Hike 40 : Northern Terminus - Cyprus Lake to Tobermory

Bruce Trail Final Day

 “It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.”

                                                                                    Ursula K. Le Guin

We awoke early to the sounds of songbirds in the trees around us.  After a day off the trail to rest and explore Bruce Peninsula National Park while camping at Cyprus Lake, we were ready to get going again.  Today we made our final push from Cyprus Lake to Tobermory and the Northern Terminus of the Bruce Trail!  Our 40th and final hike was determined by two realities: First, there were only 20 kilometers left between us and our final destination.  Second, there is no camping allowed between Bruce Peninsula National Park and Tobermory, so the hike had to be completed in a single push.  Our only source of concern was the fact that it took us a very long time to hike the 12 kilometers from High Dump to Cyprus Lake two days ago.   If the next 20 kilometers had been the same, we might well have been in for a tough trek.  

With that said however, we gave ourselves an advantage today.  After eating breakfast, we talked with the Parks Canada staff, added an extra night to our campsite reservation, and learned that we will not have to move between camping sites.   This means that today we were able to leave most of our gear in our tent, slack pack to the end of the Bruce Trail, pick up our car, which we dropped off many days ago in Tobermory, and drive back to the Cypress Lake Campground for the night. We hoped that a lighter load would mean an easier trek to the end.

Grotto, Boulder Beach, and the Head of Trails

With breakfast completed, we set off back to the Bruce Trail.  While the morning had been overcast, by 8 AM we had clear blue skies above as we walked out of our campsite.  We retraced our way along the Cyprus and Horse Lake Trails en route back to the shores of Georgian Bay.   Somewhat surprisingly, even though it was still early in the morning, the trails were already busy with campers and day visitors exploring the park.   

Within 40 minutes we had arrived back at the Grotto and rejoined the Bruce Trail.  Having visited the Grotto, a very popular hotspot yesterday, we did not linger there, especially as it was already overwhelmed by tourists. Even at 9 AM, people were unfolding chairs, laying out blankets, and setting up for the day. Having already explored that area’s rock archways and shoreline ledges we continued walking along the beautiful Boulder Beach.

Marr Lake and Overhanging Point

At one point we again passed the Head of Trails signpost.  However, rather than turning to the forests around Marr Lake as we had yesterday, we continued along the coastline.  Here the Bruce Trail climbs from the northern shore of Marr Lake towards Overhanging Point.   Generally speaking, this was a long and rocky stretch in which we followed a divot in the rocky beach, which looked as though a large boulder had been rolled through to delineate the path forward. 

In short order we reached Overhanging Point, a site noted by the Bruce Trail Association as “one of the most spectacular points of the Bruce Trail.”  It turned out to be an outcropping of dolostone caprock that was in excess of 12 meters long and suspended some 30 meters above the waters underneath.  From here we climbed down through Lord Hunt’s Tunnel, or Hillary’s Hole – a very tight fit - to see the escarpment from below.  Apparently, the entrance to this formation was named for Lord John Hunt, a member of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic expedition up Mount Everest in 1953.   Years later, in 1967, Hunt joined the Commonwealth Expedition that hiked parts of what would become the Bruce Trail.  Online sources suggest that both Overhanging Point and Hunt’s Tunnel, much like several other points along the Bruce Peninsula, are the result of erosion throughout the region.  

Frogs and Fungus

While Sean’s interests tend towards local history, and mine focus on birds, we nonetheless spend a great deal of time trying to discover more about the natural world.  Beyond the interesting snakes we spotted along the coastline, we also came across a number of Northern Leopard Frogs.  According to Ontario Nature, these amphibians are one of the eight species of leopard frog to live in North America.  In addition, the Northern Leopard Frog is both the most widespread of it kind and the only one found in Canada!  

As the species in front of us demonstrated, Northern Leopard frogs typically have either green or brown bodies, a patchwork of random dark spots along their bodies, and bellies that tend to be yellow in colour.    They live in a range of places including the tundra, prairies, and woodlands, and while they can be found far from water, they nonetheless hibernate at the bottom of bodies of water that do not freeze solid.  Finally, to survive, they eat a variety of prey including insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. 

In addition to these fascinating frogs, we found a range of fungi as we trekked onward.   Despite our ongoing interest in fungi in the wild, identifying each species is a constant challenge.  As such, we often revert to using iNaturalist to provide us with some answers.  Our best guess for some of the more interesting species we noticed today included a Honey Mushroom, a Crimson Waxcap, and an Eastern Black Trumpet.  

The Honey Mushroom, or Armillaria mellea, is a long lived species and it forms some of the largest living fungi in the world.  Above ground, it looks like clusters of typical yellow-brown mushrooms with a stems, caps, and spores, which growth grouped together on a live tree for a few weeks each fall.  Beyond this period, Honey Mushrooms spend most of its life cycle as a “white rot” so destructive that for forests it is considered to be a pathogen.  

The Crimson Waxacap is found in Britain, Ireland, and northern Europe, as well as in North America, where it is usually located in woodlands.  It is one of the largest waxcap fungi, and it also grows in small clusters, and is found in late summer and autumn. Its Latin name, Hygrocybe punicea, reflects that this group of fungi are always very moist – translating literally into “watery head” that is “blood red”.

Similarly, the Eastern Black Trumpet’s name derives from how it looks.  It is popularly called the horn of plenty, the trumpet of death, or the black chanterelle, all of which are monikers that reflect the fact that the body of this species looks like a trumpet or funnel. This fungus is often difficult to find, given its small size and where it grows on the forests floor amid fallen leaves.  True to its name it is black, grey, or brown in colour with the edges of the cap rolled outwards. 

Driftwood Cove

Trekking on, our route pushed inland for several kilometers, leading us along the shores of Loon Lake.  Following the reed-lined shoreline of this inland body of water, we spotted a Sandhill Crane!  Next, we traversed a conifer stand as the trail wove along an old forestry track to a spot marked on our maps as Coony’s Dump.   

Once we reached Driftwood Cove, our route again pushed inland before returning to the shoreline.  Here, off the coast of Driftwood Cove, there are apparently a number of shipwrecks that are popular diving hotspots, in part because of how clear the waters are in the region.  While we could not see any of the wrecks in the nearby waters, I will also admit that our fast progress during the first 8 kilometers had put us somewhat on “autopilot” to reach Tobermory.  As such we did not spend much time looking around. 

Little Cove Provincial Nature Reserve 

For the next hour we followed the coastline as the Bruce Trail became increasingly rugged.  We eventually descended on a rope down into Little Cove – an experience we would have been shaken by a few days ago.   However, given the demands of the trail throughout the peninsula section, such challenges now seemed “par for the course”.    This unfortunately is a bad pun for this area, as leaving Little Cove we next followed a road and then an overgrown track around what used to be a golf course as the trail moved inland.  

According to local signage, this stretch was another of the Greenbelt Walks that we had discovered in Hope Bay.   We would then spend the next 3-4 km boxing around the property along a narrow overgrown track before returning to Georgian Bay’s coasts near Dunks Bay.   Returning to the coastline meant that we were now only 5 kilometers from our final destination!  

Dunks Bay and the National Parks Visitor Centre

Back on the shores of Georgian Bay again, the easy trekking stopped just as quickly as it had come.  Here, for the next 2 kilometers, rocky trails and steep inclines were again the norm as we approached Dunks Bay.   

Then, after reaching Dunks Bay and crossing the similarly named roadway, the Bruce Trail again changed in look.  What had been narrow and rugged a few minutes before transformed into one of the flattest and easiest parts of the path that we have yet trekked.  All of a sudden the trail became a wide, flat, dirt pathway that wove for a couple of kilometers until we reached the Bruce National Park Visitor’s Centre.  So easy was this stretch that we passed people pushing children’s strollers down the trail.

Walking on, we soon arrived at the National Park Visitor Centre, which is a large wooden and glass building with a large lookout tower beside it and a display dedicated to the Bruce Trail out front. This centre is not dedicated solely to the Bruce Peninsula National Park, but instead serves as a hub for Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada’s first national marine park, as well.  Established in 1987 alongside Bruce Peninsula National Park, the Fathom Five Marine Park is dedicated to preserving the aquatic environment along the northern Bruce Peninsula and Georgian Bay, which also includes a series of islands off the coast.

Here we took the opportunity to enjoy a snack in the shade, we checked out the Bruce Trail display, which included a mock up of a stile, and used the washrooms, which were in themselves a rarity on the BTC pathway.  We also climbed up the 20 meter tall lookout tower, which was an easy walk up several flights of stairs.  On top of the wooden structure we enjoyed a panoramic perspective of the peninsula, the surrounding forests, and the clear waters beyond.  

Having enjoyed the views, we climbed down the tower and at the bottom met a Parks Canada ranger.  She asked whether we were hiking, which direction we were headed, and what our favourite part of the trek was.  While I don’t remember our answers, I do remember her response: “Enjoy the final kilometer then!”

The final kilometer?  We quickly checked our map and discovered that the Parks Canada ranger was right.  We had only a little less than 1 kilometer left before this entire adventure was finished!  As I stuffed the map back into its clear sleeve and into my pocket, we turned and began our final approach into Tobermory.

Tobermory and the Northern Terminus

With less than 1 kilometer left, we left the Parks Canada Visitor’s Centre behind and soon were following along the edges of community streets as we navigated into Tobermory and towards its central harbor.   When being settled by Europeans, this area was originally developed by Captain John Charles Earl in 1871.  At that time, it was named the community of St. Edmunds and Bury, after the borough of Bury St. in Edmunds in Suffolk England.  It was later changed to Tobermory, as it purportedly shared characteristics with Tobar Mhoire, a community on the Scottish Isle of Mull.  Historically, Tobermory and the surrounding communities were established as first lumber and later fishing settlements.  Since the early 20th century however, given the degradation of the natural landscape, the closure of local lumber mills, and the decline in fish stocks, the region began to transform into a cottage region for vacationers.

All in all, the walk along the town’s streets for the final stretch rushed by quickly and was uneventful.  In the end, while one might quietly hope for something unexpected or dramatic to cap off a thru-hike, we were simply glad to see our destination in sight.   Ultimately, we found the Northern Cairn for the Bruce Trail sitting across from the LCBO store and situated in a small space between the town sidewalk and the shorelines of Little Tub Harbour.  As with its southern counterpart in Queenston Heights, this cairn seemed to sit quietly out of the way to all but the curious and the hikers.  

According to the BTC Guidebook, the Northern Cairn unveiled on June 10th, 1967 to mark the official opening of the Bruce Trail itself – a fact reiterated by the plaque mounted on the stone structure.    Beyond arriving at this cairn there was little to indicate the importance of the location to those who either started their adventures here or concluded them here.  

And so, standing there we shifted from feeling elated that we had completed our trek to feeling a little shocked that this was it.  With no more little white blazes to follow we traced the waterfront of the small community around to the Beaver Tails shack and purchased a treat.  

In the end it isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey.  

Beyond the Bruce Trail

While Tobermory is the end of the Bruce Trail, it is certainly not the end of the Niagara Escarpment.  Sitting on a bench overlooking the clear waters of Little Tub Harbour, and being habitually curious, I looked up the geological marvel of the Niagara Escarpment and learned that its influence does indeed continue northward. This is a point which oral histories passed down by local Indigenous groups have long maintained – insisting that the escarpment extended beyond the Bruce Peninsula onto Manitoulin Island and around into Michigan.  

This view has been supported by geologists, who have identified that the escarpment reaches from upstate New York in Rochester where it forms the world famous Niagara Falls, before tracing northwest through Hamilton and to Tobermory, continuing to Manitoulin Island, northern Michigan, and into Wisconsin along the Door Peninsula.  The shape of this geological feature is that of a horseshoe, and it has shaped the landscape, waterways, and climate of this region for centuries.  

Immediately north of Tobermory, evidence of the dolostone and escarpment can be seen on Flower Pot Island and further on Manitoulin Island.  This region, much of which is part of Fathom Five National Marine Park, is known for its unique geology and shipwrecks, which local boat tours annually showcase to visitors. 

In many ways, it is exciting to see how the escarpment ties so much of Ontario, the Great Lakes Basin, and North America together.  

Reflecting on our Thru-Hike

With our hike on the Bruce Trail successfully completed, we went to a local restaurant and enjoyed a large pizza to celebrate.  This might sound silly, but over the past few days we have all been both permanently hungry and permanently tired of dehydrated hiker meals.  After our large lunch we went in search of our car, which had been parked in Tobermory since we set out for Owen Sound many days ago.  We were glad to find that it was still in one piece and undamaged, and a bit unnerved at the speed with which we travelled in it once we got underway.   Nine days of hiking had certainly shifted our perspective of the speed of the world.   Next, we went to the local grocery store to purchase some treats and breakfast for tomorrow before driving back to our campsite at Bruce Peninsula National Park.  

Today we had achieved what we had set out to do – complete our first family thru-hike from Owen Sound to Tobermory, and in the process successfully conclude our trek on the Bruce Trail -which now had taken us from Queenston Heights near Niagara Falls to here.  While finishing our long trek felt great, the high point came later in the evening.  As we sat around the campfire for the last time on this trek, the same young man who had only a few weeks ago conspired to find any excuse not to leave his video games, asked the best question of all: “So, where are we hiking next?”