John Muir on the Bruce Trail
Temptations and Trail Magic
This
morning began with the fleeting thought of getting back on the trail and
pushing hard to hike 40 kilometres to our rental car parked at Rocklyn Creek
Management Area and the Ambrose Camp side.
This distance however would be in addition to the 6-7 kilometers
required to get back to the Bruce Trail near Vandeleur – across Beaver
Valley. While 43 kilometres of trekking
is challenging but possible, having to go almost 50 kilometres over the terrain
of the BTC would likely be too much for us and our tired bodies.
Overhearing
us talk about the possibility of pushing for our car, our amazing hosts made
the offer of transporting us to Vandelaur on the other side of Beaver Valley,
and our point of departure from the main trail yesterday. This would have saved us the first hour and a
half of trekking before our day’s hike started.
While a very generous offer (that we were sorely tempted to take) we
ultimately made the decision to do this hike on foot as much as possible, and
so we had to decline. The result was
that we set out today knowing that, despite our best efforts, we would again be
spending tonight wild camping on the Bruce Trail. Where we would be able to do this we had no
idea – and so we set out hoping to be able to “piece it together” on the fly.
With an
amazing, high-energy breakfast of toast and eggs inside us, we packed our gear
and prepared to set out. On the doorstep
of our accommodations, our hosts continued to surprise us when they provided us
with more trail magic in the form of packed lunches and a few snacks! Buoyed by their generosity and giving spirit,
we said our thanks and goodbyes and began navigating our way back to the Bruce Trail.
Looping Back : The Westward Journey
After
walking through the town of Eugenia we stepped back onto the Bruce Trail in the
local Conservation Area and began trekking north along the BTC, making this the
third time we had walked this section.
With the energy of just beginning a new day, we were soon back at the
intersection of the Campbell’s / Graham’s Hill Side Trail and again re-ventured
the 2-3 kilometres westward across the Beaver Valley to Vandeleur along its
quiet gravel roads.
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| Sonya Richmond Birding on Bruce Trail |
While much of this
stretch took us under a dense canopy of leafy trees, the long descent and steep
switch-backing ascent back up the valley were exhausting. An hour and a half later we arrived back at
the BTC parking lot near Vandeleur– yesterday’s point of departure to “begin”
today’s hike. There is no denying that
there were many moments amid this morning’s walk when we doubted yesterday’s
decision to loop back to Eugenia.
Back on the Bruce
Trail
Crossing over and stepping off the road, we took another quick break in
the shade on the side of the trail. Once
rested we soon continued on, following the Bruce Trail as it wove through a
pleasant forest, transitioned from a pine plantation to a stand of maple trees,
and crossed an open field near local dairy farms. These meadows were filled
with tons of colourful spring flowers, making the day all that much more
beautiful. Frustratingly, amid all of
this, we soon descended the same hill and valley that we had just ascended along
the Graham’s Hill Side Trail. The main
trail then crossed Grey Rd 30 before entering into the Beaver Valley Ski Club
property - a stretch that would continue this process of alternating long hard
climbs and descents.
Beaver Valley Ski
Club
Descending
steeply down the valley, we entered the property of the Beaver Valley Ski Club. There, having reached the midway point of the
western side of Beaver Valley, our path headed toward a location noted on our
BTC map as Bowles Hill. In practical
terms, this meant that we followed a hydro line before navigating along the
first set of steep ski runways … before looping back, re-climbing the
escarpment, and crossing at least half a dozen more ski runs. While none of this section was hard trekking,
we nonetheless were crossing an exposed area under the day’s increasingly hot
sun, at an angle, and heading uphill.
Thankfully, after our third or fourth or fifth ?!? ascent of the Beaver
Valley today, the BTC eventually brought us within a relatively short distance
of the closed ski chalet and bar – which blessedly had a patio and picnic
tables. The staff there was kind enough
to let us sit down to catch our breath, and one young lady even refilled our
water bottles for us – glorious trail magic!
Sitting there and taking deep drinks from our cold water bottles, we
looked out over more than a dozen ski runs and the silent chair lifts suspended
over the green hills of springtime.
From our vantage point at the top of the escarpment, the valley looked
tranquil and welcoming – then again everything looks pleasant when you aren’t
climbing it. Refreshed and ready to push
on, we said our thanks to the staff and continued into the next forested area
which lay ahead.
Wodehouse Karst Creek
Management Area
Leaving the Beaver Valley Ski Club properties behind us, we were in
store for a long stretch of flat walking along the rim of the valley. This was a welcome change of pace that also
provided us with opportunities for amazing views across the northern stretch of
Beaver Valley. In addition, a straight run allowed us to pick up our pace and
get back into the rhythm of hiking that we enjoy.
Crossing another gravel concession road we descended down the rocky
valley on a wicked wooden ladder, which was tougher with a full backpack on
than it necessarily should have been. To
make matters worse, we have always found that hiking downhill is much harder
than climbing up. Following the trail,
we zigzagged down the side of the valley, weaving between huge rock formations
and into a hardwood forest where swarms of biting bugs and mosquitoes feasted
on us. After applying some bug spray –
something we don’t enjoy using – the trail turned, and in true BTC fashion,
took us back up to the top of the valley.
Despite these intermittent challenges, we enjoyed this stretch of the
Bruce Trail. We have found that
sometimes on the trail you hit a rhythm and cease to be caught up in the
details of each section and just trek.
Amid these moments you pass signs, trail markers, and other indicators
that you would typically watch for, photograph, and research. However, such was our enjoyment of the moment
that much in this stretch is a blur of indistinct memories. We recall passing a number of stunning waterfalls and being startled by several snakes basking on the trail, which moved too
quickly for us to identify. It was in
this way that we passed through Wodehouse
Karst Creek Management Area and almost seamlessly wove into Herman
McConnell Memorial Forest.
Sentier National
A particular highlight for us was finding, at one point, an old friend –
the markers for the Sentier National. From the limited information about this
pathway that we could find - the Sentier National, or National Trail, was
conceptualized in 1971 by Douglas Campbell of Alberta as a national trail that
would run coast to coast facilitating hiking, cycling and skiing. In 1977, the Canadian Hiking Association was
founded to help him promote the idea across the nation. However, despite growing in various provinces
across Canada, from the late 1980s onward the focus of the pathway seemed to be
in developing the Quebec portion of the trail.
In short order Rando Quebec, the organization now managing the Sentier
National, renamed it the Quebec National Trail or Le Sentier National au
Quebec. As such, while there are links
to the Sentier National spread across Canada, the 1650 km long stretch in
Quebec is the longest portion of it.
We frequently saw and crossed the Sentier National as we hiked on the Trans Canada Trail between 2018 and
2022 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Across Canada, we found signs for the
Sentier National in Fundy National Park in NB, across Quebec, and again in
Banff, Alberta. However, we never
expected to find it again on the Bruce Trail!
Herman McConnell
Memorial Forest
Transitioning out of the Wodehouse Karst Creek Management Area we
entered into Herman McConnell Memorial
Forest. There, to our surprise, we
discovered a pair of thru-hikers camping on the Bruce Trail – the first that we
had seen in the past few outings.
Despite being after 11 am, a time well past when those stealth camping
would normally be on the move, these two young ladies were still at their site
and clearly not in any rush. The Herman
McConnell Forest was one of those sections which online resources and previous
thru-hikers had suggested was a great place for stealth camping. Seeing these two trekkers, and knowing that
we too could have easily camped here last night, made us again momentarily
doubt yesterday’s decision not to push on.
But what is in the past is in the past and cannot be changed. We waved
our hellos and not wishing to interrupt them continued northward.
We left the dirt pathways behind and the BTC began to follow
the more established dirt roadways (or unmaintained road allowances?) around
property lines. Much of this route was
clearly used by vehicles as ruts and tracks marred the land and trail that we
followed.
Around noon the skies turned grey, and we worried that we were in for a
rain storm. This is nothing we haven’t experienced in the past, but we have
found that rain often gives way to harder hiking on the terrain of the Bruce
Trail. Thankfully, while it did begin to
drizzle at one point it was never that bad, and with our rain jackets on
neither we nor our gear got wet.
Epping Point and the
John Muir Lookout
The Bruce Trail next entered a section noted as Epping Point, where,
after more than 25 kilometres of hiking, we followed a small side trail and
took a break. There, with our backpacks
and rain gear off, we located a plaque to the conservationist John Muir, the
founder of the Sierra Club. According to local historical information,
John Muir, the renowned naturalist and conservationist, lived in the Meaford,
Ontario region from 1864 to 1866.
Setting
out on a walking tour of Canada West in 1864, his travels were likely inspired
by his pacifism and repulsion at the ongoing American Civil War – though there
is little actual information about his reasons. His letters do indicate that he
travelled around Ontario, visiting Niagara Falls, Burlington Bay, Hamilton, and
Holland Marsh before taking a job in a rake factory near Meaford and living at
Trout Hollow.
His writings to friends
highlight the natural beauty of the region and his appreciation for the
outdoors. In the years that followed John Muir’s time in Meaford, countless
pathways and nature conservation initiatives across North America would begin,
and a renewed appreciation for nature would arise as a result of his ideas,
articles, and ethos.
Concession Trekking
Resumes
Walking out of Epping Point with tired bodies and sore legs, we were
happy to discover that the Bruce Trail ceased it’s hard climbing and followed
concessions for the next 10 kilometers, making for easy progress. Unfortunately, nothing is given without a
cost, and so it was also in this stretch that the BTC literally took us around
3 sides of a concession.
This created a
mental challenge arising from the knowledge that the 7 kilometres of road
trekking could have been cut down to 2 kilometres of trail hiking had we simply
followed the Fairmont Side Trail instead of the main route. The largest blessing of this region was the
fact that Sideroad 22 is well-shaded by trees.
Green Corridors
Beyond Fairmont
Two hours and 10 kilometres later we were grateful to return to the
corridors of green and trails of dirt.
Off the road and north of the Fairmont property, we wove through a small
stretch of lush, shady forests amid the clear-cut agricultural farmlands around
us. In particular, we were thankful for the wooden bench installed en route,
which we relaxed on for over an hour – trying to rest our feet as well as burn
some of the daylight hours away. It was
now 5pm and we knew that we would be physically unable to venture another 15
kilometres to get back to our rental car.
As such, we were caught between the urge to progress, the soreness of
our bodies, and the realities of waiting for dusk to set up camp.
Griersville
Management Area
At 6 pm, as we approached the Griersville
Management Area, which was another puddle of green space that we were
venturing through, we realized we had only two options. Either we could find a
quiet place to unobtrusively settle down, which was appealing as we were both
exhausted from the heat and climbs of the day, or we could commit to 2-3 more
hours and 8 kilometres of hiking to get to the official Ambrose Campsite. We soon realized that we were unable to push
on to the official campsite and that the remaining options presented a
challenge for us. In particular, the
difficulty was being able to set up a stealth campsite and avoid attracting
attention amid a region surrounded by private property.
Doing our best to waste daylight by taking increasingly frequent breaks
and finding a corridor of trees with little evident foot traffic, we eventually
called it a day. By this point ,we had
ventured around 35 + kilometres since setting out this morning and had no
energy left. Accordingly, as the light
of the day faded we set up our tent, hunkered down, ate a cold meal, and
promptly fell asleep.
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