Hike 36: Lookouts ... and Poison Ivy - McKay’s Harbour to Cape Chin

Packing Up, Heading Out on the Bruce Trail

After two hard days on the trail, morning came all too quickly.  Last night’s sleep at McKay’s Harbor was wonderfully quiet and serene, with only the sounds of the water lapping on the rocks nearby.  It was so wonderful to wake up slowly to the sounds of nature and birds calling without the banging of machinery or the blare of alarms.  I think I could have just stayed there for the rest of our trip and been perfectly content.  

Stunningly, this morning we all awoke refreshed rather than sore.  Each of us had little doubt last night that we would be a mass of tired muscles and tender feet today.  Yet this was not the case, and instead we had seemingly been renewed by nature.  

Over our camp breakfast of coffee and oatmeal we considered that perhaps today we should limit ourselves to hiking into the town of Lion’s Head, which was only 7 or 8 kilometers away.  There we could get a room, enjoy a shower, and have a big meal or two.  If we took this leisurely option it would mean that we could spend as much time in McKay’s Harbour as we wanted, enjoying the cool waters and calm coastline.  Despite the appeal of taking a short day, we decided to continue on and push as far as we could.

Despite taking it slow, we were nonetheless ready to return to the Bruce Trail by 9:30 am.  The only hitch was that the clothes we had hung up to dry last night were still wet from the evening’s dew.  Despite our best efforts in getting our tent dried off, our clothes seemed to remain damp.   Such is life.   As there was little we could do about it, and knowing that the summer heat would soon warm us up, we slithered into our damp clothes and sought to enjoy the coolness.  With our gear packed up and our backpacks on, we were soon off – back onto the Bruce Trail. 
  

Lion’s Head Point

Walking out of our beloved campsite at McKay’s Harbour, the trail initially followed the coastline before climbing very steeply up to Lion’s Head Point.  This was a tough stretch along the unrelenting and rocky terrain.  In one particular section the path seemed to be a slope of slate, which wove us up to the base of the escarpment before thankfully giving way to a set of wooden steps.  

Returning to the top of the escarpment, the trail again took us to a series of precarious ledges and lookouts – as it has throughout the Peninsula Section.   In keeping with this routine, we were given panoramic views of the crystal clear waters of Isthmus Bay, the turquoise shallows along the shorelines, and the forest far below. 

The rugged nature of the landscape, and our still tired bodies from yesterday meant that it took us 2 hours to hike the 7 or so km to the town of Lion’s Head.    While this might seem a slow pace, the fact remains that the trek to Lion’s Head along the western ridge of the escarpment was much easier than the approach to the campsite from the east.  Whether this is because the terrain was less rugged or because we simply had more energy from a good night’s sleep I cannot say. 

The Cotswold Way Friendship Trail 

Throughout much of this morning’s southbound hike we followed the Cotswold Way Trail-Bruce Trail Friendship Trail, which is one of nine pathways which the Bruce Trail Conservancy has paired with around the world. The Cotswold Way trail is 102 miles, or 164 kilometers in length and is situated in the west of England.  This National Trail spans from the UNESCO World Heritage site and city of Bath in the south to Chipping Campden in the north.   En route, it explores the Cotswold Hills, rolling pastures, the Cotswold Escarpment, deciduous forests, and a variety of English communities.    

According to the BTC website, an International Friendship Trail is used by the Bruce Trail Conservancy and the World Trails Network to raise awareness of and support for public trails around the globe.  The concept is similar to “twin towns” where regions across the world partner towards mutual cooperation and publicity.  At present, the Bruce Trail has 9 Friendship Trails along its route, which means that we have already visited 5 of them!  

These include a section of the BTC in Short Hills Provincial Park that is twinned with the Rim of Africa, a section near Waterdown that is matched with Offa's Dyke Trail in England, a piece of the BTC north of Milton that is twinned with the Kythera Hiking Trail in Greece, and a section of Hockley Valley Provincial Park that is connected to the Jeju Olle Trail in South Korea.  Perhaps one day we will have a chance to trek some of these partnered trails around the world.

45 Degrees Latitude 

Also amid this stretch, at a point just a few kilometers into today’s trek and south of the Cotsworld Way Friendship Trail, we also crossed the 45 degree latitude line.  This latitudinal line is culturally held as the halfway point between the North Pole and the Equator.  Unfortunately, this popularly accepted notion is simply not true.  In fact, the precise halfway point between the northern pole and the equator is estimated to be 16 kilometers north of the 45 degree latitude mark.  This is because the shape of the Earth is not a perfect sphere, but is instead an oblate spheroid which bulges at the equator and is flattened at the poles.   

Regardless, the 45 degree latitude line is a frequently visited place where many people come to take family pictures and selfies.  Interestingly, the same degree of latitude that passed through Lion’s Head also traverses parts of France, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Crimea, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and Japan, as well as the United States.  I am always intrigued by discovering how such locations near to home are connected in unique ways across the globe.  

Lion’s Head 

Geographic trivia aside, the BTC soon traced inland, becoming a wide flat trail as it navigated through a leafy forest.  Passing through a designated parking area for the local trail, our route wove along the paved streets of Lion’s Head toward the harbor.  The Town of Lion’s Head was originally known as Point Hangcliff and was later renamed in 1875 after the nearby rock formation, which some believe is similar in shape to a lion’s head.  For us, Lion’s Head stood as a big achievement on our thru-hike which, like Wiarton and Tobermory, represents one of the few towns en route.  As such, we took the opportunity to resupply for the remaining four to five days of hiking.  Stepping into the grocery store we picked up oatmeal, coffee, wraps, cheese, cliff bars, macaroni and cheese, and a couple of chocolate bars.  Then, with all of our coming needs taken care of, we also took a few moments to enjoy an ice cream while sitting under trees at Lion’s Head beach area.

Sitting on the shoreline we had a wonderful view of the forested spit of land on the horizon, the Lion’s Head lighthouse, and the full marina nearby.   During our break we again chatted about the possibility of perhaps stopping for the day at the local Inn.  Checking our maps, we realized that if things were tough, we still had the option to stop a Reed’s Dump camping area only 8 or 10 kilometers away.   Feeling that we could continue without having to push too hard through another long stretch, we decided to walk on.  

Rested, rehydrated, and refreshed we picked up our backpacks and set off northward out of Lion’s Head.  Leaving the beach we followed the paved and brick pathways of town around the rocky coastline.  Beyond the outskirts of Lion’s Head the trail proceeded along the patched and paved Isthumus Bay Rd, following the shoreline of Georgian Bay for 4 or 5 kilometers until reaching the Forty Hills section of the BTC.  En route, we passed lots of cottages and enjoyed the opportunity to take in views of Georgian Bay without having to watch our feet and constantly avoid obstacles. 

The Forty Hills

Rounding Whippoorwill Bay, the Bruce Trail departed from the roadways we had enjoyed for the past hour, and dove back onto a dirt pathway which immediately entered a tunnel in a conifer hedge.   Discovering that we were trekking around Whippoorwill Bay seemed somehow exotic and wonderful to my mind, and as a result the word ‘whippoorwill’ was soon firmly lodged in my thoughts.   As a birder, I have a relationship with these uniquely named birds.  Whippoorwills are named for their call – which they say over and over and over again almost to the point of being an annoyance.  Unfortunately, we did not hear any of these birds in this area but they are unsurprisingly common here.  

Smokey Head-White Bluff Provincial Nature Reserve 

Seamlessly, the trail transitioned from the Forty Hills to the Smokey Head-White Bluff Provincial Nature Reserve.  Here the narrow pathway wove amid the conifer forest and navigated the rocky crevices crisscrossing the ground.  Despite these cracks across the landscape, the hiking here was generally very easy, as we slowly ascended back to the top of the escarpment.  The slight exceptions to this were that we had to navigate a great deal of poison ivy and some of the rocky parts were damp and therefore a little slippery.  

Regardless, we soon arrived at White Bluff – an iconic and popular lookout that provides visitors views over Georgian Bay and the town of Lion’s Head to the south.  From here our route turned northward, following the escarpment ridge amid a wonderfully shaded forest and periodically striking inland.  Throughout this stretch we continued to navigate around crevices in the rocky landscape, which demanded the lion’s share of our attention.   Perhaps the greatest challenge we faced was that we had to continually stop and check where we were, because the region was comprised of a network of trails, side trails and cut pathways.  In many ways, it reminded us of our time in Dundas Valley, just north of Hamilton, many hikes ago.

Pushing on, we were often shocked when the trail came extremely close to the edge of the escarpment, bringing us to lookouts without barriers or warnings.  We were similarly in awe when the pathway crossed particularly deep and dangerous crevices through which one could look directly down on the forest and waters now over 50 meters below.    As a result, we spent a great deal of our time watching our footing while venturing through there, striving to stay on the correct trail, avoid tripping, and give the poison ivy a wide berth. 

Beyond these challenges – and a particularly tricky descent that involved a rope assisted section – this stretch of the Bruce Trail was a relatively comfortable and beautiful trek, which we immensely enjoyed.  Given the ease of the day’s progress, we soon passed a quaint painted homemade sign that noted that we were now only 2 kilometers away from Reed’s Dump, which was today’s “soft goal”.   Navigating through forest on the wide trail, our route continued to alternate between receding into the forest and heading back to the edge of the escarpment, giving us glances of the rocky shorelines, inviting cool waters, and forests far below. 

Resting in Poison Ivy

Despite the relative ease of the day, after about an hour and half of hiking we decided it was time to take a break.  Each of us quickly dropped our backpacks, and while the others stretched I plunked down on my back on the ground.  Laying there I was grateful to allow my body the opportunity to rest in the shade.  Unfortunately for me, it was at this point that our young relative excitedly commented “leaves of three, let them be!”  Lying with my eyes closed, I simply responded “yes yes, leaves of three, let them be.  If you see poison ivy don’t touch it ok?”  He again commented with great excitement “leaves of three, let them be!”  Not quite understanding what he meant or why he was so excited, I opened my eyes and looked at him.  It was only when he again repeated “leaves of three, let them be” and pointed at the patch of ground I was lying on that I realized what he meant.  I was sitting in a huge patch of poison ivy!

Crap.  

Unfortunately, while Sean and others in his family have the good fortune to be able to march through entire forests of poison ivy unscathed, I have never had such luck.  Even with field pants on and avoiding the plant I still seem to be affected by it.  Lying down in it meant that my day, and this trip, had taken a bad turn.

Noting that poison ivy is rampant throughout certain regions, and in particular this section of the Bruce Trail, would be an understatement.  This was hardly the first portion of the Peninsula section that seemed to be more of a field of poison ivy than a forest.  Unfortunately, in those instances where one touches it, there are few options beyond flushing the affected area with water.  Once you have been exposed to poison ivy, you are really left to endure its progress.  While there are a number of creams and lotions which can be applied (if you have them, which I didn’t), they only help to limit the itchiness of the rash, not cure it.

Double crap. 

Reed’s Dump

Frustrated with my mistake, I used up what was left of my bottled water to clean up my hands, and we soon continued on.  An hour later, around 2:30 in the afternoon, we came to the sign for Reed’s Dump side trail and campsite.  Given my recent error in judgment, I went down the pathway to the cobblestone beach and camping area to wash as much of my hands, arms, legs and neck as I could.  I have no idea if it did any good or if I simply spread the oils from the poison ivy further around my body.  During this process the others stayed at the trail junction with our backpacks giving me privacy to wash and space to vent. 

According to online resources, Reed’s Dump was historically a stretch in which massive numbers of logs washed ashore.  This was the result of timber being logged throughout the region and subsequently being brought down to the beach to be floated to lumbers mills along the peninsula.  Sitting there washing off I had a hard time imaging this beautiful area being heavily forested, or the clear waters being filled with cut logs.  I suppose time hides the progress of ages past.  

Given that it was still early in the day, and that we were all still feeling pretty good, we decided to keep on hiking.  One of the main advantages to trekking in the summer isn’t just the good weather, but also the length of the days and the option to hike later into the evening if need be.  Walking beyond Reed’s Dump, our next option for the night was to trek to Cape Chin North and hope for an available room in a B&B.  I say hope here, as I had no wifi signal and so could not check if there were accommodations for us in 17 kilometers or not.  

Physical Abilities, Water Realities

I should say here that perhaps the greatest challenge in successfully thru-hiking the Bruce Trail, beyond our own physical abilities, and the lack of options to legally camp, is the highly limited availably of water along the route.   In the Peninsula section of the BTC we have spent much of our time trekking along the top of the escarpment, which means that the plethora of fresh water in the bay below has generally not been unavailable to us.  Adding to this is the fact that you often don’t know an area until you have been there.  As such, standing at Reed’s Dump, so close to water and uncertain of what terrain or conditions lay ahead, we took the opportunity to refill our water supplies.  Our best guess was that the next available water might be around Cape Chin, where maps suggested there were pot lakes or marshes that we might access.  So, we decided it was better to be safe than sorry with the options open to us here.  

Uncertain of what the rest of the day had in store, but with our supplies topped up, we walked on toward Cape Chin.  North of Reed’s Dump the trail continued along the escarpment, where the compact dirt trail wove through a dense forest whose understory was as tall as our shoulders.  En route we were again provided with more spectacular views of Georgian Bay on a pathway that surprised us for its easy-to-hike nature.   

Cape Chin South and Trail Angels

In the guidebook, and in terms of its geography, the Cape Chin region is divided into two sections, Cape Chin South and Cape Chin North. In between the two capes the Bruce Trail weaves for 8-10 kilometers back inland, away from the shoreline and around small marshes and roadways.   While not an inspiring description for a region, it meant that we could count on a long stretch of quick and easy hiking to end our day.

Unfortunately, by the time we had reached Cape Chin South at 5:30 in the early evening, it was clear that each of us were nearing the end of our energy.  Since setting out from McKay’s Harbour this morning we had covered some 23-24 kilometers of the Bruce Trail.  While this isn’t a spectacular day of hiking, it also isn’t too bad either.  After all, these kilometers were covered following a couple long, hard days of hiking - leaving us with a feeling of great achievement, but also generally physically drained.  

In addition to being bone tired, I was also dealing with the reality of feeling more and more itchiness along both my arms, legs and somehow down my neck.  Whether this was imaginary or real, it was nonetheless starting to make me twitch and scratch a great deal. It was again time to change things up!

As we sat on the side of the Cape Chin South Rd, our second intersection with this roadway, which was designated as a BTC parking area on our maps, I checked our trail notes.  I then discovered that I had cell reception, and moreover, there were a few local B&Bs nearby.  Covered in sweat and gravel, I began to call around to see if anyone had a room for the night.  To our delight we soon found a wonderful couple who also had hiked the Bruce Trail in recent years, and who had a room for 3 tired hikers!  In addition, the lady who hosted the B&B was kind enough to offer to not only pick us up, but to also drop us off again tomorrow morning, back on the Bruce at the same point where we were departing it today!

While going to a B&B is certainly an unusual luxury for us – especially while thru-hiking and camping, it also reflects one of the realities of trekking the Bruce Trail – particularly in regions that are full of cottages and private property.  In this portion of the Peninsula section of the BTC there are few possibilities to wild camp unobtrusively.  Standing ... er, sitting in Cape Chin South, the reality was that our next possibility for camping legally was over 25 kilometers away – an impossible distance for us today.  The simple fact is that in many ways the Bruce Trail is not designed to be thru-hiked, and the only options open to hikers are to stealth camp and follow Leave no Trace Principles, or to use private accommodations – which are often well off the trail and at times extremely costly. 

B&B and Laundry 

Thirty minutes later we were picked up and whisked off to a beautiful B&B in Cape Chin North – some 10 km further down the Bruce Trail than we had hiked to.   For three people who had spent a few days travelling on foot, it was shocking how quickly the kilometers melted away once in a vehicle.  Grateful to be inside, we were also quickly aware of both our appearance and the smell of our gear.  Thankfully, our hosts welcomed us without comment and immediately offered us the opportunity to clean all of our clothes (perhaps they wanted them washed before we sat on their furniture) and gave us the space to clean and dry off our tent.  Particularly wonderful was the fact that our host gave me cream for my evolving poison ivy problem!  For the second time on the trail we had found Trail Angels!

Reflecting and Feeling Good

Given the stunning views of Dyer’s Bay out of the bed room windows at the B&B, I wish I could tell you that the sunset was spectacular.  However, the reality was that after a long relaxing shower, a wonderful homemade meal, and with everything cleaned up, we all went to bed early, snuggled into deep comfortable beds.  

 
After a few tough days at the outset of our BTC trek through the Peninsula region, during which we covered long distances and pushed along challenging terrain, today went much better.  The walk out of McKay’s Harbour and the long stretch of road walking made for an easy beginning to the day’s adventure.   The afternoon’s walk around Whippoorwill Bay to Cape Chin South, while unnerving for the heights and escarpment ridges we trekked along, was nonetheless easy to hike.  Either today was much easier, or we are finally beginning to find our stride and settle into the routines of hiking the Bruce Trail day after day. 

Our bodies seem to be becoming more and more used to the constant walking, the weight of our backpacks, and the landscape.  Similarly, our younger family member has stopped grumbling and talking for hours about video games, and has begun to notice the world around us.  He talks more animatedly, is having more fun, and has begun to push us onward each day when we lack the energy.  All in all these are good signs, let us hope that things stay going as they have been. 

Admittedly, leaving the trail today to stay at a B&B felt a little like cheating.  About all I can say in our defense is that having a shower, laundering our clothes, and sitting at a table to eat is wonderful.  I also believe that this little luxury has helped keep our spirits high after a few tough days.  Regardless, in the end we each hike our own hike.   Stunningly, by our estimations, we only have 3 more days of hiking before getting to Tobermory and the northern terminus of the Bruce Trail.