Caledon Section - Willoughby Road (15.9 km) to Innis Lake Road (32.5 km) - May 15, 2025.
It's the last hike before our first of three upcoming trips to the more northern sections of the Bruce Trail next week, and to warm up for that, Hiking With Friends found themselves heading straight for...one of the straighter routes we can follow, in the Caledon Section...fortunately, and what attracted my interest, the least attractive aspect of this section has been recently deleted and replaced with a much more suitable and natural route, and new trail is always something to see!
We have a much tighter group gathered at our starting point (I'll let you figure out where we are) for today's outing, with several regulars on escapades afar...there's myself, Lesley (H.C), Donna, Catherine V, Frank L, Steve K, Steve R, Brian and Ron B...it's a warmish, humid May morning and it's time to head east (my first time doing this hike in this direction!)...
Everything and everywhere is green again! Although we will be more or less travelling linearly today, and much of that is via road, there are several quite nice forays like this one that take us through fields and flowers and blooming trees...
Our emergence onto Escarpment Side Road (not for the last time today), soon leads us to the tunnel under Highway 10 (graffiti free surprisingly)...we head...towards...the light...at the end...
That light becomes more expansive as we wind our way through a rolling meadow that borders the southern edge of the massive local quarries (not to be shown here)...
It's baaaaack...Escarpment Side Road in all its linear glory...wild turkeys included. To be fair, this is a fairly quiet thoroughfare (probably since there are only mega-estate-horse farms along here) and the freshly groomed surface is reasonably solid underfoot...we can keep a good pace and enjoy some nice conversation...
Eventually, we stand aside...for the "grader good" of the group, and let this behemoth pass one way...and the next...
Finally it's back into the cooler (visually and comfort wise) forest for a bit...
After a brief encounter with a (well appreciated) trail volunteer doing his thing, we exit onto St. Andrews Road and the impressive sight of the historic St. Andrew's Stone Church...we were praying for a nice spot to come to rest, peacefully and, without any grave concern of impending rain, we are able to enjoy our snacks and plot the next part of our journey...
Goodbye asphalt, hello yellow brick road/trail...
Our day is moving along swimmingly...or maybe "hikingly" is a better term...the weather has been quite decent (actually a little warm in parts but a good amount of cloud cover and the odd breeze helped)...sure, our hikes up in Blue Mountain and Beaver Valley next week will eclipse today in both challenge and beauty, but there is still a lot to be enjoyed in what this day has offered in terms of friendship and the shared walking experience...
As we climb the steps that take us to the freshly paved blacktop of Mountainview Road, we reach a critical juncture (I usually prefer regular junctures but, here we are). The recent procurement of another BTC Protected Natural Area, 137 acres now called Meltwater Moraine, a kilometer up the road, means the previous trail route back down to Escarpment Road and ultimately alongside the traffic heavy, cacophonous, transport truck raceway, called Airport Road...is no more. We gather at the entrance to the newly protected lands. There is an abandoned farmhouse, and various signs of a farming life long since given back up to nature...
This is a far better way than the previous trail route, it's bucolic beauty!
A final group shot at an elevated area as we near the end of a very nice day on the trail...we all cross Airport Road safely (a 3 second crossing beats a 45 minute shoulder slug any day)...the trail parallels Finnerty Side Road and before we know it, we reach the cars...we now get to look forward to the north, and the potential conclusion of two more member's journeys in the coming weeks...see you then!
The End
Steve K caught this unusual and creative golf ball inspired adornment along the way that must pay homage to wayward t(r)ee shots?..
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