I have decided that I am going to hike the Bruce trail from end to end. Yes, that’s right I AM going to hike all ~885km (this can change depending on reroutes) of escarpment from Queenston Heights Park in Niagara to Tobermory. Today marks the first of many days on the trail.
Today’s hike started with finding the cairn at the Queenston Heights Park in Niagara. A couple of us wandered around Brock’s monument in search of the blazes with no luck, so we pointed ourselves westward in the hopes of finding something indicating we were on the right track. All of a sudden, in the distance we spotted the blazes….but they were going back towards the parking lot. adamant that we had to find the cairn to officially start our hike we headed back towards the cars. Lo and behold there was the cairn nestled between the street we drove in on and the parking lot. (Silly us for assuming it would start in the park itself. No wonder most people don’t find it.) After a few photographs of the cairn we turned toward the blazes and headed once again towards the west.
Niagara Cairn, Marker for the southern terminus of the Bruce Trail
As we traveled through the park and into the lush forest the hike seemed pretty even and a good easy start on the body. There were few small hills and an unexpected waterfall across our path. With our trusty Bruce trail guide we decided to stop at the big hill mentioned in the map. (Little did we know we were nowhere near this large hill.) After having a snack we decided to head back to the car to get a late lunch by the falls and head home for the day.
Enjoying a nice afternoon on the Bruce Trail
N.B. What’s my end date goal? Well, that depends what kind of shape I am in when the trail starts to bite back. I’m hoping that in 18 months I should be able to get most if not all of the trail completed.
