Bruce Trail End to End Part 4
Welcome to the fourth entry in the Bruce Trail End to End hike series! This report is about 5 days late, since we went hiking last Sunday. This time, we headed out to the Peninsula Club portion of the trail. Our hike started just outside of Lion's Head, at the parking lot on Forty HIlls Rd. We hit the main trail at km 87.7. And continued on that trail all the way to km 99.6.
This was a beautiful hike, attended by dairymilk, little Minnie dog, J&B, and S. And it was a long hike. A very long hike. We hit the trail at about 1pm, after doing the carpool setup, and didn't get off the trail for 5 1/2 hours. The terrain here was very challenging, especially after the rain we'd had. The rocks were quite slippery. No injuries to the hikers, barring some blisters, and apparently, B needs to have his feet replaced now.
We were very fortunate, too, because even though we'd missed Beth's geography hike here the previous weekend, she had sent us the handout that talked about all of the different points of interest, and we followed it with interest. The parking lot really is a spectacular example of an alvar. The hike follows the top of the cliffs, and right here, the cliffs drop straight down to a small shelf, then look out over Georgian Bay. And they drop a looooong way. So, once the air started to clear, we could see a looong way out into the bay too :)
The wildflowers were going nuts beneath the trees. Periwinkles in white and purple carpeted the forest floors, as did some late trilliums, and a few other flowers that we didn't recognize. Lots of patches of wild leek too, so I got my fill of them :) We took the side trail down to the shore at Reed's Dump too, and spent some time rock picking along the shore. I found a nice lump of rock with some Halycite coral fossils in it, and we found a spiral shell fossil (some kind of nautiloid?) as well as some of the clams that are so abundant in the Fossil Hill formation. I also now have enough information (thanks to Beth and her great hikes) to answer the question "why is that rock blue?" It's shale! And to prove it, you can grind it with some of the dolostone, and see how easily it crumbles apart. In fact, if you find a thin piece, you can actually snap it in your hands.
Bird sightings were abundant on this hike. J & B were happy about that. Hrm. What do I remember. They saw mergansers on Georgian Bay, as well as turkey vultures soaring in the updrafts in front of the cliffs. And lots of smaller birds too. For mammal sightings, we came across a porcupine in the middle of the trail. I saw it, and Minnie did too. I think dairymilk saw it. S, with the camera out, was at the back of the line, and the porcupine had darted before she could get to the front. We also saw a fresh pile of bear spoor, so we started singing loudly :) And right near the end of the trail, there was the remains of another porcupine. Nothing left except for bones and quills, really. Later, someone told me that I should have picked up the quills, since they're useful for crafting, and can be expensive. On the internets, it looks like you can get 50 of 'em for $5. I don't think that's worth the potential piercing :)
We were all really wiped by the end of the hike. Minnie slept the whole way home, and for the next two days as well. Dinner in Owen Sound, and we were back home just in time to go to bed. A great hike, and another section of trail knocked off.
Distance covered today: 11.9km
Total distance covered: 39.2km
Bruce Trail % completed: 4.35%
Total Peninsula distance covered: 11.9km
Peninsula% completed: 7.11%
This was a beautiful hike, attended by dairymilk, little Minnie dog, J&B, and S. And it was a long hike. A very long hike. We hit the trail at about 1pm, after doing the carpool setup, and didn't get off the trail for 5 1/2 hours. The terrain here was very challenging, especially after the rain we'd had. The rocks were quite slippery. No injuries to the hikers, barring some blisters, and apparently, B needs to have his feet replaced now.
We were very fortunate, too, because even though we'd missed Beth's geography hike here the previous weekend, she had sent us the handout that talked about all of the different points of interest, and we followed it with interest. The parking lot really is a spectacular example of an alvar. The hike follows the top of the cliffs, and right here, the cliffs drop straight down to a small shelf, then look out over Georgian Bay. And they drop a looooong way. So, once the air started to clear, we could see a looong way out into the bay too :)
The wildflowers were going nuts beneath the trees. Periwinkles in white and purple carpeted the forest floors, as did some late trilliums, and a few other flowers that we didn't recognize. Lots of patches of wild leek too, so I got my fill of them :) We took the side trail down to the shore at Reed's Dump too, and spent some time rock picking along the shore. I found a nice lump of rock with some Halycite coral fossils in it, and we found a spiral shell fossil (some kind of nautiloid?) as well as some of the clams that are so abundant in the Fossil Hill formation. I also now have enough information (thanks to Beth and her great hikes) to answer the question "why is that rock blue?" It's shale! And to prove it, you can grind it with some of the dolostone, and see how easily it crumbles apart. In fact, if you find a thin piece, you can actually snap it in your hands.
Bird sightings were abundant on this hike. J & B were happy about that. Hrm. What do I remember. They saw mergansers on Georgian Bay, as well as turkey vultures soaring in the updrafts in front of the cliffs. And lots of smaller birds too. For mammal sightings, we came across a porcupine in the middle of the trail. I saw it, and Minnie did too. I think dairymilk saw it. S, with the camera out, was at the back of the line, and the porcupine had darted before she could get to the front. We also saw a fresh pile of bear spoor, so we started singing loudly :) And right near the end of the trail, there was the remains of another porcupine. Nothing left except for bones and quills, really. Later, someone told me that I should have picked up the quills, since they're useful for crafting, and can be expensive. On the internets, it looks like you can get 50 of 'em for $5. I don't think that's worth the potential piercing :)
We were all really wiped by the end of the hike. Minnie slept the whole way home, and for the next two days as well. Dinner in Owen Sound, and we were back home just in time to go to bed. A great hike, and another section of trail knocked off.
Distance covered today: 11.9km
Total distance covered: 39.2km
Bruce Trail % completed: 4.35%
Total Peninsula distance covered: 11.9km
Peninsula% completed: 7.11%