Hike 32: Stumbling On, Grumbling On - Glen Management Area to Bass Lake

Bruce Trail Thru-Hike

The first thought I had this morning when I woke up was of pain ... not in my feet, or my knees, or my back, but really everywhere.  Even the simple act of sitting up seemed to take superhuman effort.  I looked across the tent and noticed that the younger member of our group had pulled his sleeping bag over his face, as though to stave off the morning light and not have to move again.  I could certainly sympathize. 

Putting my socks and shoes on, I stepped out of the tent and began the process of boiling water to make coffee and oatmeal for our camp breakfast.  Today’s goal was a simple one - to merely get to yesterday’s goal of Bass Lake.   This might sound pathetic, but our experiences during our first day on the Bruce Trail hiking under full pack weight, and with a younger family member, and amid a deluge of rain, have quickly taught us that we needed to ditch our original plans, adjust to the realities of the situation, and take a short day.  This trek is meant to be a joyous time in the outdoors, and an attempt to teach a love of nature, not an arduous death march.

This morning began slowly, with each of us loath to get out of the tent, grumbling through breakfast, and with measured movements putting our camping gear back into our damp backpacks.  In the end, it took more than two hours to get our backpacks filled, to collect and purify water for the day, and to get ourselves ready to step back onto the trail.  Hardly a stellar start, but big things are accomplished with small steps – and Advil. 

With one last look at the night’s place of refuge, to make sure that we had everything we had brought and left no trace behind, we returned to the Bruce Trail. 

Rain, Rain Go Away

Setting out from our campsite, things definitely looked brighter than yesterday – the sun was up, there were patches of blue in the sky, and we were still moving forward.  Walking north through the Glen Management Area, we followed the well maintained trail through a mixed forest.  Unfortunately, an hour later conditions began to shift.  Specifically, the sky rapidly darkened and it began to pour rain once again.   As it turned out, this morning’s first 2 kilometers would be the only stretch of the BTC in our first two days that we would hike in the sunshine.  In a summer marked by a lack of precipitation, luck was clearly not on our side.  

While we had not made the same mistake as yesterday – of packing our rain gear at the bottom of our bags – the fact remained that the heat of the summer begot a new question.  Is it better to simply embrace the day’s rainfall and hike wet, or should we overheat in our rain gear?   Ultimately, both Sean and I put on our rain jackets, but our younger group member, whether through stubbornness or malaise, simply walked on. 

With the rain falling, we were very grateful for being in a forest which at least kept some of the water off of us - through this was hardly our only obstacle.  Just like yesterday’s venture from Owen Sound to the Glen Management Area, the Bruce Trail traversed a rocky landscape full of crevices in the escarpment, which meant that we had to watch our footing.

Weaving on, we trekked amid narrow passages between outcroppings in the escarpment, navigated stray rocks and roots across the pathway, and were amazed by the vast assortment of mosses and ferns growing on everything.  Eventually, the pathway leveled out and in sections gave way to magnificent views of the forested landscape and wetlands around us.

Passing beyond the Glen Management Area the landscape slowly transformed, leading us through a marshy section, over a boardwalk, and between a property line bordering the edge of farmland.  While the hiking here was easy, we were soon inundated by lots of insects amid the tall grasses.   Passing the sign for the Alvar Side Trail, we crossed Lindenwood Rd and entered into the next stretch of the BTC.

Lindenwood Management Area

With the rain still pouring down, we quickly entered into Lindenwood Management Area, which blessedly continued to be a tunnel of trees.  Here the Bruce Trail wove along a wide dirt path – slowly transforming into a wide muddy marsh – which periodically ventured onto the limestone of the rocky escarpment.   Following the ridge of the raising landscape, we crossed mossy crevices which bisected the escarpment and occasionally arrived at lookouts which provided views of the mixed forests and farmlands scattered throughout the countryside.  With the rain making everything slippery, we were cautious of the placement of our feet throughout Lindenwood. 

Soon after passing the Dawson Side Trail, the pathway turned south and we arrived at the point at which we needed to venture off the BTC main route.  Near to the Ross McLean Side Trail we set the Bruce Trail aside and instead navigated an overgrown path along the shorelines of Bass Lake, which soon led us to a series of quiet roads, before bringing us to the campground.   Here, at the moment of our arrival, the day’s deluge of rain stopped! 

Bass Lake Campground

The Bass Lake Campground had been our anticipated destination for last night, but circumstances, and exhaustion, had led us to break our first day of hiking into two.  One might think that we would be disheartened that it took us two days instead of one to reach this point.  However, I think that we were all just grateful to have gotten here on foot at all. 

Having checked in and been assigned a campsite, the owners talked to us about other BTC hikers that had stayed with them over the years.  It soon became clear that this was a favorite rest spot on the Bruce Trail for many.  They admitted that they were worried when we arrived because their online prices had changed this season, and it was now 5 dollars more per night.  For our part we were stunned that they thought we would worry about a 5 dollar price difference!  To be honest, at that point we would have paid almost any price for the luxury of being able to dry out, clean up, do laundry, and take warm showers!  The campground hosts' help and kindness in getting us settled in was amazing!

Set up, drying out, and feeling much cleaner, we all sat at our picnic table, enjoying not having to move or walk anywhere!  By early afternoon we had found our way to the lake and docks to swim.  Here I have to admit that only a teenager could spend two days soaking wet from hiking in the rain, and then decide that it is the right time to swim in the lake.  The rest of the day we repeatedly visited the campground store, ate ice cream, bought hot dogs, and made S’mores over the evening campfire. By the time the sun had gone down the frustrations of our first two days on the Bruce Trail had begun to disappear, and we were all enjoying the moment. 

Reflecting on the Day

After venturing more than 32 km over the course of our first two days, it was clear to us that we pushed too far and too hard … at least for now, with us being three novices whose bodies aren’t used to it yet.     Walking into Bass lake campground was exhausting given the terrain and thick humidity of the summer’s heat.

After two days on the trail, we have come to see that we have made a number of glaring mistakes as beginner backpackers.   Some of these are the result of a lack of experience, while others are the result of the limited options available to us when setting out.  The first evident mistake that we have made is trekking with our family tent – a four person 12-15 lb item that is far too heavy for this undertaking.  Unfortunately, this was our only camping option as the cost of a new, lightweight tent was too much to justify for a 10 day excursion.   Our second mistake was not investigating the route enough in advance to determine exactly where we could resupply en route.  Instead, we assumed that we had to carry 9 days of food on us from the outset – which for 3 people is a lot of food, and a lot of weight.  We now know that we could have resupplied in Wiarton, Bass Lake, and Lion’s Head en route.  These options would have reduced our weight dramatically from 9 days to 2-3 days of food which is much more manageable.  Finally, we have come to see that we are carrying far too much gear.  I feel as though our inexperience led the staff at outdoors store to put us on a shopping spree.  As such, I feel slightly used by the staff there, slightly stupid for trying to account for every possibility, and more than slightly sore from trying to carry so much. 

Ultimately however, doing is learning, and over the past couple of days we have learned a lot!

In addition to our own missteps, we have found that the terrain along the Bruce Trail in this region forces us to almost constantly watch our feet to avoid tripping over roots and cracks or falling into some of the larger crevices in the escarpment.  This has meant that we have spent less time chatting and looking around, and more time focused with our heads down.  However, despite all of these factors and challenges, the stunning natural beauty of the region has been incredible. 

Having reached our goal for the day, we very much enjoyed the afternoon and evening, relaxing, having ice cream, and swimming in the cool waters of Bass Lake!