Niagara Section - Southern Terminus (0.0 km) to Woodend Conservation Area (13.0 km) - Nov. 2, 2023.

 Niagara Section - Southern Terminus (0.0 km) to Woodend Conservation Area (13.0 km) - Nov. 2, 2023.

Hiking With Friends visited the southern terminus of the Bruce Trail this past week for a hike of 13 km from the start of the Niagara Section...0.0 km...(not to be confused with Heineken 0.0, my favorite beer) which took us as far as "a" parking lot in the Woodend Conservation Area...where, as it turned out, we had left the dropped cars, all according to plan...Laura Secord could never have pulled that off.

One of the more dynamic aerial views that captures the Bruce Trail route that was taken on this overcast, cool, and apart from a few random drops here and there, dry November morning...333 meters of climbing was required, but it is not a particularly taxing hike, with several distractions along the way that make this end of the Bruce far more eclectic that its more topographically traditional northern peninsula counterpart...just over 900 kilometers of steps away.

There's a call to arms, and our small but feisty band of militia hikers assembles for an early morning roll call...To the Cairn!..myself, Sandra, Steve R, Lesley (H.C for today), Andrea, Frank, Tom, Laura, Rita, Annette, Liz, Nancy, Marleen, Muris, and Andrew...we are on hallowed ground.

The Bruce Trail has two ends. The northern and southern termini, each marked by similar, yet far distant, stone cairns (fun fact: my mother's maiden name is Cairns) that define the limits of this great pathway...for the hiker, visiting one or the other, and not necessarily at the start or finish of an End to End accomplishment (although certainly a bonus), helps better define the limits of the spatial boundaries within which you are being challenged, step by step. Like a completed puzzle border, it gives you a reference to feel more confident you can fill in all the small pieces, in all those big sections and achieve its completion...it's also a cool spot for a photo...

Historically speaking, this area positively oozes with the imprint of important events that helped shape, and preserve, Canada...and, Hiking With Friends, as you might suspect, not only "walks the walk"...we also "talk the Brock"...here he stands, comfortably on the trees...lording over his domain.

Impressive as the General stands, so too is the view he commands...the Niagara River flows northward to its mouth...

This new installation is the Landscape of Nations Memorial which unfortunately we did not have time to appreciate as much as we should have...here is a link to more information on this impressive project...

 https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit/heritage/landscape-of-nations-memorial/

We do get into the forest eventually, and it isn't long before you come upon this Gothic monstrosity which, having stopped and pondered with several hikers over the years as to its origins, have now decided to proclaim its placement and menacing profile to have been...intended solely to make hikers pause and ponder over its origins...

The leaf strewn forest floor masks treachery with beauty...the colorful wet leaves cover roots and rocks ready to make any hiker who loses their focus for a moment, pay for their misstep...

 I hadn't seen (or perhaps remembered?) this quite impressive kiln built into the side of the escarpment...

Our longest and trickiest descent of the day was done step by step, just like building IKEA furniture, but without instructions...

Our trail today is now, and will be, twinned with the regionally described Laura Secord Trail...which delineates her famous night time trek through this area to warn the British...such a sweet lady...and a sweet bridge picture in her honor...

There's a plethora of stuff to see on the trail...after travelling under Highway 405 (General Brock Parkway), we see, among other things, a poignantly inscribed plaque, a rare example of "death by turn blaze, a notice we had anticipated advising of a reroute due to road construction, and a familiar GO train a long way from home from which of course, we knew to "stand clear of the doors"...seriously folks, all this stuff is free, out there to behold...but wait, there's more...

Refreshed after taking a break on the "rails", we make tracks on the new temporary route that parallels the railway and is more of the well travelled Laura Secord route...

Having earlier "under passed" Hwy 405, we now get to take the specifically constructed Sand Plant Hill footbridge across another major artery, the Q.E.W...

...our last few steps before...

 ...the moment Sir Hike-a-Lot realizes that he, along with the rest of his regiment, must pass through the Screaming Tunnel!..

Having made it safely through the foul smelling, purportedly haunted passage, the fruits of our labor were manifested by way of an idyllic stroll down McLaren Road, replete with vineyards, agricultural enterprises, and a rather old horse...

...oh yeah, and The Shoe Tree...when a perfectly healthy specimen, a shining example of nature, is sacrificed through the barbaric practice of nailing various types of old footwear to its trunk solely for the amusement of passing humans...but also pretty amusing...

Ethical quandaries aside, we make our way up the escarpment one last time to arrive at (most of) the dropped cars...a few of us spend a bit longer on a side trail just because we could...well, had to...in order to ultimately get home..but let me say that today was, like many other of our experiences on the trail, a day of wit, laughter, appreciation, and togetherness that comes when you are...Hiking With Friends.

The End

Unhoused pumpkin issue in Niagara...