Iroquoia - Grimsby (0.0 km) to Lewis Road (11.1 km) - March 16, 2023.

 Iroquoia - Grimsby (0.0 km) to Lewis Road (11.1 km) - March 16, 2023.

Our Hiking With Friends group headed to the land of fruit and wine this past week to walk 11 km on the Bruce Trail from the beautiful town of Grimsby to Lewis Road in the town of Winona...with spring officially set to begin next week, and some rain and warmer temperatures in the forecast, would this be our last real winter hike?..

Our bird's eye view of the route as seen from over Lake Ontario shows the distinct linear nature of the green-ribbon of escarpment that we will (mostly) follow in our 4 hour journey...there's a pretty significant climb at the start that will account for most of the 310 meters of ascension required over the course of the morning...

After the usual preparations at the Grimsby Lions Community Pool parking lot (and yes, we were very organized this morning), our group of 15 hikers are assembled and ready to take on the challenge...they include myself, Barbara (today's Hike Coordinator), Sandra, Marleen, Lesley, Nancy, Dave, Rita, Ron J, Doug, Annette, Steve R, Liz, Laura, and Peter...

 There's a short walk up Gibson Street in order to access the main trail and Liz does the prudent thing before hitting the snow and ice covered path by enhancing her grip factor...because if there's anything hikers need to do a lot of, it's "get a grip"...sheesh.

The 40 Mile Creek Valley awaits us in all its vertically challenged glory...we have about a 30 minute climb ahead of us to reach the top of the escarpment...it's pretty...and pretty hard, but we are fresh and ready to "whisk-ey" our way up...

The creek is flowing mightily below us with the early spring runoff...

 The trail continues to bring us closer to the summit but rather than look up to see how much farther it is, it is sometimes better to just keep your focus on the next step and know you'll get there eventually...

The strain of the effort is ameliorated somewhat by the glorious sunshine that is making its presence known the higher we climb out of the valley...the weather will be on our side today!

...and our train of hikers moves on...

A short break is in order (and well deserved) before we tackle the last couple of hundred meters and an icy staircase...

There is one last view of the creek before...we...are...almost...at...the...top...

To quote the dulcet tones of my friend Brian's WAZE driving app (I think it's Angelina Jolie?) at the conclusion of her voice directed voyage..."Hooray, we made it"...

And we are dutifully rewarded for our efforts with a magnificent view to the east towards Niagara...we are at Beamer Lookout Point, where there is an impressive platform from which to appreciate the surrounding landscape...

We linger here for a while before setting off down the trail...we still have a ways to go yet, but the view here is worth a few extra minutes...

And we soon encounter another great vista at Grimsby Point...

We ultimately exit Beamer Memorial Conservation Area, renowned as the best vantage point in the Niagara Peninsula to observe the annual spring hawk migration...March 1st marks the beginning of the annual Niagara Peninsula "Hawkwatch"...since 1975, birdwatchers have been monitoring the annual spring migration of hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures over the peninsula...from here, we face a couple of kilometers of road walking along Ridge Road West...

But road walking is not without its own visual delights, and we are soon steered in the direction of these castrated bovines having a "hay day"...

We steer away from the farm and soon after make a right turn onto Woolverton Road...

At the entrance to Woolverton Conservation Area, we regroup and reapply our icer's to get back on real trail...the path here has been reasonably well travelled since last weekend's snowstorm and it's quite an enjoyable stretch...

Another stellar bridge picture (although lately we are having a challenge getting everyone actually on the bridge)...

In what is becoming an almost weekly fixture, I am happy to welcome another new friend to our group...hello to Dave!..during a fortuitous happenstance encounter on a previous hike (see Blog from Dec. 8, 2022), we met Dave doing clean up on the trail as part of his valuable Bruce Trail volunteerism...he is an active member of the Halton Outdoor Club as well, but expressed an interest in participating with our group and made his presence known today!..

Over halfway at this point, and with some suitable fallen trees to provide support for our tiring bodies, a refreshment break is in order...

 Shortly thereafter, our descent skills are put to the test as the trail veers sharply downward from the upper reaches to a more mid-level route along the escarpment.

The trail along this stretch has been less travelled and the fresh snow is deeper (as you would quickly find out if you stepped to one side or the other)...but it is a wonderfully white landscape and likely the last week we get to appreciate the beauty of the season in this fashion...

A more level area is reached...although in some spots it felt like having a slightly longer right leg might be advantageous in order to maintain your balance on the slope...

This was one of the nicest areas we hiked through...legs were beginning to tire however...I would suggest that it takes about an extra 20% effort to negotiate this type of snow covered terrain than under "normal" conditions...

We have almost reached 50 Road and it will be just a bit further to reach our dropped cars after that...we have put the effort in today but it has been a great day for a winter hike...

It has gotten so nice out that some hikers have even doffed their winter jackets...

After passing a frozen waterfall, we see the sign we have been anticipating...the Lewis Road Side Trail will take us down, and I mean down, to our dropped cars at the bottom of the escarpment...

There are several switchbacks to negotiate as we slip/slide our way down the face...hoping not to land on our face...

Flat land...yay...

The dropped cars are reached and it's another great hike in the books!..we will soon (hopefully) be saying good bye to winter (next week's hike will occur officially in Spring), but we have had one last chance to enjoy this unique and challenging hiking season in all its glory...thanks for letting us share it with you and see you again soon!

The End

Getting a little "Grandpa babysitting practice" later that day, with my nephew's daughter...