Waterfalls and History along the Bruce Trail
Bruce Trail Iroquoia Section
After delays, owing to weather,
circumstances, and family obligations we finally got back out hiking on the Bruce Trail with the goal being to get
north of Hamilton before the heat of the summer months set in. We started this trek
at the McDui Drive Access trail where we had previously left off.
When we arrived at the trailhead it was sunny
and cold out though ultimately the weather was great for hiking! Lenora had just celebrated her birthday and
was trying out her new gaiters and day pack.
While initially the trail looked frozen, the reality was that only a few feet in from the parking
access we discovered that the prolific mud was only partially solid. As the day unfolded it turned out that the
gaiters were a good choice as the warm spring weather combined with cooler
nights meant that the Bruce Trail was alternatively frozen in some places while muddy in sections.
Back on the Bruce Trail
Back on the main BTC pathway we almost
immediately crossed DeWitt Rd. A small
"waterfall" was visible above the trail, on the south side of DeWitt
which was still mostly frozen fingers of ice extending down the side of the
exposed escarpment rather than a running waterfall. As we walked from the McDui Access trail, past
Dewitt Rd, the Millen Rd Access, and the Oakridge Drive Access Trails the
pathway wove through a forest and seemed to dip and climb a little, but largely remained in the woods mid-way up the escarpment. That said there were also times that we would steeply ascend to the top of the escarpment and then just as quickly
descend to the subdivisions below. The neighbourhoods at the base of the escarpment mostly consisted of large,
relatively new houses, and many had in-ground pools as well as landscaped yards
which seemed to contrast with the natural setting of the Bruce Trail nearby.
Urban Trails, City Trekking
Beyond the neighborhoods adjacent to the
trail a definite change in the landscape was evident. The land between the pathway and the lake was
definitely more urban now, filled with subdivisions, apartment buildings, and
industrial complexes rather than the vineyards and agricultural fields that we had
seen in past hikes. It was a clear day,
so from our occasional visits to the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment, we could see
across the dark turquoise waters of Lake Ontario as well as the city centers of
Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, and Toronto.
In the foreground we could recognize the bridge over Hamilton Harbour, HWY
6 heading north to Guelph, and the globe of the water treatment facility in
Hamilton. More than ever it was clear
that on the BTC we travelled in a green corridor which had survived from
development only through constant protection.
Devil's Punch Bowl
As the trail approached New Mountain Rd we ascended at a point where the pathway merged with a local railway
track to pass under the road before ducking back into the woods. At kilometre 19.4 we decided to depart from
the main Bruce Trail onto the Devil's
Punch Bowl Side Trail to see the waterfalls. As a result, we had a steep climb along some
rather narrow stairs that made me grateful it wasn't raining and slippery. Soon the pathway took us over the lip of the
escarpment into a grassy field, beyond which was a parking lot.
Alongside us there was a gravel path leading to
a fenced-in lookout, complete with benches and a large metal cross perched on
the upper ridge of the escarpment. The
view from this lookout was spectacular and gave us a wonderful perspective over
Hamilton, and north across Lake Ontario.
Turning around we then got to see and enjoy
the
Devil’s Punch Bowl waterfalls!
This cascading phenomenon is absolutely
beautiful!
The Devil’s Punch Bowl
waterfall is considered to be a Horseshoe fall – as it is similar to the
shape of Niagara Falls - with a bowl which is about 34 metres or 121 feet deep
and 60 metres across, however, the waterfall itself is technically defined as a
Ribbon falls.
This geological point of
interest is the result of a combination of glacial movement and regional
erosion.
Clearly, there is a great deal
more to how a waterfall is interpreted than meets the eye!
The waterfall is a straight ribbon of water
that falls uninterrupted from the top to the bottom of the escarpment, and
over time it has hollowed out a huge C-shaped bowl. The walls of the bowl exhibit vivid stripes
of light dusty green and dark rusty red stone, as well as the greyish/yellowish
bands typical of much of the escarpment.
It was a very striking and beautiful sight.
While standing here marvelling at Devil’s
Punch Bowl I was struck by the contrast in this area to just a few short weeks beforehand
when the falls were still frozen and iced over.
A short time earlier at the same location!
Bakeries and Battlefields
Today the parking lot for the falls was full with many families out and about, enjoying the spring sunshine. While we were taking in the view of the falls,
we spotted the Devil's Punch Bowl bakery
and Country Market, which is located on the south side of Ridge Rd., just
across from our location. Unable to resist
we decided to check out the offerings and were pleased to find that it was open
7 days a week from April 1st to December.
The smell of baked goods was overwhelming when we went inside, and if we
had been in possession of a car we would have come away with at least a pie and
a quiche, if not more. As it was, we "settled"
for several types of cookies and a chocolate chip loaf to compliment our
lunches which we enjoyed outside. Lenora
chose a very nice-looking butter tart, as well as some additional goodies to
share with the folks at home. The two-legged members of our group were not the only
ones to enjoy a few treats however as Mackenzie was also able to enjoy a few dog
cookies and water during our break.
Here we also discovered the Dofasco 2000 Trail, a short 11.5 km local pathway which passes near to the Devil's Punch Bowl waterfalls and links the region to a range of Conservation Areas, marshes, swamps, and birding meadows!
After about
an hour of enjoying a break, we resumed hiking along the Bruce Trail descending along a side trail back down the escarpment to the main route. Here we came to a
road underpass along a railway whose bridge supports were blazed –
reminding us that blazes could be found in all sorts of unique places!
Battlefield House National Historic Site
Having made it across the busy roadway we
took the opportunity to again meander off the Bruce Trail and to visit Battlefield
House Museum & Park National Historic Site which was located nearby. This location
is an acreage of the 19th-century Battlefield House which served as the homestead of the
regionally important Gage family, and later the location of the Women’s
Institute (1988-1962). The surrounding area
is also notably the
site of the Battle of Stoney Creek (1813) one of the most important battles in
the British-American conflict.
Battlefield Monument
At the
rear of the property of Stoney Creek Battlefield Park is the prominent Battlefield
Monument a 100-foot-high monument is structure which commemorates the
fallen soldiers during the Battle of Stoney Creek. According to the historical information at
the site, the Battlefield Monument was completed in 1913 – a century after the
Battle of Stoney Creek – in the English Gothic Revival Style.
At
the front of the National Historic Site is a beautiful piece of Indigenous artwork
entitled “The Eagles Among Us” which was commissioned for the bicentennial of
the War of 1812 and designed by David General, a Oneida member of the Six
Nations of the Grand River and installed in 2014. This Indigenous artwork comprises four, nine-foot-tall granite eagles at the centre of a circular area reflecting the cultural
traditions of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeck communities.
Forest Trails
Returning to the Bruce Trail we entered a
section of wooded trail with quite a few shrubs along the sides of the
trail. It was nice to be in the sun and
out of the wind, and we quickly warmed up again. As we continued on, we came to a somewhat
curious concrete and metal structure used for water diversion. There was a small, mossy stream/waterfall
flowing down the escarpment, and near the bottom, it was diverted into a
concrete flow, and then down through a metal grate into a deep, underground
channel. In addition, as we continued along the
trail, every once in a while, we passed by manhole covers in the forest floor
where we could hear the sounds of water flowing. Not exactly the wilderness experience one
expects on a trail in nature.
Hiking in Hamilton Ontario
By this point on the Bruce Trail having
traversed the suburbs of Grimsby and subdivisions of Stoney Creek, we were now
well into the City of Hamilton. Nicknamed the “Steel City” because Hamilton
long stood as Canada’s largest steel producer and one of its most important Industrial
ports, this town was built on the plains between the Niagara Escarpment and the
large harbour below. The area was first
noted to Europeans by French explorer Rene Robert de la Salle in 1669 and was developed later, in 1784 when the British government bought
the land from the Mississauga Indigenous peoples to settle United
Empire Loyalists who left the land following the American Revolution.
In the
years since Hamilton has alternatively been known as Burlington Bay and King’s
Head, before later being renamed after George
Hamilton in 1825. Hamilton City is the home
of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian
Warplane Heritage Museum, Dundurn Castle, and McMaster University. In addition to this, one of the main roadways which
traverses Hamilton is the Lincoln Alexander Parkway, which is named after Canada’s First black member of parliament the
Honourable Lincoln Alexander.
Felker's Falls Conservation Area
The Bruce Trail led us into Felker's Falls Conservation Area – which
in many ways is simply a much smaller version of Devil's Punch Bowl Falls. Felker’s Falls stands 22 m or 72 feet high and
is a ribbon falls. Here the trail went
past the waterway, near the top where we were able to look down into the valley
at the river fall below. Throughout much
of this Conservation Area, the Bruce Trail is a flat paved pathway that follows the escarpment edge. At one lookout we could see Dundas Ontario –
the home to a future hike on the Bruce Trail.
After the falls, we had a short walk to the
edge of the park and emerged next to a neighbourhood, passing both the Paramount Park and the Kingsview Drive
Side Trails.
At one point the BTC came to an end on
what appeared to be an unused roadway where the white blazes which we follow
disappeared! As a result for about half
an hour, we had difficulties figuring out which direction we were supposed to
proceed. There are no blazes visible in
either direction, and it is possible to turn right and continue down the road,
or go left and continue along a path that skirts the subdivision. From looking at the map we were able to figure
out that we needed to turn right, and around a curve in the road/trail we were
rewarded with a blaze indicating we should turn left and use the underpass for
the upcoming highway.
Red Hill Valley Trail
Back on the Bruce Trail we soon trekked under the
Red Hill Valley Parkway and joined with the aptly named Red Hill hiking trail. Here we found an Indigenous sitting area
which we took to calling the “Bear area” as the stones here had been laid out
in the shape of a large bear paw! After taking a brief break here to rest our legs,
enjoy a snack, and explore the uniquely shaped sitting area, we continued north
along the Red Hill Valley trail into the King’s
Forest!
The King’s Forest is a large green space
set in the heart of Hamilton and includes a series of trails and side trails which
loop throughout the region, alongside flowing waterways, giving people the opportunity to visit both Albion Falls
and Buttermilk Falls. Here we again departed
the main Bruce Trail to follow a blue-blazed side route toward Albion Falls. Albion Falls is a cascade waterfall, which is one of the largest and most scenic waterfalls in
the Hamilton region. Below we could see dozens
of families all sitting and enjoying the falls, amid the warmth of the day. We
soon joined them and spent an hour relaxing and exploring the area before
heading off to Buttermilk Falls along the Mountain Brow Side Trail and our
parked car.
Much of the hike was reminiscent of previous areas we have trekked on the Bruce Trail,
though with the pathway now being within the boundaries and development of Hamilton.
While much of the Bruce has been kept in a
wonderful green corridor this stretch nonetheless exposes hikers to the increasing
volume of city sounds, urban sites, residential signage and common waste.
Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of this
hike was the large amount of Tim Hortons cups and Fast Food wrapping along the
pathway.
Why people feel compelled to
fill tree stumps with beer cans and waste has always been a mystery to me.
Excited and enjoying our time today in
Hamilton we finished our hike for the day, packed into our waiting vehicle and motored
off to a local coffee shop to make plans for exploring Hamilton, its natural
areas and taking on the challenging Steeltown Stomp in a few weekends!
See you on the Trail!
-----
Date: April 9, 2016
Distance: 15.7 - 27.5 km (Buttermilk Falls,
on side-trail)
Duration: 10:30am - 4:30 pm (6 hours)
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