Sydenham Section - Jones Falls (102.7 km) to Centennial Tower (89.2 km) - June 14, 2023.
Welcome to day 2 of the last of our three, 3 day spring trips to the northern section of the Bruce Trail for the Hiking With Friends group..it's the penultimate hike for two of our long time friends in their quest to complete this historic walking path in its entirety...from end to end...no gaps...unbelievable...
Today, our goal in life is to hike from Jones Falls (did I mention that's where Sandra and I finished our E2E last October?) all the way to the Centennial Tower on the other side of town...17 km or so that will capture a whole lot of what the Bruce Trail has to offer...and, this time, we're going the other way!
Probably one of the nicer aerial shots of a Bruce Trail hike that you'll ever see, with the route wrapping around the urban perimeter of Owen Sound...walking it took us a healthy six hours and and 20 minutes, but with 300 meters of ascension and a myriad of natural beauty to absorb, you'll see why we took our time...
Pre-hike coffee zen moment...
In a highly unorthodox and ground breaking moment, we commence the hike without a group photo...
But it turns out there was a method to our madness, as we soon assemble on the bridge at Jones Falls to capture ourselves at the start of what will be an epic hike for the 14 of us...myself, Barbara, Annette, Dan (guest hiker), Laura, Frank, Steve K, Muris, Doug (H.C), Brian, Marlene, Frances, Nancy, Laura, and Sandra...
We deal with the sketchy crossing of Highway 6, and find the entrance to the trail on the other side...didn't see any snakes, but a ladder soon appeared to take us all to that "next level"...
Having stepped up our game, we slip through to the other side of the narrow forest and emerge into a "sea of grasses"...the trail here had not been tended to in a while, and it was armpit deep at times as we waded through...
With the grass still wet from the morning dew, it was with damp pants that we spied the entrance to the next woods...
At least along here, there was a semblance of a path...
We enter Springmont Forest, which borders the urban fringe of Owen Sound...it is a quite nice trail underfoot, but you need to keep an eye on the numerous crevices...
We encourage hikers to only try to connect with nature...not random wires...
A great group photo taken by Doug at the look out...
...with a ghostly image found on the rock wall beneath us...
The trail turns south and enters the West Rocks Management Area, which is part of the city of Owen Sound...the hike has been going really well with excellent weather and not too many bugs...
We emerge from the forest onto Concession Road 3 and head south for a bit before turning onto Grey Road 5 and pointing east...
It was getting a little warm out on the pavement so it's a welcome relief to return to the coolness of the forest, which is also way more "cool"...
The trail continues to head south and then turns to the east...we get glimpses of some large farm fields...such a bucolic scene...
After crossing Inglis Falls Road, the roar of rushing water begins to intensify and it isn't long before we arrive at the namesake location, a highlight of this hike...the volume of water cascading down this magnificent natural feature is much greater than last fall when we were here, and the pure power of its flow is very impressive...
It's a sight to behold and probably the most beautiful terraced waterfalls on the Bruce Trail, or in all of Ontario...
The nearby shelters also provide an excellent spot for our refreshment break...
There are lots of remnants of the old mills that once operated here and info-boards depicting the history of this very active industrial location...
We continue on through the Conservation Area with its wide paths and pleasant boardwalks...unfortunately, the trail will not continue in this idyllic theme for too long...
We take a short trip down a part of the Harrison Park Side Trail to access a very pretty flowing stream...and then it's onward to the Palisades...
The forest begins to get denser, the rocks more imposing, and "death by blaze" rears its head...ominous signs that we are entering one of the most formidable areas of the Bruce Trail...
If you are looking for a spectacular showcase of flora and rock formations that typify the lower talus slopes of the Niagara Escarpment, then you are hiking in the right place...technically challenging but visually bewildering, this area can take your breath away, figuratively and, with its unceasingly high level of required concentration, literally as well...
The pace is slow, and the effort is high, but the reward is a chance to experience an environment that I think is uniquely Canadian...
...nature just makes you go "wow" around here...
You have to crane your neck to capture some of the imposing rock wall faces that loom over the dense forest...
A short scramble up a scree slope reveals several massive crevice caves that have been calved out of the rock face...
The nooks and crannies seem endless, as does the increasingly technical terrain as we try to maintain the level of concentration that will get us all safely to the end...
Our fortitude pays off and we eventually reach our goal for the day, the Centennial Tower...our group has been divided into smaller clusters of 3-4 hikers and we arrive in short intervals to the applause and appreciation of those before us...it has been a challenging, but rewarding hike..
It has been another memorable day on the Bruce Trail and there is palpable anticipation about the impending achievements that will be realised tomorrow...but in the end, we are still left pondering..."what sound does an 'Owen' make?"...
The End
Apres-Hike dinner...
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