I’ve been trying to keep a cold at bay for the last few days and in a further attempt to beat it down i decided to hike the remainder of the Caledon section of the Bruce Trail. So far I have done the south and north portion of the Hockley Valley Reserve leaving me with the middle section to tackle. I parked at the Glen Cross side trail to gain access which meant I had to trek through over one kilometer before hitting the main trail. (Okay, I know, poor planning on my part but what can I say the Reserve is big). Turning onto the main section I came across some beautifully colored bracket mushrooms.
Blue Turkey Tail
As I have mentioned before Hockley Valley is appropriately named with its hills and valleys and today’s hike was no different. Hiking along the trail it wasn’t until I was nearing the turnaround point that I came across two rushing rivers merging into one. After crossing the last bridge (there are about four) the trail turns to head upriver. Not too soon after turning I came across an area with a small bench where one can sit and enjoy the water.
River Rocks
I had some fun photographing the foam swirling in the water before it went over a small waterfall.
Swirls
I headed back to the car shortly after but there was still one little itty bitty section that needed to be completed before I can officially say that the Caledon section is complete. Parking my car at the base of the hill I made my way in and around large rocks before reaching the top, which was very difficult with the amount of ice coverage. The path was fairly straight once I was at the top. After a fairly short hike along the top of the ridge the trail leads down slippery slope (literally) before once again reaching the road below. From here I hiked along the road to the car, mostly to afford the ice-covered rocks. On the way I found a small gnome sitting nonchalantly on large stone. Yup, you read right a small garden gnome…missing his legs unfortunately.
Lost Gnome
An interesting end to my hikes in the Caledon section of the Bruce Trail.
