Hike 35: Trail Angels and Exhaustion : Cape Croker Park to McKay’s Harbour

Sore Morning, Beautiful Sunrise                                                  

 

Unsurprisingly, we slept very well last night.  Unsurprisingly, we are also all very sore this morning.  Both are the inevitable result of a long 30 kilometer push along the Bruce Trail yesterday.    Perhaps the most painful activity of the morning was fitting my sore feet back into my blessedly dry hiking boots again. 

 

Once out of the tent, we each went about our morning routines which involved using the washrooms, collecting and boiling water, and making a breakfast of coffee and oatmeal.  Today these activities were done in slow motion, with lots of stumbling and hobbling around.  I was particularly grateful for having a picnic table at our site to sit down on while preparing our morning meal on our camp stove.  A portable fuel stove is one of those items which hikers online sometimes scoff at, as it is considered by many to be too luxurious and an unnecessary weight in the backpack.  However, having a hot coffee to get me going in the morning, and so far, having a warm dinner at night are certainly worth the weight in my opinion.

Despite our resistant bodies, we were packed up and ready to head out by 8 am – the earliest we had gotten going yet!  After an hour of eating and packing we took a few minutes to check that our campsite was left cleaner than we had found it, and then we set off.  Back to the Bruce Trail we ventured. 

 

Climbing Back Up ... on the Bruce Trail

Today’s hike began in the beautiful park of Cape Croker Park Campground, which appears to have been formerly an Ontario Parks site, and which the BTC crosses through.  Leaving our campsite, we walked a compact dirt trail through a lush forest tunnel before following the Snake Trail Boardwalk, which took us along the shoreline of Sydney Bay.  While we were grateful for the boardwalk through the marshlands, the wooden slats were slippery from the morning dew, which made for slow progress.  To make things more challenging, the boardwalk had been woven over the roots of trees and along the contours of the landscape creating a roller coaster like effect.  In short, it wasn’t level at all, which also made for challenging trekking.

 West of Cape Croker, the Bruce Trail navigated the marshy landscape as frogs called out from the water below and song birds sang in the trees above us.  Walking the coastline, the shore was covered in a vast variety of ferns, which made us wish we had the time to identify the species around us.  The boardwalk soon ended, leading us onto a muddy pathway that eventually transitioned into a slow climb amid huge moss covered boulders and bent conifer trees.

 

Reaching the base of the escarpment, our route again transformed – this time into a near vertical ascent back to the top of the escarpment.  The ascent was an unrelenting challenge, giving us perhaps the most exhausting start to any day’s hike so far.  Even the infrastructure of the BTC seemed as though it sought to limit our progress.  Our final climb up the escarpment would be on a set of metal stairs that had been installed as an aid, but which started some 4-5 feet from the ground.  Ultimately, this meant that we had to boost our backs up and then scramble to get to the bottom rung of the steps.  The climb afterwards was also daunting, with little space to take a break or stop until we reached the top.  By the time we finally made it, we realized it had taken us almost an hour to cover the 2 kilometers from our campsite to our present position.   As such, this was one of the few sections of the Bruce Trail that made us envious of southbound hikers who would have had the “luxury” of simply tossing their backpacks to the ground and jumping down.

 

This morning’s slow progress would in fact define much of the day’s hike.  According to the BTC guidebook, much of today’s trek was going to see us trace the escarpment as it wove out onto peninsulas and back into bays and coves.  As such, though we trekked a fair number of kilometers on the trail we didn’t actually proceed north by very much. 

 

Sydney Bay Bluff

After resting at the intersection of the main path and the Hart’s Tongue Side Trail, we followed 5 kilometers of escarpment ridge around Sydney Bay Bluff.  Here the trail blessedly kept us under forest cover as it wove along the top of the escarpment.   Our efforts were rewarded with periodic views over the spectacular looking Melville Sound.   Turning north, the trail then crossed the peninsula of Sydney Bay Bluff.

 

En route, to my despair we found what seemed like hedges of poison ivy throughout the area and along the trail.  For most people, simply avoiding poison ivy would be enough.  Certainly for both Sean and our young family member even walking through it in shorts did nothing to them.  However, I unfortunately am one of those people who can seemingly see a picture of the plant and develop an allergic reaction all over their body.  As such,   traversing through what seemed to be fields of waist high poison ivy invariably meant that my legs – even inside field pants with my socks tucked over my cuffs – were soon covered.

 

Beyond the fields of itch (as I came to mentally call them), throughout this stretch we also had to navigate a series of wooden stairs and ladders.  The installed infrastructure along the Bruce Trail typically makes the hiking easier than the alternative of rock scrambling or switch backing up and down the escarpment.  Unfortunately, today it seemed as though the energy and effort needed to use a ladder with a backpack on was almost superhuman in scope – a combination of the weight of our backpacks, the scope of the terrain, and the extreme heat of the summer.   In particular, I have always been nervous that if I were to slip with a large backpack on I might not control my fall, or I might get tangled in the ladder itself.  Thankfully, neither has ever happened.

Hope Bay and Greenbelt Walks Trails

Having descended the escarpment to the shoreline of Hope Bay, the trail began to follow backcountry roads.   Almost immediately we passed a sign indicating that this area was part of the Greenbelt Walks.  Fascinated, we took the opportunity to find out more about the dedicated trails spread throughout the Greenbelt.  The Greenbelt Trails, which are also known as Greenbelt Discovery Routes, are pathways located on the Bruce Trail, Oak Ridges Moraine Trail, or Ganaraska Trail systems.  In particular, Greenbelt Trails are routes that allow people the opportunity to enjoy and explore the natural beauty found in protected spaces across Ontario.  In the BTC system there are Greenbelt pathways in places such as Short Hills, Balls Falls, Tiffany Falls, Forks of the Credit, Crawford Lake, Mount Nemo, Rattlesnake Point, and Tobermory – just to name a few.  In Hope Bay the Greenbelt Trail allows hikers the opportunity to walk in a forested region which Indigenous peoples, including the Chippewas of Nawash and the Saugeen, believe to be a ‘Place of Healing’.

 

Our curiosity satisfied, we stopped at a local general store where we purchased deliciously cold iced teas that we enjoyed during our second break of the day on the sandy shores of Hope Bay.  Here I must admit that we briefly considered stopping at the local campground, despite having only trekked 10 kilometers today.  Despite how little distance we had covered, our bodies nonetheless felt beaten up and exhausted already.   Resting in the bright sun on the rocky beach, we sat with our wet shoes off and sought to dry out our socks on top of our backpacks, while also soaking our tired feet in the cold water.

 

After relaxing for the better part of half an hour, and regardless of the temptation to stay, we pushed on.  Leaving Hope Bay, we followed the compacted gravel of both Beech and Water streets back to the base of the escarpment.  Here we began the second ascent of the day … which was no easier than the first.   In fact, the climb out of Hope Bay was, to put it kindly, very slow and laborious.  So much so, that upon reaching the top of the escarpment – at the entrance of the Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve – we took our third break for the day.

 

Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve

 

Sliding our packs back on, we began to realize that with McKay Harbour camping area still 30 kilometers away, today would be our longest and hardest push so far.  Yet the logistics of the Bruce Trail often forces these situations on people striving to make extended weekend treks or thru-hikes.  This is because the legal camping areas are often located either absurdly close together or impossibly far apart.  In the peninsula region, this situation is exacerbated by the reality that access to water is frequently located far below the trail.  With few options open to us today, there was no point in complaining, and little use in wasting energy in being upset.  We simply had to get on with it and get it done.

 

Walking into the Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve, the Bruce trail continued to be challenging as it traversed the rocky terrain of the region.  En route, lush mosses, dense ferns, and countless fungi defined much of the landscape – keeping us both distracted and entertained as we pushed on. 

 

At one point, we came to a sign noting that we were near the “Hope Bay Glacial Potholes”.  These geological features are apparently almost 10,000 years old, and are the result of fluvial erosion.   Apparently, potholes are created when granite rocks – which were carried and deposited by glaciers during the last ice age – are left behind during glacial retreat.  Afterwards, the ongoing flow of water, combined with the friction and movement of these rocks, slowly carves away the soft limestone along the escarpment.  Ultimately, this process results in significant cylindrical potholes being created in the seemingly hard rock fact. 

 

Spending time looking at these holes, which more often than not were covered in moss and partially filled with water, let us appreciate a stunning example of the power of nature.  The fact that gentle movement and water over time can transform our landscape was amazing to witness.

 

Trekking the Niagara Escarpment

 

Trekking on, we passed side trail after side trail, all of which our maps indicated would lead us across the peninsula in fewer kilometers and with far less effort that the main trail demanded.  Regardless, we remained dedicated to staying on the main trail as much as possible. 

 

Hiking northward, our pathway followed the edge of the escarpment, providing both stunning and unnerving lookouts.  Here we had a chance to enjoy views of the waters around us and the forests far below.  Overall, this stretch proved both awe-inspiring and unnerving for those (like Sean) who are not a fan of heights.  By the time we reached Jackson’s Point we had begun to struggle.  Increasingly, we were walking more like exhausted drunkards with sore legs than epic hikers.  Our energy - now some 20 kilometers into the day’s trek - derived largely from merely pushing forward along what was without a doubt one of the hardest stretches of the Bruce Trail that we have ever traversed.  

 

Indeed, I feel bad about my description of our time in the Hope Bay Forest region.  I am certain that this stretch deserves better treatment, with all of its natural wonders.  However, the constant climbing, and the 10 kilometer long push from Hope Bay to Jackson’s Point, made much of it a blur in our memories.  

 

Jackson’s Point and Cape Dundas

 

Arriving to Jackson’s Point we collapsed into a heap of sore muscles (or lack of muscles).   Gulping down our water, we took in the spectacular view that we had worked so hard to get to.   After 20 minutes of recuperating we again retrieved and strapped on our backpacks and began the descent down the escarpment.  Here, given my legs of jelly, I was grateful for the ladders which assisted our climb down to the waters of Melville Sound.  

I was doubly grateful to discover that the path to Cape Dundas, and onward along the shoreline and through an open meadow to Rush Cove, was much easier.  In this stretch the trail was flat, compact, and open, giving us the gentlest 3 kilometers of walking since leaving Owen Sound.   In addition, it was blessedly cool at the base of the escarpment, where the trees shaded the pathway as it wove alongside the marvelously clear turquoise blue water.  

 

Decisions and Exhaustion at Rush Cove

 

Venturing through the Chris Walker Nature Reserve we arrived at Rush Cove.  Here we took a break to make a decision.   It was 2:30 pm and we had now covered almost 24 kilometers, which had taken us 6 and a half hours.   Our goal for the day was the McKay Harbour campsite, which was still almost 15 kilometers away.  The only ray of hope was that the remaining distance included 10 kilometers of easy road walking.   The question now was could our tired bodies and sore legs make it another 15 km today, or did we need to stop?  We had been told that a number of people wild camp in this area, and we had certainly seen evidence of such activities. 

 

Uncertain how far we could proceed, we examined our BTC guidebook and Google maps, and in short order made three decisions.  The first arose when our young hiking companion noticed an attraction named Creig’s Caves on the map, and expressed an interest in seeing it.  The route to this site was along the Bruce Trail – which now followed roadways.  The second decision we made was to hike the 9 kilometers to Barrow Bay, and if at that point we were unable to continue on, we would try to get a lift into the town of Lion’s Head for the night.  Alternatively, if we felt we could push on to our camping area, then we would hike into the evening as far as we could go.   The great logistical challenge to this last possibility was that once we left Barrow Bay we could not access water until McKay’s Harbour.  At a certain point we would have no options, and we would have to reach the designated camping area.  Filtering water and refilling our water bottles, we set out from Rush Cove.   With our choices clear, we followed the wide gravel roadway which briefly paralleled the shoreline before climbing back up the escarpment. 

 

Creig’s Caves

 

Meeting up with Scenic Caves Rd, we came to a sign directing us to a local attraction, Creig’s Caves, which our young family member had expressed an interest in seeing.  Hoping to distract ourselves from our exhaustion, we turned the corner and walked to the entrance of Creig’s Caves.  To our delight, we immediately discovered that there were toilets, a picnic area and water available!  We soon found ourselves relaxing at a picnic table with the temptation of shade and sitting too much to resist.

 

Creig’s Caves have been privately owned site since 1926, when the Creig family purchased a 200 acre parcel of land.  Starting in the 1960s, after the prompting of a local businessman, the Creig family opened the site to the public, charging a small admission fee.  The property soon became popular for tourists to visit.  Over the years, a number of movies have been filmed in the 10 caves which are accessible from the site, increasing their popularity further still. 

 

The unique geology at Creig’s Caves, much like Bruce’s Caves east of Owen Sound, are the result of water erosion caused by wave action in the post glacial Lake Algonquin.  During this process, the softer limestone of the Niagara Escarpment was eroded away, leading to the formation of deep sea caves.  Today these caverns are well above the water line and open for exploration. 

 

Fascinated by the property, we spent about 30 minutes climbing and exploring the geology of the region.  The teenager of our group – despite having trekked for several hours beforehand - was quickly crawling and scrambling amid all the nooks and crannies of the various caves.  With less energy, we bided our time walking the trails, enjoying listening to the songbirds calling in the forest, and identifying the various ferns and plant life around us.  With time moving on, and now being somewhat refreshed after our visit to Creig’s Caves, we set back off onto the Bruce Trail.  Between Creig’s Caves and Barrow Bay we walked for the next hour and half along HWY 9.   While trekking roadways is never as enjoyable as trails, it does make for both easy and fast progress – even if it did also lead to a number of odd looks from passengers in cars racing past. 

 

Barrow Bay and Trail Magic

 

Footsore and bone weary as we approached Barrow Bay, the trail – or at least a trail angel – provided.  With the shore line of Little Lake in sight, a lady pulled up beside us in a car and handed us 3 bottles of ice cold water to help us out.  She had apparently already passed us twice in the last two hours and, as it turns out, she was not just a trail angel, but also a BTC land steward who cares for a section of the Bruce Trail in this region!   Beyond the ice cold water, she asked if there was anything she could do for us.  Not willing to beg her for a ride into Lion’s Head, we lied and told her that we were ok.  Then, after chatting for 10 minutes about our thru-hike from Owen Sound to Tobermory we said our goodbyes and she drove off.   Clearly, we had made our decision to continue on to McKay’s Habour. 

Taking this interruption, and the presence of a flat green space beside two monuments as a sign, we took our next break near Barrow Bay.  Here each of us again stripped off our shoes and socks and put our feet onto the grass to dry off, stretch out, and rest.  Reenergized by the trail angel’s kindness, her words of encouragement, and a long break, we nonetheless had very little energy or desire in us to walk on.  However, by this point our sole option was to hike to the campsite.

 

With 30 kilometers of tough terrain already behind us, we still had another 8 kilometers to cover before arriving at McKay’s Harbour for the night.  Typically, this type of distance would take us about an hour and a half to trek.  Given our present state however, we figured it might take us 3 hours of exhausted limping to venture from Barrow Bay to tonight’s destination.  It was already 5 pm when we set off down McKague Rd and returned to the path heading towards Lion’s Head Provincial Nature Reserve. 

 

Lion’s Head Provincial Nature Reserve

 

Leaving the roadway, the boundary of Lion’s Head Provincial Nature Reserve was delineated by large signs noting the presence of poison ivy … perfect.  This was yet another obstacle for three exhausted hikers.  According to the guidebook, this region of the Bruce Trail crosses an area that was previously the site of an intensive logging operation, which has since been allowed to regenerate.  Today, Lion’s head is noted as one of the Bruce Peninsula’s most popular areas to visit.  Perhaps this is because along this stretch of trail the cliff face of the escarpment stands over 100 meter above Georgian Bay, providing for amazing views.

 

Leaving the hard rhythm of pavement behind, we stepped onto a wide path amid a dense mixed forest.  Here the trail traversed along the limestone of the escarpment, continuing on amid tough climbs, rocky outcroppings, and stray roots. Adding to this challenge, there were large crevices across much of the landscape, while the trail itself often wove precariously close to the ridge of the escarpment.  Amid these long stretches of cliff trekking, we were provided panoramic views of Cape Dundas across the waterway, as well as the dense forest well below us. Put a less romantic and more practical way - while this region is naturally stunning, it is also physically exhausting to hike.  Paramount to this situation was the need to always remain aware of our footing throughout this stretch.

 

Sometime later, after 6 kilometers of slow progress, we were rewarded with a stunning view over the turquoise waters and sheer cliff face at Gun Point.   With little energy left, and unwilling to trust our bodies if we took a break we continued on, following as the trail turned northwest and continued to trace the top of the escarpment.   While the poison ivy here was less prevalent, the nearness of the cliff edge drove us to continue to watch our footing as we pushed on.

 

The final 2 kilometers of the day passed by very slowly, with us shuffling along – striving merely to keep going.  Despite it taking so long for us to cover this stretch, none of us remembers much from it.  If there were signs detailing the region’s history I either didn’t see them, or don’t remember them.  If there were stunning natural wonders, I don’t recall.  The fact is that the trek from Gun Point to McKay’s Harbour was accomplished through shear muscle memory and little else.

Descending to McKay’s Harbour

Reaching the junction with the McKay’s Harbour Side Trail, our route began to descend the escarpment – an indicator that we were not far from the designated camping area and the end of our day.  Here the trail followed along the base of the escarpment before meandering through a wonderfully cool deciduous forest that we had been viewing from above for the past couple of hours.  Thankfully, the trail eventually led down and out to McKay’s Harbour, which is a treed stretch fronted by a boulder stone beach on the shores of Georgian Bay.   It was 6:55 pm and physically drained, we all dropped our backpacks for the final time today amid a small clearing among the trees.  In the end, it had taken us just over four hours to trek the 8 kilometers from Barrow Bay to McKay’s Harbour – a hike which was only the last of a number of very challenging regions we traversed today.

 

With our backpacks in a pile on the ground we all sat with our backs against trees and pulled our shoes off.  It would still be another hour before we set up our tent for the night.  Whether this was the specific designated camping site I have no idea – nor at the time did I care.  We could stop walking, there was water nearby, and the day was done.   Apparently, this harbor and camp region is named after John McKay, a local fisherman, who in the early 1900s became the only settler to resident on Lion’s Head peninsula. 

 

As the evening progressed we slowly got underway, preparing for the night.  Thankfully, there was a ton of water available here in Georgian Bay - because we drank a lot of it.  As we set up camp, inflated our Thermarest mattresses and prepared dinner, the youngest member of our group filtered water.  In fact, we were shocked when he volunteered to do so, only to later look up and see him sitting in the lake cooling off.  This wasn’t the worst of ideas, so, with our tent set up, we joined him and rested our legs and feet in the bay.

 

Feeling somewhat better, we contented ourselves with Mountain House macaroni and cheese for dinner, along with pieces of a chocolate bar for desert.   Perhaps it was not the most nutritious of meals, but to be honest, we were aiming for ease and comfort.  Cleaning up after dinner, we hung up our hiking clothes in the hope of airing them throughout the evening would make us a little less nasally offensive on our coming treks.  Then, by 9 pm we were in the tent and off to sleep, with another day on the Bruce Trail behind us.

 

Reflection on a Long Trail Day

 

The hike between Cape Croker and McKay’s Harbour on the Bruce Trail today was undoubtedly one of the toughest we have undertaken.  However, there is no denying that the effort we expended was repeatedly rewarded with spectacular views en route. It was a day during which we just seemed to climb and climb and climb.  Then, when it seemed there was nowhere left to go except down, we climbed some more. In between the elevation gains and losses was the unrelenting rocky topography, which also made for both tough and slow trekking.   It required more effort than we thought we had - but the logistical realities of the trail, once we left Cape Croker, meant we had few options open to us. 

 

In the end, about the best I can advise is that anyone setting out into the Peninsula Section of the Bruce Trail should strive not to overestimate their abilities, or underestimate how much time each section might take.  In fact, it might be best to err on the side of caution and cut these sections up, contenting yourself with shorter day walks, more relaxing hikes, and beautiful views. 

 

In short, this section of the Bruce Trail can be hiked in long stretches, but by the end of the day it becomes a bit of a slog that one is completing through shear stubbornness and determination.