Bruce Trail Blue Mountain End-to-End
Scenic Vistas and Scenic Caves
There is
no denying that yesterday’s trek on the Bruce Trail was an exhausting challenge for us.
As a result, this morning our bodies hurt from the effort of getting out
of our sleeping bags and tents. Our
muscles were stiff, and it was slow going as we struggled to wake up, pack up
our campsite in Craigleith Provincial Park, enjoy breakfast, and get back to the rally point on the Bruce Trail.
Hobbling
into the day, we drove to the parking lot at Devil’s Glen Provincial Park, the
meeting point for today, registered and got ready for the final 36 km of the Blue Mountain Section of the BTC.
For the
first 7 km or so of our hike today, which took about an hour and a half to
complete, we enjoyed an easy road walk surrounded by large estates. The only real challenges were that the
concession roads throughout the region were very exposed and became
increasingly hot as the morning progressed, and the cars who shared the road
with us drove incredibly fast. As we
have often found, drivers rarely understand how it feels to someone traveling
on foot to have a vehicle pass at high speed with only inches to spare, which
happens with unnerving frequency, because people have a tendency to steer in
the direction they are looking. Unfortunately, this often means that people
driving inadvertently swerve at hikers on the side of roadways, making for a
number of near misses and harrowing experiences while walking. Thankfully, the day began without incident as
we followed gravel roads and majestic fence lines northward.
Near to
Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Nature Reserve the Bruce Trail eventually wove
off the roadway along the edge of the escarpment, a hedgerow, and soon after
that the boundary of a farmer’s field.
Crossing the 26/27 Side Road concession we walked into Nottawasaga
Lookout, completing our long trek on roadways ... for the time being.
Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Nature Reserve
Walking
into Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Nature Reserve we found ourselves in a
blessedly forested space. According to
Ontario Parks, this region is a “representative example of the Niagara
Escarpment, ravine habitats, local forested talus slopes, wetlands, and
caves.” In addition, the “reserve
protects a number of rare or uncommon plant species including a range of ferns
and, season depending, trilliums – Ontario’s provincial flower.”
Our route wove through the mature forest as
we navigated the Nottawasaga Lookout region along a flat path. We soon passed the Singhampton Side trail and
began to descend to the bottom of the escarpment. There we passed through a space in the cliff and made our way steeply downhill on a less-than-stable shale run. Unfortunately, given last night’s rain, the
shale was somewhat slippery. Throughout this
entire stretch, we walked past amazing caves and crevices which would have been
great to explore.
Along the
bottom of the Niagara Escarpment, we crossed a muddy creek and were soon back on
the local concession roads. Overall,
Nottawasaga was a short but wonderful reward for hiking, as well as a wonderful
reprieve from the sun under the spreading tree canopy throughout. Ultimately, it took us just over an hour to
trek this 5-6 kilometre section along a nice, clearly marked, and well-travelled path.
What
followed was a quick 2-kilometer stretch of hard gravel road walking along the
Collingwood-Clearview Townline before turning west and entering the Pretty
River Valley Provincial Park. This
linear route saw us first climb and then descend again as we followed the
undulating landscape of the region.
Rest and Refreshments
Reaching
the southern access to Pretty River Valley Provincial Park, we had now covered
some 15 kilometres and were approaching the halfway point in the day. Challenging terrain and the heat of the day,
combined with the long exposed road walks, had begun to drain almost every
hiker. Thankfully, the BTC volunteers
had set up the rest and refreshment checkpoint in the shade along the edge of
the parking area at Pretty River.
Once out
of the sun, we collapsed onto the ground and drank as much water as we
could. For the first time during our
three consecutive End-to-End events, we were stunned to see people ask to be
taken back to their cars and watched as one gentleman – who had been grumbling
to himself through both days – began to scream at people and walk around waving
his arms. He was mad about the
distances, claimed he had been lied to, demanded to know who he could sue for
being endangered on the roadways, and
didn’t want the offered water or juice but instead insisted that they give him
“fruit juice or a few cokes” to get through the day.
The
gentleman was clearly in a state of panic given the heat of the day and the
distances covered. Unfortunately, these
complaints and fears stemmed from his own lack of preparation and understanding
of the demands of the weekend’s hike.
The entire situation very much reminded us of climbing the Grouse Grind in British Columbia and
watching unprepared people trek uphill in flip flops, only to end up calling
search and rescue because of their own lack of foresight. Thankfully, local volunteers did an amazing
job listening to this man, cooling him off, and calming him down.
Around 15
minutes later, now slightly cooler and refreshed from the break, we stood up to
continue on. Startlingly, the same
gentlemen who moments ago had been ranting and raving jumped up and demanded
to be allowed to continue. Having
watched his hysterics we assumed that the BTC volunteers would insist that he
be taken back to the rally point.
Instead, they wished him the best of luck on the rest of the hike and a
volunteer announced that they would hike along with him. And so, as we walked on, the panicked
gentleman and his new companion also began to trek – a fact which led us to
pick up our pace for the coming several kilometres in an effort to put some
space between ourselves and the other hikers.
Pretty River Valley Provincial Park
Leaving
the parking lot and refreshment stand behind, we walked into Pretty River Provincial Park and soon
found ourselves amid a lot of people out enjoying day walks. Such is the nature of popular provincial
parks and conservation areas along the Bruce Trail on weekends. The Petty River
region is an area originally inhabited by the Petun Aboriginals and later by
Scottish immigrants who arrived in the valley approximately 150 years ago. The topography of the area is rugged and
challenging, making it somewhat inaccessible and impractical for
development. While homesteaded and
farmed into the 20th century, by 1985 the province owned the land
and transformed it into a provincial park.
Geologically, Pretty River has a number of significant features,
including glacial meltwater channels, moraines, and talus slopes.
Setting
off into Petty River, we were grateful to be continuing amid the shade of a
dense cedar forest – especially given that from the parking lot on we had a
steady climb up the glacial moraine.
With sweat-soaked shirts, we eventually reached the top of the moraine
before quickly descending down into the Pretty River valley, meeting up with
the Pretty River itself. There, at the
base of the forested river valley, we basked in the cool temperatures that the
water seemed to radiate into the nearby environment like a gift. We took a few minutes to rest and cool off as
a BTC volunteer hiking through noted that in the spring this valley is filled
with an abundance of trilliums – the provincial flower.
Once
across the river, the path again steadily made its way back to the top of the
escarpment along a packed dirt trail, crossing several dry stream beds en
route. Back on the Niagara Escarpment, the main path
met with the junction of the John Haigh Side Trail along which, only a short
distance away, was the highest point on the Bruce Trail, at 540 meters above
sea level.
Unfortunately, there was a
BTC volunteer station at the junction, who was earnestly directing End-to-Enders
down the main trail, and not letting them visit this iconic point. Feeling as though the reward for our constant
climbing had been taken from us we continued on, following along the edge of the
escarpment. This stretch is known as the
Osler Bluffs, and we soon came to stunning views of the city of Collingwood and
Georgian Bay to the north.
Weaving
on access and logging roads, as well as possibly a local hydro corridor, we
boxed out of Pretty River. The region
of Petty River was undoubtedly beautiful – though the first climb out of the
parking lot amid the current heat wave made it somewhat challenging. Regardless of this initial ascent, the views,
scenery, and landscapes made this stretch amazing. Ultimately, it took us just over an hour and
20 minutes to push through from the refreshment stand to the park’s northern
boundary.
Petun Conservation Area
After a
short jaunt on a local hydro corridor, we entered into Petun Conservation Area,
a park which takes its name from the Petun Indigenous peoples who inhabited the
region. According to the BTC Guidebook,
there was once a series of villages in the area spanning between the modern
towns of Creemore and Craigleith. These
people enjoyed the use of arable soil, clean water, and easily accessible wood. The Petun were purportedly later destroyed by
the Seneca tribe in the 17th century, and the lands were
subsequently settled by Scottish immigrants.
Throughout
this green space, the trail moved across the landscape, boxing first west before
returning east. Upon entering the area,
our path slowly but steeply began to descend amid boulders, glacial erratics,
and mossy rocks. All of these geological
features were fascinating and made us wish we knew more about lichen and
glacial geology. While we wanted to
spend more time investigating, we spent most of our time in this stretch
watching our footing rather than looking around. The perpetually rocky terrain soon became a
challenge for those of us who were now increasingly tired from the day’s
efforts.
Eventually, we passed into the property of the Osler Bluff Ski Club, which apparently was
once owned by an Ontario lawyer named Britton Bath Osler. Interestingly, he was the prosecuting
attorney at the Louis Riel trial in 1885.
Apparently, he purchased this property to establish a summer house for
his wife Carrie, who was crippled by arthritis. For us, it is always interesting to see how a
simple ribbon of trail can be so closely tied to a diverse Canadian history.
Walking
on, we soon came to what is designated as the Osler Shelter – which is one of
the few rare BTC campsites. At this location are the remnants of a series of
camping shelters built in the 1970s by the Bruce Trail organization. Unfortunately, like others throughout the
system, these shelters soon fell prey to vandalism, misuse, and a lack of
funding. While innocuous to pass today,
the ruins of these shelters represented an attempt by the Bruce Trail
Conservancy to duplicate the Appalachian Trail system, which has established
camping spots and shelters along the entire route to facilitate thru-hiking.
Shortly
after this, our route crossed the 2nd line concession before
continuing west, and finally turning north to bring us to New Mountain
Road. This in turn took us east, where
we joined with a road allowance. We
followed this rugged tract for a couple of kilometres, slowly climbing back up
the escarpment. Meeting with the 12th
sideroad, we completed our ascent shortly afterwards and traversed through a
forest as we crossed above a region known as the Scenic Caves.
Scenic Caves
While the
Bruce Trail does not go to the Scenic Caves, which are part of a privately run
facility, they are nonetheless worthy of mention here. Having visited this unique place on a number
of occasions, we have enjoyed the small but beautiful trail system which takes
people to fascinating geological sites.
Admission gives one access to famous features, such as “the
refrigerator” cave, tight squeezes between parts of the escarpment, and a
suspension bridge overlooking the town of Collingwood.
In addition, the facility now also includes
zip lines, a treetop boardwalk, and a chance to sit by a small pond, relax, and
have some refreshments. Previous visits
to the Scenic Caves with a younger family member have led us to explore the
regional crevices, enter into gaps in the escarpment, and even indulge in zip-lining off the escarpment’s edge.
Blue Mountain Ski Resort
Scenic
Caves, a local tourist attraction, has been developed by a local business, the Blue Mountains Ski Resort, whose land we ventured along for
several kilometres. Blue Mountain is an exclusive
all-season facility. Established in 1960,
it was soon one of the largest ski resorts in Ontario. Over the decades, it has developed to include
Scenic Caves, zip lines, and summer activities, as well as the nearby town site
which also bears its name.
According
to the Bruce Trail Guide, this region developed as a result of logging done at
the outset of the twentieth century.
Once cleared, the location became increasingly popular for winter sports,
such as sleighing and skiing. As such,
on Dec. 5th, 1935 the Blue Mountain Ski Club was established, and “by
the 1960s the Blue Mountain region had been so successfully developed that it
was noted as being the most popular between the Rockies and Laurentian
Mountains”.
Our route
on the Bruce Trail navigated the tourist-filled roadways of the resort, which
themselves followed the top of the escarpment.
On the way, we passed by chairlifts, now hanging empty and still, and we
were afforded a stunning view out over Georgian Bay. The humidity gave a wonderful cascade effect,
letting the town below, and nearby islands disappear into the afternoon light.
Near the end of today’s stage, we trekked as a group along the wide, paved,
pathways suitable for Segues, strollers, bikes, and summer tourists who were
merrily exploring the resort. Making our
way through the town, we passed tempting cafes and ice cream stores that pulled
us to sit and enjoy. Regardless of their
siren’s calls, we proceeded to the end of Swiss Mountain Rd, where we formally
checked in, concluding our hike of the Blue Mountain Section. As we waited to board the school buses for
group transport back to our cars, we contented ourselves by drinking vast
quantities of ice water.
We had
done it – the sixth section of the BTC was now behind us and completed! We learned on the bus ride back to our
waiting cars that this region is considered to be the halfway marker of the
Bruce Trail! So we are now “over the hump”.
Ahead of us still lay:
Beaver
Valley Section - 117 km long
Sydenham
Section – 168 km long
Peninsula
Section – 160 km long
This
means that after months of day hikes and a series of End-to-End events, we have
now hiked just over 445 km, and have approximately 445 km of trail left to
go.
Reflecting on the Blue Mountain Section
While the
Blue Mountain End-to-End event was amazingly organized and well-supported, it
was nonetheless a tough and challenging weekend. A combination of the increasingly rugged
landscape, long road walks, and the recent heat wave combined to tax our bodies
and those of many of the participants.
The sole blessing of these temperatures was that they kept the
mosquitoes at bay throughout the region.
While it
might simply be the exhaustion of the moment talking, it does seem as though
the path – at the midway point in the Bruce Trail – is going to get
harder. Regardless, the end is now
officially closer than the beginning, which is very exciting indeed.
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