the TTC. No jolly coworkers who insist on decorating the office. No sugary goodies being left on my desk. 

I like this. 

I start this hike at Quarry Road, where there are just a few parking spots at an access point to the trail. This is my first time hiking in snow, but there's just a smattering of it, maybe 5 mm deep. 

It's rocky to begin, then takes me thru a little park, across a road, and down a lane, where I see this sign but no cat. 

Before long I'm cramming my down jacket and shell in my pack because my (newly purchased second hand) fleece is enough. Coming out to the road I see a cardinal. The brilliant red is gorgeous against the grey and brown. 

My turn-around point is Mountainview Conservation Area and then I'm heading back the way I came. One advantage to out-and-back hikes is that things look different on the return. I absolutely did not see these footprints the first time. 

Absolutely missed this waterfall too. It's cold enough that it's frozen but it's also slowly melting as I pick my way up the creek bed to get closer. 

Sometimes you gotta turn around and head back the way you came to gain some perspective. Do I need to head back the way I came? I don't know what this would look like in my actual real life, so I'm going to keep it as a hiking recommendation only. 

Stats:

starting near marker 67.9

ending near marker 73.5

total hiked today: 5.6 x 2

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 73.5

Hike #9, December 5 2020

On my previous hike, I had left off at Ball's Falls. Looking at parking options, I realize that the next spot I can feasibly (legally) leave a car is 10 km away. 

So I put a call out on FB to see if anyone wanted to join me and do a shuttle (masks on, of course). K responded so we met up at the end point, and drove in one car to Ball's Falls. 

I didn't take a lot of selfies on this hike, because I was self conscious about making K stop so I can photograph myself. Instead we stopped to look at a lot of nature things. 

Like these weird mushrooms/fungi/lichen:

K figures this cluster of feathers are from a dark-eyed junco since we spotted about 20 of them on the hike

This is the first hike I've done where mud was a serious factor. It has snowed lately but it hasn't been cold enough for the snow to stick around. Not embarrassed to say that I fell in the mud at one point, right on my ass. Grateful that I had thermals on, so I got myself up and kept on going. 

This hill was brutal. Between the mud and the incline, we ended up relying on roots and rocks to get to the top. 

It paid off with this view. We could see the CN Tower and Skydome, which is supposedly going to be knocked down. 

I couldn't have passed this without taking a selfie, of course

Best find of the day? This owl pellet. I hadn't seen one in the wild before (only the ones sold to the nature centre where I used to work) and thankfully K is a birder and knew what it was. It was full of grey fur and tiny bones and I was able to pick it apart to find this tiny jaw, likely from a mouse. 

In related news: I've planned my next two hikes:

Marker 67.9 to marker 73.5, then double back (10 km)

Marker 73.5 to marker 83.3 then Uber back (10 km)

And that will bring me to the end of the Niagara section of the Bruce Trail and I will be able to apply for my end to end badge for that section. Definitely will be done the Niagara section by the end of 2020, even if weekends aren't feasible for weather, as I am off work from December 23rd until January 4th. I might plan a hike for Xmas day since it will distract me from the terribleness of the holiday. Plus, my icers and hiking poles have arrived. I've also ordered some fleece layers - top and bottom - as my cotton layers aren't going to be practical for the winter months.

Stats:

starting near marker 57.9

ending near marker 67.9

total hiked today: 10 km

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 67.9