Niagara Section - Queenston Heights (0.0 km) to Woodend C.A. (15.2 km) - October 20, 2022.
Niagara Section - Queenston Heights (0.0 km) to Woodend C.A. (15.2 km) - October 20, 2022.
Our Hiking with Friends group was back on the Bruce Trail this past week and we ended up in the Niagara section after our original planned hike in the Caledon Hills area was scuttled by an ominous forecast of wet snow (who has winter tires on this early?), and we elected to chose the (relatively) warmer climes down south...our back up plan took us 15.2 km from the Southern Cairn at Queenston Heights to the parking lot for the Woodend Conservation Area on Taylor Road.
Our courageous group assembles at the famous southern cairn marking the start (or finish, depending on your North/South directional preference) of the Bruce Trail...there are, in fact, 8 hikers out this morning but you only see seven here...myself, Frances, Annette (our leader today-her first such role under the new regime!), Sandra (sweep), Marleen, Lesley, and Steve R...the eighth member, Ron B, somehow did not make the photo cut but I assure you, he was there!
For Lesley and Steve, it's a first visit to this historic location...for me, having just recently completed the Bruce Trail (need I keep reminding you?), it is a chance to re-visit where my journey began back in January 2020...
Under very grey skies, and the watchful eye of General Brock, we begin our trek through the beautiful Queenston Heights Park...and look, there's Ron!..once again in the picture...
The rain has held off so far (this will not be the case the entire day unfortunately)...we encounter a dog walker early on and Steve gets some attention from one of the canines...
We soon arrive at this always eye-catching mechanical behemoth in the woods...I referenced an older hike blog from January 2021 (by Steve K) and he states:
Ann has done the research and apparently this is a microwave communications tower erected in the 1950's by Fleet industries that was used to test and calibrate large parabolic dishes. The equipment was used in the DEW (Distant Early Warning) system installed in the Arctic during the cold war.
Any way you cut it, it's big and ugly, and doesn't belong in this natural landscape...but there it is...
We soldier on, along the leaf strewn path...it's cool and damp...fall is bending its ear to winter a little too early for my liking, but as we all know, "it's coming"....(of course, as I write this, it's sunny and 15 degrees out today)...
There are a couple of tricky descents to negotiate and the wet leaves and muddy surface make the footing a little suspect in spots...
This is kind of how my back felt when I got out of bed this morning...but now that I am out on the trail, I'm glad I straightened up and made the trip!..
Another challenging area...a rock and root stairway to tackle...
We come across signage that shows the twinning of certain portions of the Bruce Trail with the historically significant Laura Secord Legacy Trail...pretty sure that Laura didn't have any blazes to follow on her arduous trek that ultimately helped the British in their conquest of 1812...it was one "sweet" victory...
Our traditional bridge picture...made sure Ron was front and center for this one...
The trail merges onto St. Paul Ave. and then it's under Hwy 405, or General Brock Parkway, before we take a right back into the woods of Walker Park...
After crossing Dorchester Road, we descend the staircase and enter Firemen's Park...it has started to rain quite steadily and the protection of the pavilion at the top of the hill beckons as a place to stop for a refreshment break...alas, they had removed all the tables and we were forced to sit on the cold concrete pad...but at least we were momentarily dry...
After our break, it's time to cross the pond and rejoin the trail...
We pass by one of the many wineries in this area...the sound of air cannons was a constant acoustical backdrop to our day...we surmised that it was either a method of keeping birds away from the precious crop on the vines, or possibly a re-enactment of the War of 1812 taking place...I kept imagining huge plumes of confetti spewing outward every time the cannons erupted...apparently they are called "bird bangers" in the trade...
...and here's what they look like...
Steve spotted this forlorn piece of rotted tree trunk and propped it up so it could still serve its purpose in some fashion...if this blaze was considered a old, redundant employee, you might say that it had been kept on, but at a much lower position in the company...
It's a wet and "head down into the wind" slog along Mewburn Road before a short trip trip through some woods and emerging at the pedestrian bridge over the QEW, known as the Sand Plant Hill foot bridge (opened in 2008)...
It's the iconic Screaming Tunnel next to negotiate...the water level was a whole lot better than our last visit here in late February when a late winter thaw left it almost impassable as seen in the photo below...
Two ghoulish sentries guard the entrance to the tunnel...
Our longest stretch of road walking for the day takes us along Warner Road...
...and past another iconic sight, the shoe tree...
The last part of the hike is a quite pretty walk through the Woodend Conservation Area...just a few kilometers to go...we're a bit wet, and a bit fatigued, bit the beauty of the forest keeps the mood buoyant...
We follow the edge of the escarpment and start dreaming of a warm shower and perhaps a nap later?..(my dream came true)...
One more example of "death by blaze" (this employee was outright terminated), and then it's what we all knew was inevitable, this hike "Wood End"...not the most pleasant fall day that we've enjoyed, but that feeling of a "hike well done" makes it, as usual, all worthwhile...
The End
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