Niagara Section - Swayze Falls (43.8 km) to Decew House Heritage Park (31.2 km) - June 29, 2023.

 Niagara Section - Swayze Falls (43.8 km) to Decew House Heritage Park (31.2 km) - June 29, 2023.

The Hiking With Friends group visited the Niagara Section this past Thursday to put our boots on the ground from the Swayze Falls parking area at Short Hills Provincial Park, all the way on the Bruce Trail to the parking lot at Decew House Heritage Park...with the access trail and other meanderings, we travelled about 13.5 kms by my GPS...(there's always some variability between hikers' different tracking modes)...

This hike is almost an "all green" affair as a good portion is through the beautiful Short Hills P.P and there is only one quick road crossing...with a mere 212 meters of ascension (lots of "short hills"), and a significant proportion of smooth, wide trail, we kept a pretty good pace up...completing the hike in a tidy 3 hours and 50 minutes with breaks...

Our dropped cars in position at the Decew House Heritage Park lot, I take a quick look of appreciation at the nearby First Nations Peace Monument designed by world renowned architect Douglas Cardinal, and intended to generate a deeper understanding of the heritage and ongoing history of First Nations peoples...before we head over to the start near Swayze Falls...

Having arrived at the entrance to the park, our group of 11 hikers thereafter assembles to get their presence recorded for posterity...myself, Barbara (H.C for today), Marleen, Andrea, Frances, Sandra, Doug, Grace (guest hiker and "Mrs. Doug" - both demanding roles), Steve R, Josie, and Muris...

Just before we get underway, there's some hub-bub surrounding Steve who, along with his wife Lesley, recently spent some time on the Camino in Spain (she apparently "nailed" the finish but paid the price doing so - we will miss you, better soon!), and now has the souvenir seashell medallion to prove it proudly affixed to his knapsack...

Oh's and ah's and all that over with, we get moving on to hook up with the main Bruce Trail...this is a rare instance where the path from the parking lot to the trail with those familiar white blazes is not a designated side trail...with assistance from the well positioned map signage, we are soon heading onward into the lush forest...

Our first highlight of the day (well, other than Steve's trinket I guess), is the low flow Swazye Falls...pretty enough, but lacking much of what makes waterfalls great...that would be water...despite the recent rains, a mere trickle slips over the otherwise impressive chasm...

We begin to get in stride and are enjoying the fact that there are seemingly very few bugs about this morning...perhaps they are heeding the now prevalent air quality advisories and staying indoors?...regardless, the air is quite fine in the woods (for which we should probably thank the trees), and conditions underfoot are also agreeable...this area, with its copious fluvial deposits, is notoriously muddy at many times of the year, but is in very decent shape today...

We emerge into some more open areas; one of them is adjacent to the main hydro corridor coming from Niagara Falls...it's a little warmer now out in the very hazy sunshine, but that doesn't really slow our pace...

You can sense in the group that "we have a good thing going here", and any hike is better under those conditions...it's also a good sign when the grassy trail areas have been nicely maintained...

This 660 hectare park, the largest in the region, is part of the Fonthill Kame Delta Complex, formed by debris left behind by the glaciers as they retreated 12,000 years ago...it also has the highest elevation of the area, as you can sense as we travel across this tableau...

Our map consultants keep us on course and we soon reenter the forest and begin to follow the lush valley of Terrace Creek...

Creeks often require boardwalks and...bridges!..

Sir Hike-a-Lot defends the entrance to his (pretend) forest castle...

The magical backdrop of Terrace Falls, with Doug and Grace looking askance, perhaps towards New Zealand where they will be hiking in the fall...well, their spring I guess...

It's a wonderfully refreshing spot to enjoy for a few moments before we press on heading upstream...

The creek valley widens and deepens the further we progress..

Meet Edwin...turning 88 years old the next day...we sang Happy Birthday, and then followed his sage advice for a long life...and kept moving...

There's more signage at Parking Lot C on Wiley Road, some explaining the twinning of a portion of this trail with the Rim Of Africa Trail in S.A...

The trail this time of year is flush with opportunity for a fragrant repose...and Grace's olfactory senses are rewarded...

There's another verdant forest to enjoy as we continue on what has been a wonderful hike...this is a favourite piece of the Niagara Section for me (and my first time doing it in the summer and in this direction!)...much better without ice and mud!..

After a short refreshment break on a little bridge (or in some cases, under it...), we reassemble and begin to tackle the back half of our journey...I discover an anomaly by the side of the trail...not technically "death-by-blaze" based on the location of the marking but... maybe some kind of mutant strain...hmmmmm.

After crossing First Street Louth, we then get to cross the famous "Bridge at Laura's Crossing"...opened in 2013, 200 years to the day that Miss Secord made her momentous journey, this unique pedestrian suspension bridge commemorates her crossing of 12 Mile Creek as part of her historic trek...

 This way to the Southern Cairn...

Marleen finds a special friend...

We exit the park and climb the large berm that leads up to the Decew Falls Generating Station...the trail follows the top of the berm bordering the man-made reservoir called Lake Moodie...

It's a little warm on the exposed gravel pathway, but we know the dropped cars are not far away and "dam, we can do this!"...

It's the historic Decew House (well, at least the remnants) and our destination for the day...it's been a terrific summer hike in a beautiful area and, despite the haze and less than great air quality, a pretty enjoyable day shared with friends on the Bruce Trail...thanks for coming along for the walk with us and see you again soon!

The End

Sir Hike-a Lot's evil twin troll brother found living under a bridge...