Iroquoia Section - Felker's Falls (23.2 km) to Hillcrest Ave. (37.1 km) - March 19, 2026.

 Iroquoia Section - Felker's Falls (23.2 km) to Hillcrest Ave. (37.1 km) - March 19, 2026.



Hiking With Friends returned to the Iroquoia Section this past Thursday, and took on a 14 km trek starting at Felker's Falls, as we did last week...but today, we pointed ourselves in the opposite direction (northbound on the BT)...towards Hamilton and all its quirks and quizzical qualities...







  It's a bit smaller group for today's adventure with 8 hikers gathered on a cool, but thankfully dry, March morning...myself, Lesley, Faryde, Ivan, Frances, Barbara (H.C), Sandra, and Josie make up the contingent...who have no contingency plan, other than to make it to our dropped cars back at Hillcrest Ave...safely and soundly...




















We get a glimpse of Felker's Falls (from the other side this week) before setting off along a quite nice section of trail that overlooks the Glendale Golf Club...
























It's a pretty easy stroll along a mix of natural and paved paths until we reach the intersection of the former Mount Albion Road, a now unused (by car traffic) stretch of asphalt that will lead us down to the bottom of Red Hill Valley...

























And here we encounter the first example of the prevalent "urban induced" encroachment that typifies "hiking in the Hammer"...the brutalist undercarriage of the Red Hill Valley Parkway and its associated "artwork" are...something...a visual backdrop to the deafening din being created above...















 Fortunately, nature manages to reaffirm its grip on the environment soon after, as we intersect the Red Hill Valley Trail and pass by the inspirational "Bear Meeting Place", a landscape feature created through the joint stewardship of the City of Hamilton and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council...














The Albion Falls Bridge crossing of Red Hill Creek gives us a nice photo op prior to heading off into the King's Forest...we are royally pleased at how well the day is going so far...























Uli's Stairs are another local landmark...hand crafted by an Austrian gentleman many years ago, they lead down from Mountain Brow Road...use at your own risk...





















I am obviously oblivious, or maybe just inured, to another tree we saunter by having suffered "death by blaze" (thanks for capturing Josie)... before traversing a more traditional (and I'm sure far more expensive) staircase, the Kenilworth Stairs...



























 After paralleling it for a while, the Bruce Trail eventually merges with the paved Escarpment Rail Trail and, after crossing over Kenilworth Access, we decide a refreshment break is in order under increasingly pleasant skies and in warming temperatures...























And it's a good thing we refueled, because we now get to tackle the monstrous Wentworth Staircase up to the Sherman Access...step it up HWF!..



Don't be that guy...
















The staircase even has this cool feature that shows your heart rate when you reach the top...















 





There are some great views of the city from the Arkledun Ave overpass, before we gather underneath Claremont Access by a wonderful piece of urban art...it's not all encampment waste and tagging thank goodness...























There's one more cool area to travel through at St. Joseph's Garden Park, just above Beckett Drive ...continuing today's theme of the urban vs. nature dichotomy...
























A massive downed tree proves no obstacle to our collective focus on searching out the welcome Blue Side Trail sign for Hillcrest Ave and the conclusion of today's hike...which has been another enjoyable outing...hiking in the Hammer is always full of sights and sounds (and smells?) but never fails to entertain the senses...thanks for following along!


The End



 Someone barked..."Let's just move this off the trail"...so they tried.







 

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