Hike 17: Country Lanes and Cross Roads - St Andrew’s Rd to Airport Rd.

Bruce Trail Caledon Hills End to End Hike

Participating in the Caledon Hills Section End-to-End organized hike meant that for the first time since the Niagara Recreation Trail at the beginning of our Bruce Trail endeavour we were going to be hiking 2 or more days in a row – something our bodies were not used to.  Last night we enjoyed s’mores at our campsite in the Albion Hills Conservation Area and then generally collapsed in exhaustion into our tents.  This morning our bodies were quick to protest at getting up early to hike another 25 km of path. 

End-to-End Day 2

Despite our tired muscles, by 8 am we had gotten up, eaten breakfast, cleaned up our campsite, and driven to the End-to-End rally point - the Wat Lao Veluwanaram Buddhist Temple - for our second day of trekking. Once there, we again registered and lined up for the bus that would take us back to the Bruce Trail.  We soon loaded our tired bodies onto the buses and were again whisked off to our point of departure from the Bruce Trail yesterday.  Today we were due to hike about 25 km beginning on St. Andrew’s Rd and proceeding through Glen Haffy Conservation Area, along the Humber Valley, and onward to Airport road. 

Roadways, Moraines, and the Dingle

We were dropped off some 30 minutes later along the side of St. Andrew’s Rd.  There we began the day’s trek by boxing around a private property, following alongside a fence line which took us back to Escarpment Rd.  Here we resumed the concession road walking that had defined the conclusion of our first day on the Caledon Hills section End-to-End event.  

 

In fact, this morning we began with seven or eight kilometres of road walking, boxing from Airport Rd to Finnerty Sideroad, to Innis Lake road. On the way, we walked past huge mansions and estates, which were heavily gated.  Interestingly, we also passed historic brick cabins and stone churches, which stood in stern contrast to the large modern houses and sprawling ranches which dotted the region. Despite walking country roads and dusty lanes, it was clear that we were still in the Greater Toronto Area and its ever widening circle of development. This was evident from the beautiful scenery, whose backdrop on this clear day provided us with views of the sprawling GTA skyline. 

In a unique twist, the Bruce Trail throughout this region was temporarily no longer following the Niagara Escarpment.  Instead, it traversed the Paris-Galt Moraine.  This geological element is a pair of glacial moraines, or soil and rocky material, left behind following the Laurentian glaciations in southern Ontario.  The moraines extend some 150 kilometres from Port Rowan in Norfolk County in the south (and near our home) north to the Caledon region.  Much has been done to protect the Paris-Galt Moraine due to its important role in providing vital habitat for wildlife, limiting flooding, and storing groundwater. This ecological and hydro-logical feature also purifies and provides water for almost a million people who live along the Grand River watershed.  Scarily, this essential part of the Grand River watershed is currently under pressure from increasing residential and industrial development.

Trekking concessions and roads is by far not our favourite part of any trail, yet it also serves to remind us that we are out walking for the sake of walking, not necessary to get somewhere.  As such, we strive to pay attention to the landscape and the amazing natural world around us rather than just mechanically following the road while our thoughts are elsewhere.   After a long stretch of concession walking and much discussion amid our group, which had spent the last hour or so marching in single file, we arrived at edge of the Glen Haffy Conservation Area into a region uniquely known as the Dingle. 

 

 

The oddly named stretch on the Bruce Trail known as the “dingle” led us into a deeply wooded valley where we passed a small school. Once at the bottom of the valley, we climbed a forest tract back to the top of the glacial moraine, weaving between the trees which filled the narrow valley.  We ventured across dried stream beds and alongside gently trickling creeks prior to joining up with a local road allowance which lead us to the Glen Haffy Conservation Area. 

Glen Haffy Conservation Area

Glen Haffy Conservation Area is a 189 hectare property managed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) where the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine, two of Ontario most dominant geological features, intersect.  In addition, this park is located at the headwaters of the Humber River watershed which protects the water supply of much of the GTA.  The Bruce Trail weaves through Glen Haffy for about four kilometres, navigating the undulating landscape, taking hikers along mashes, around fishing ponds (which are locally raised and stocked) and providing wonderful views of the nearby forest valley. 

 

All of this was truly amazing, and we wish we had had more time to enjoy this stretch.  However, in stopping frequently to take pictures we had fallen to the back of the hiking group.   Unfortunately, the “sweep”, or individual who makes sure everyone is keeping pace, got very agitated with our interest in the local nature and landscapes.  She soon demanded that we walk faster or call a taxi and stop participating in the organized End-to-End.  We quickly set aside our curiosity and marched forward, soon passing hiker after hiker, to put some distance between ourselves and the unfriendly volunteer. 

 

By the time we left Glen Haffy Conservation Area we could still hear her yelling at other hikers to do things properly and to speed up their own pace.   This stands out as perhaps the only time we have met with any sort of problem with the BTC or its volunteers.

Mono Mills and Humber Valley

Walking out of Glen Haffy we were near the village of Mono Mills, and we arrived at the roaring and very busy HWY 9, which the Bruce Trail first followed and then crossed.  It took us 15 minutes to finally get a gap in the traffic large enough to allow us to dash across the busy thoroughfare and pick up the BTC on the northern side of the roadway.  This is (thankfully) a rare occurrence on the Bruce Trail, which normally directs hikers to crosswalks, tunnels, or overpasses. 

Continuing northward, the Bruce navigated the forested edge of the Humber river valley prior to following the property line of an expansive field surrounding a local estate.   Weaving through these woods we could see evidence of maple syrup harvesting in the area as trees were “tied” together and connected by long spools of blue tubing known as sap lines.

 

The highlight in this stretch was the Humber Heights Lookout, which provided spectacular views of the hilly terrain of the region.  We could see the beautiful, treed, Oak Ridges Moraine which, stretching eastward, continues to the Trent River. Soon after, we arrived at 7^th Line, where we had to awkwardly climb a stile over a rusted fence set low in a ditch.  This made for an interesting and precarious few moments. Thankfully, we only had a short kilometer of concession walking on the 7^th Line before we turned back into a gently forested stretch navigating along the edges of agricultural properties.

Oak Ridges and Hockley

In short order we had reached 5 Sideroad and the Oak Ridges Trail.  The Oak Ridges Trail is a 275 km east-west trail stretching from Mono Mills (and its intersection with the Bruce Trail) eastward to Castleton and Warkworth.  The goal of the organization and its public pathways is to promote an appreciation and respect for the Oak Ridge Moraine’s ecological, cultural and scenic integrity. 

Crossing 5 Sideroad and the “sister trail” to the Bruce, we entered the Hockleycrest region and began the final few kilometres for the day.  Hockleycrest has a network of trails that are open for cross-country skiing in the winter and hiking throughout the rest of the year.  Signs through this area ask hikers – in winter – to kindly stay to the side of the groomed pathways.  In the spring, summer, and fall however we had the wide trail to ourselves and made quick progress passing through this beautiful forest and passing by rustic farms.  

Turning west, we walked out of Hockley and onto Airport road, the same paved surface that we had begun our day on many hours and twenty-five kilometres ago. 

Conclusion of Day 2 of Caledon Hills Section

Back on the roadway, we joined the queue to get back onto the End-to-End bus which then transported us back to the rally point at the Buddhist Temple.  Here we enjoyed some refreshments and treats as well as talking with other hikers about the highlights of the day’s trek.  Excited but bone weary, we soon said our goodbyes and drove back to the campground that we were staying at – desperately wishing that we could take a shower and not move for several days. Instead, we settled for going out for dinner (being too tired to make our own), enjoyed a cold celebratory beer, and fell asleep in our tents early – bringing our second day on the Caledon Hills section of the Bruce Trail to a successful conclusion.