Caledon Hills Section - Dunby Road Parking (67.8 km) to 5th Line EHS and Hockley Road (51.8 km) via Blue Side Trails - July 30, 2026.

 Caledon Hills Section - Dunby Road Parking (67.8 km) to 5th Line EHS and Hockley Road Parking (51.8 km) via Blue Side Trails - July 30, 2026.

Once in a while, it behooves the Hiking With Friends group to take its horsepower off the main Bruce Trail and pony up to exploring some alternate pathways...this week took us to the notoriously hilly but beautiful Caledon Hills section to try out several blue side trails in the Hockley Valley neighbourhood...the map above exists in two dimensions...our lives for this 10 km, 3 hour and 40 minute experience were lived most certainly in three...with the vertical axis being our nemesis...

 It's a warm morning on the penultimate July day and 16 of us have assembled at Dunby Road eager to see what lies ahead...myself, Faryde, Josie, Marleen, Barbara (H.C), Laura, Doug, Annette, Grace, Sandra, Frances, Steve K, Andrea, Frank C, Ron B, and Ivan...let's go see what's up...and down...and up...

There's a short walk along Dunby Road and a left onto 3rd Line EHS, before a right turn onto what will be a lengthy stretch of 15 Side Road...it's pretty quiet up here so we have the roads mostly to ourselves and can walk abreast and catch up with our very busy summers...you can tell by looking at the horizon and tree line that we are definitely in glacial till country...not a lot of "flats" around here...

If climbing hills is your "Achilles heel" of hiking, then your presence at the above location is going to portend a test of your mettle...after several long, rolling hills already this morning, we have arrived at the entrance to the Sheldon J. Anderson Forest, or more commonly, The Anderson Tract, named after Sheldon "Shelly" Anderson (1909 - 2004), a local naturalist who spent his later years managing up to 80 eastern bluebird nesting boxes in the area (he claimed it to be a real tweet)...this public woodland features mature pine plantations, STEEP (my emphasis) sandy hills, and a unique cluster of glacial sand dunes (eskers and the like)...

   ...and, it turns out, a nice view at Three Sisters Lookout Point...(only 2 were here today).

It is a totally enchanting forest which is well worth the effort to experience...made even more pleasant by the soft, smooth trail underfoot...

It's warming up, and it's time for another (FIFA approved?) hydration-break...we're not out of the woods yet, but maybe that's a blessing...

 We do eventually (after negotiating a quite large fallen tree), arrive at the northern tip of 5th Line EHS and soon cross the Nottawasaga River...above is the new, more natural, avant-garde type bridge picture I am promoting, one that resulted from too much "hilli-ness silliness" to want to stop the proceedings...

 There are a few in the group who have become ardent Blue Side Trail warriors (they even take photos of where they've been, how strange is that? 😀)...on today's voyage, we have enjoyed Hockley Heights Side Trail, and are now enjoying (if more climbing can be considered enjoyable) Hemlock Ridge and then Glacier Valley Side Trails...they are in the Hemlock Ridges BTC Protected area and home to some of the highest elevations in this region...

 The expressions say it all as we finish the arduous loop and arrive back at the cars...375 meters of ascent (not to mention super steep descents) in just over 10 km makes for a real joint tester today, but we got it done with the supportive group mentality that drives HWF and transforms tough hikes on hot summer days into fun times and fond memories. Thanks for joining along!

The End

And a toast, while we're at it, to those hiking friends who have on occasion, without asking and without hesitation, sacrificed their personal enjoyment of the trail, and exhibited care and compassion towards fellow hikers...bravo and thank you!