Iroquoia Section - Sydenham Road Lookout (58.9 km) to Davidson Blvd Side Trail (53.3 km) via Tews Falls and Dundas Peak - March 28, 2024.

 Iroquoia Section - Sydenham Road Lookout (58.9 km) to Davidson Blvd Side Trail (53.3 km) via Tews Falls and Dundas Peak - March 28, 2024.

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."...as you know by now, Hiking With Friends is first and foremost a Bruce Trail "End to End" focused group...but, as we evolve and grow, it has become part of our ethos to, on occasion, broaden our hiking experience by incorporating more of the many interesting and divergent side trails offered on this great pathway...yes, we are singing the praises of the "Side Trail Blues"...to wit, our hike this week from the well known Sydenham Road Lookout, to the parking at the Davidson Blvd Side Trail, only captured 6.3 km of main trail (which we had all traveled previously), but also incorporated several significant side trails including Tews Falls, Glen Ferguson, Cheryl Duke, and the aforementioned Davidson Blvd, that gave us a total distance of about 15 km to cover...

 So yeah, it's a bit more of a convoluted route that graces this urban/rural landscape view from above...the 4 hour and 50 minute experience involved 390 meters of climbing (mostly in the early part up the escarpment face), and we did go "off road" a bit to see a hidden gem...can this type of rogue hiking methodology be contained?..perhaps not, because it resulted in a quite delightful experience...

Today's group is assembled at the Sydenham Lookout parking lot on a crisp, sunny March morning...myself, Ron J, Sandra, Marleen, Nancy, Rita, Laura, Steve K, Geoff, Barbara, Lesley (H.C), Steve R, Peter, Liz, and Muris...time to get rolling!

This hill has been immortalized as "Clara's Climb", a tribute to the great Canadian Olympian cyclist and speed skater, Clara Hughes, who used to train here, but for us, it's about descending early on, as we step cautiously down the stairs at Dyment Falls...

Eventually, things level out and we emerge back onto the pedestrian walkway across the railway tracks...the views of the valley are quite impressive this morning...

After crossing over Sydenham Road, we prepare to leave our familiar white blazes behind and begin the climb up the escarpment face on the Tews Falls Side Trail...this route had been relinquished for a period of time by the BTC and handed over to the Hamilton Conservation Authority, but is now "back on the map" (and app) as an official blue trail...

We traverse the base of the somewhat unimpressive Lower Sydenham Falls using the former train trestle bridge, and follow the trail underneath the new rail line above...a decision is made to go even more rogue today and head up the valley on an unmarked path that leads to the Upper Sydenham Falls in hopes of seeing a more natural appearing wonder...

U

And our efforts are soon after rewarded with a pretty spectacular display of water falling over an eroded rock face...a hidden gem...Upper Sydenham Falls.

Our boots get back to the business of climbing and as we ascend the face of the escarpment, more is revealed of the valley below...

We come to another fork in the road and decide to take a side trail off the side trail (we were "beside ourselves" making this choice) and proceed on the Glen Ferguson Side Trail for just under a kilometer...

It eventually reunites with the Tews Falls Side Trail at, you guessed it, Tews Falls!..

The trail eventually terminates further along at the fence of a private property and we reverse our course to travel back from whence we came...

There's another great vantage point from which to appreciate this amazing wonder, and a chance for some frivolity as well...

Dundas Peak is our next stop and it is "peak" viewing weather today...one of the best vantage points on the Bruce Trail...

At the bottom of the long descent, one of several freight trains to pass by us today is hard to miss with its cacophonous presence...

  There's lots of evidence of the original rail line that followed our path as we return to the trestle bridge for a traditional shot...we've tackled the more physical part of today's journey...time to stroll into town and make our presence known...

 We take another wayward route through downtown Dundas, eschewing the blazes for a few blocks, and enjoy some respite on the park benches at Memorial Square at the corner of Sydenham Street and King Road...

It's another highlight of the day as the Cheryl Duke Side Trail leads us to the offices of the Bruce Trail Conservancy!...the "command center control hub headquarters" of the trail we all love and appreciate...and a chance to meet Michael McDonald, the CEO of the BTC since 2019 (having previously been a volunteer for over ten years)...he graciously offered to join us in a group photo!..

A nice moment for the Hiking With Friends crew as we gather outside the office under the iconic banner...

We're soon on our way again with only a couple of kilometers left to cover before we are done...a couple of hardy golfers are out enjoying the Par 3 course at Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club (one of whom was a little startled over their putt when shouts of "car back" rang out from the lane way beside them)...

Yet another freight train passes by up above as we reach the last side trail, Davidson Blvd, and make our way down to the residential street of the same name, because that's where we dropped our cars!..it's all smiles and Easter greetings as we wrap up a very pleasant outing for our group...a little different than our usual E2E "modus operandi", but a day well spent enjoying the outdoors and each other's company....thanks for sharing it with us!

The End

Typical HWF hiking style on a Spring day...