Earlier in the summer I had started this same journey into the Forks before being chased out by mosquitos. Okay it wasn’t just the bugs that had me making my way back to the car earlier than planned. The heat that day was stifling hot and the rain made it difficult to shoot. Today however was the perfect cool day to hike the entire park.
Trees of the Forks
Tall trees hang over you as you enter the south end of the conservation area. For some reason the Brimstone path has creepy trees hovering above. I didn’t get a chance to check out this trail. My goal today was to do the entire Forks trail before heading back to the car. I definitely did that and then some. This trail is a mix of river crossings, valleys, hills and a waterfall.
Tree Tunnel
A major part of the trail is Cataract Falls. A stairway takes you down to a viewing platform but it is still not a great angle to see the water fall properly. It was originally an industrial waterfall used from production of electricity but has long since been abandoned. There are ruins and the walls of the gorge have been reinforced by concrete.
Cataract Falls
At this point the Bruce Trail turns back on itself and it starts to head back in a southerly direction parallel to the portion I just hiked. Once you pass the Brimstone path for a second time you meet up with Puckering Lane. The road has some rather large hills to navigate but soon I was at Mclaren Road. At this point it’s time to loop back to the car. There is a small surprise at this intersection. I found a farm of Highland Oxen hanging out on this edge of their farm.
Highland Ox
This ox was only slightly interested in me and only enough to come about 10 feet closer before stopping to graze again.
