Snapshots from the Blue Mountains

19-24 October:  Snapshots from the Blue Mountains

This was my first visit to the famous Bruce Trail, and it won’t be the last.

Over four days, our team of hikers sampled four of the many gems of the Blue Mountains.  Blessed with good weather, we explored several sections of the Bruce Trail, clambering up to the line of escarpments, exploring rocky crevices and enjoying superb views of valleys and ocean.  And lots more.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to our hike leaders, whose thorough planning and guidance made this a memorable week in the hills.

From Perth to Thornbury it’s just over four hundred kilometres by road.  The further west we drove, the busier the roads, as we were drawn into the gravitational pull of Toronto.  It seemed like a long way from Georgian Bay to Toronto, but there are fast roads running north from the city, allowing urban folk easy weekend access to their homes or cottages.

Thornbury sits beside Georgian Bay, and is a little quieter than the beach resorts eastwards along the bay.  We stayed in a nice resort hotel on the harbour-front, with large suites facing the ocean.

The Beaver River valley runs southwards into the rolling hills, which are rather grandly called the Blue Mountains.  Behind Thornbury the hills come to a steep end, forming part of the long Niagara Escarpment.  It is here in those hills that the Bruce Trail meanders on its long eight hundred and ninety kilometre journey from Niagara in the south to Tobermory in the north. 

This is apple growing country.  Apples were the theme of our six-day stay. The farmers were busy loading large boxes with apples from the large expanse of orchards.  Often we would come across wild apple trees on our hikes, plucking ripe apples from the trees as we passed by.  On two evenings we enjoyed delicious apple pies and local apple cider.

Each day we explored a section of the Bruce Trail and its side trails.  It was never dull hiking. 

Day One took us to the Silent Valley, which was not so silent that day as our group of nine hikers made our way through the forest and up onto the escarpment and back down again.  We were very fortunate to have an extremely knowledgeable guide that first day, by the name of Barry Westhouse.  Barry had been at the opening of the Rideau Trail at Foley Mountain back in 1971.  He’s still going strong, helping to keep the Bruce Trail in good shape.  His interests include railways and so there was plenty to talk about, in addition to learning so much about the trail itself.  Nobody could ask for a better introduction to the Bruce Trail than to spend a day in the company of Barry.

We reached a fine lookout where we stopped for lunch, before completing our loop back to the car.  Earlier we had seen an old homestead site with the deep well safely cordoned off, the remains of a gigantic barn, the stone foundations still in place.  We passed the site of a small plane crash which many years ago killed four people, and we enjoyed clambering around the rocky escarpment, with its many crevices and cracks.

On Day Two we explored another section of the escarpment, where at Metcalfe Crevice we dropped down behind the cliff on slippery rock, into a secret cavernous crevice, before emerging on the other side. Later we saw a huge rock which had fallen off the cliff face, and which was called Pinnacle Rock. 

The following day, Day Three, we experienced superb ocean views from the escarpment above the Collingwood-to-Thornbury coastal road.  This highland area was called the Loree Forest.

Finally on Day Four, we hiked above the Beaver Valley to the finest viewpoint of them all, at Old Baldy, where we took turns to stand of the edge of a precipitous cliff so that others might take spectacular pictures of the scene.  Here Old Baldy rose one hundred and fifty metres (almost five hundred feet) above the valley below.  Not spectacular by some standards, but nevertheless highly scenic.

In summary, the hiking was excellent, and ever-changing as we climbed up escarpments, down into valleys, across sturdy footbridges, through colorful forests, sampling short sections of this grand long-distance trail.

In some ways, the Bruce Trail was similar to the Rideau Trail, following a twisting route through forest, beside fields, over rocks.  But the Bruce Trail in this section is a lot more hilly.  The signs were excellent, markers being found perhaps at twice the frequency than on the Rideau Trail.  Both the main trail and the side trails were in a very good state of maintenance.  Apparently each maintainer gets two or three kilometres to look after.  Work done is logged in a central on-line database. 

The Bruce Trail Conservancy is wealthy certainly in comparison with the Rideau Trail Association (RTA), and they buy sections of land as part of a long term goal to eventually have a protected route the whole length of the trail.  In the meantime, they, as the RTA, are often subject to the whims of landowners.

Each morning, as we gathered outside the hotel, we enjoyed the changing ocean, mostly with waves of different sizes depending on the direction of the wind.  One day was overcast but the others were spectacularly sunny.  From our hilltop viewpoint on Day 3, we could just make out the northern shore of Georgian Bay, about a hundred kilometres distant.  Such was the clarity of the air.

We had several photographers in our party, so there will be a comprehensive record of our journeys.  Here are some of this author’s photos for your enjoyment. 

Statistics Summary:

Number of hikes:           4

Total distance hiked:     37.4 km

Total  time on trail:       17 hrs. 6 mins.

Statistics Hike 1: Silent Valley

Distance:               8.4 km (hike)

Height Gain:         Say 500 ft.

Max. Elev:            1234 ft

Time on Trail:       3 hrs. 55 mins.

Start:                       9.48 am

Lookout:               12.22 pm

Car:                         1.43 pm

Temp.:                   Between +15 and +17C

Weather:                Mix of sun and thin cloud

Statistics Hike 2: Metcalfe Crevice

Distance:               11.6 km (hike)

Height Gain:         Say 1000 ft.

Max. Elev:            1631 ft

Time on Trail:       5 hrs. 7 mins.

Start:                       9.48 am

Lunch:                   11.47 am

Car:                         2.31 pm

Temp.:                   Between +11 and +12C

Weather:                Cloudy.  Short showers

Statistics Hike 3: Loree Forest

Distance:               9.6 km (hike)

Height Gain:         Say 400 ft.

Max. Elev:            1480 ft

Time on Trail:       4 hrs. 18 mins.

Start:                       9.26 am

Lunch:                  11.17 am

Car:                         1.44 pm

Temp.:                   Between +11 and +13C

Weather:                Sunny, NW wind

Statistics Hike 4: Old Baldy

Distance:               7.8 km (hike)

Height Gain:         Say 400 ft.

Max. Elev:            1532 ft.

Time on Trail:       3 hrs. 46 mins.

Start:                     10.38 am

Lunch:                  12.14 pm

Lookout:                 1.54 pm

Car:                         2.24 pm

Temp.:                   +6C

Weather:                Sunny

Note:  single-click on the first picture below to scroll through the photos separately.

Day 1:  Silent Valley

Sunrise over Georgian Bay

Our hiking party

We took the time to snap plenty of photos

Plane crash site in the Silent Valley

A hole in the escasrpment

Our knowledgeable host briefs us on the next leg of our journey

This side trail leads to a superb lookout...

...where we could see back to our trailhead in the valley

Discussion about the meaning of the blue "T" sign

Statue on his pedestal

Day 2:  Metcalfe Crevice

The Day 2 hiking team

A hiking version of the Drivers Handbook

One of several sturdy bridges on the Bruce Trail

Clambering up the escarpment

Scenes of autumn

Looking down into the Metcalfe Crevice...

...which turns out to be our route!

Plunging down into the hole...

...where it's quite slippery and steep in places

We meet a local resident along the trail...,

...but he's not as tall as we thought

Nice views from the escarpment near The Pinnacle rock

Consulting the map

Beautiful trail swings down from the escarpment

Day 3:  Loree Forest

Another fine morning at Thornbury

Our lakeside hotel

Kayaker braving the rough waters...

...seems to disppear but then reappears!

Our trailhead in the Loree Forest

A patient team waits for the photographer to snap this pic

Grand views down to Georgian Bay

Handy side trail off the main Bruce Trail

Helpful sign

Lots of delicious ripe apples along the way

Our ski hill lunch stop

Team photo...

...but their shadows aren't behaving so well!

Emerging from the Loree Forest at the end of the hike

Day 4:  Old Baldy

Sailboat leaves Thornbury Harbour

Today's crew

We found large strips of bark

In the woods below the escarpment

A huge fungus

Climbing up through a slot in the escarpment

Team waits for the late straggler

Trailhead for Old Baldy

First views of the Beaver Valley

Old Baldy Lookout

Admiring the grand views

Picture on the interpretive sign....

...and the actual view

In this area, John Muir once lived as a young man