The Bruce Trail Day 2 ~ Horses, Hills and Waterfalls

The sunrise today was far more subtle than yesterday’s blast of colour. It was short lived as clouds still lingered from last night’s waterworks. We had expected the temperatures to drop but they were still well above normal for November. We were both feeling surprisingly limber considering how stiff and sore we were after yesterday's long walk in the woods.

 The logistics we had planned ahead of time was to park one vehicle at Rockway Community Center and together drive in the other vehicle back to Starbucks on Glendale Ave where yesterday’s 24kms ended. In my excitement and perhaps morning daze I drove back to Starbucks with Jolene following behind. Both of us were eager to start hiking the next leg of our trek. I parked my van, grabbed my pack and I hopped into Jolene’s van parked next to mine. I looked over at her, oblivious to the err of my ways, and noticed she looked confused. She asked, “Aren’t we supposed to start walking from here?” I too was puzzled for a moment and then realized my mistake. We laughed about it for a minute then came up with a solution. Instead of more unnecessary driving, we decided to leave my van and drive to Rockway together, and just walk in the reverse direction back to Starbucks. It covered the same distance and the same track and actually worked well to have the sun at our backs for most of the day. 

Day two on the Bruce Trail proved to be far more difficult than day one. Today was all about the hills and waterfalls. First sighting was Rockway Falls. We were very high on the escarpment and this dwarfed the falls visually but the sound of rushing water was unmistakeable. The trail was very wet and made the descent into the woods slick. It seemed we only took a few steps at the bottom before we had to climb back up to the road not far from where we began. We crossed over to continue into the forest and enjoy a more gradual climb. As we reached the top, we followed a narrow trail with cornfields to the right and down below us on the left was the road lined with fields of grapevines. Niagara area is Ontario’s wine country and I may have to return to enjoy it from a different perspective. We walked along the forested ridge with the rising sun shining on our backs until it brought us to a horse farm.

We were nowhere near ready for a break but stopped anyway to feed them some fresh, green grass and bond for a while. It's always hard to walk away from these beautiful creatures and they made it even more difficult by walking in single file along the fence until they could go no further. 

It was like an assembly line waiting for a last handful of grass and a formal farewell. We climbed over the wooden ladder and walked along a green farm path until we ended up on a short stretch of road (Effing Ham Rd.) I laughed at the name and wondered if it was a joke or for real. We crossed at the bend in the road and entered the Short Hills Provincial Park through a small path. The hills, though plenty, were not short. 

We were met early on with a "trail closed" sign and a taped off bridge. Neither of us hesitated to cross it. Jolene ducked under the tape and stepped carefully across the damaged bridge. I chose to scale across the side. This would not be the only closed trail in our day.

We hiked past a waterfall, another distant one, and spent most of the day climbing up and down the muddy hills. The landscape changed significantly today. The trees were bare and the grass dry and tall. The colours were softer and there were far less people. 

Jolene and I put some distance between us today. She was in the front happily singing away and I followed far behind listening to the birds, getting lost in my thoughts and trying to be fully present in the moment. At one point I was hiking along a ridge with a drastic drop on both sides of me and I recognized the freedom I felt in the quiet adventure. I heard the caw of a hawk and looked up into the clear, blue sky to see two Red Tailed Hawks circling above me. The sun was shining and I was feeling grateful for another beautiful day in nature. Eventually I met up again with Jolene having a snack break at a picnic table strategically placed on the top of the hill.

 We sat and enjoyed our snacks with the view but didn't linger too long. It was midday already and we had many kms left to get to the van. The trail looped around to a stream and another forest with fallen leaves glowing in the sunlight like an orange carpet.

We walked along the creek until it brought us to Terrace Falls.

 A stunning waterfall with 2 streams of water cascading down from a rock terrace. I admit I lingered here a bit. 

I also admit I was the first to get a soaker. My new Hokas are now my Bruce Trail hikers wearing their badge of mud with honour. 

It was a good climb back up to the top of the escarpment and from there more leaves and more forest. 

Using our map to guide us, we found our next path buried in branches and another 'trail closed' sign. We realized it had not been maintained in a long time. Rather than get lost we decided to backtrack and take Wiley Rd to the next trail head. 

We just wanted a place to sit and eat...it was mid afternoon and we had more than earned a lunch break.

As if like magic, at the end of the road was the Morningstar Mill and Decew falls. 

We found a bench by the water's edge and enjoyed the view of the mill while we stuffed our faces. Before we got back on the trail, we heard the rushing water and new we had to detour just slightly to see the falls. A friendly volunteer named Terry motioned us towards him. He was a very sweet old guy. He invited us inside the mill for a proper view of the falls. 

He even opened the mill windows so that I could take proper photographs. 

We asked if we could have a photo taken with him and he obliged. Then when he heard we were doing the entire Bruce Trail, he said he had a gift for us but it was only for thru hikers. He gave us each a map of the trail that identifies all of the Conservation Parks along the trail. We were very grateful for his kindness and promised to return someday.

We picked up the trail behind the mill. It was a gravel path that climbed a small hill and as we reached the top, both of our jaws dropped. 

The trail followed the perimeter of Lake Moodie. It was calm water with a blue/green hue. In the centre was an island with a few trees changing colour. Behind the island, we would later find out, was Brock University.

We walked around the lake and eventually through the University Campus returning into the neighboring forest.

 The sun was getting really close to setting and we were now racing against time trying to finish the hike in daylight.

With my hurried steps, I shuffled down through the thick layer of leaves and almost made it through the day without falling. Almost.

The last 2 or 3kms always seem longer than they are with both of us battling exhaustion. 

We made it to the van safely and drove back to Rockway Community Center together which by car is only 11kms.

The 24kms we expected to hike turned into 28kms!  We hiked a total of 52kms this weekend in total. Day 2 we agreed we would rate a 4 for difficulty due to the hills, many of them steep. The scenery was beautiful and the trails conditions excellent despite a few muddy spots. Highlights today were the water falls (Rockway Falls, Terrace Falls and Decew Falls), the horses and Terry at the Morningstar Mill. The drive home was slow going on the QEW....  and that made for a long day. I am looking forward to Day 3 in a couple of weeks!

Stay tuned!