Sunday January 16, 2022- 9.7 km

We are back on the trail again, after a long period of time, with many excuses of why our Bruce Trail End-to-End quest was on hold. Oh, how the world has changed since May 2019 when we completed Hike #13 in Mono Cliffs Provincial Park!

Back in May of 2019, I hiked with an angry knee, trying to ignore the pain, which would soon be diagnosed as a fractured medial femoral condyle- a broken knee! A hard fall on ice at the beginning of April and my training for the Sporting Life 10 km on Mother’s Day, did a number on my knee. My knee finally said enough is enough at a tennis team practice at the end of May, when my knee finally gave out and I hobbled home. A trip to Buffalo for an MRI revealed the diagnosis. We had a trip booked to hike with the kids in Scotland at the end of the summer and I needed to be better, so we stopped hiking. I stopped playing tennis and even took a month off of golf, which was tough because we had just joined the Devil’s Pulpit Golf Club, near our chalet and we were hooked on golf.

Fast forward eight months to March 2020 and the start of the pandemic. Everything was shut-down and surprisingly, much of the Bruce Trail closed during the initial lockdown when we were all told to stay at home and just when we needed it the most. In the early days of the pandemic, nobody really knew how transmissible the virus was. Children were not allowed to play at playgrounds, you were only allowed to walk with your family bubble and while doing so, stay a hockey stick apart (6 feet) from others and even park benches were taped off and fines were given if you dared to sit down on one. We spent a lot of time at our chalet, hiking the familiar trails at Caledon Ski Club and when back in Toronto, along the Humber River. The CEO of the Bruce Trail Conservancy asked people not to use the trail, worried about closed conservation areas, lack of parking and people passing each other too closely on narrow passages. What a crazy time it was! A few months later, when things finally started to open up, we resumed golf and tennis, however many conservation areas in Ontario remained closed, trying to discourage gatherings. The Belfountain Conservation Area, that contains the piece of the Bruce Trail closest to our chalet, remains closed in January 2022, almost two years after the start of the pandemic and parking is greatly restricted along Forks of the Credit Road near Dominion Street, another main parking area for the trail.

In July of 2020, the couple who had recently purchased the chalet next to ours, put in a huge deck and hot tub overlooking our property. Next, they cleared the forest and built an outdoor fire pit, hung loud speakers, strung lights through the forest, erected a trampoline and built a shed to store all of their stuff- the perfect playground for their five young kids… Our peaceful retreat was no longer private or quiet so we contacted Jim, a local real estate agent, and gave him our wish list for a new property, just in case something came up in the next year or two. As luck would have it, Jim knew of a property, that had been listed previously and hadn’t sold, that would tick all of the boxes. In a blink of an eye, we purchased this property, listed and sold our chalet and began a massive renovation of our new Caledon home. After much deliberating, we decided to sell our Toronto home, make our new Caledon home our primary residence, purchase and renovate a Toronto condo pied a terre, and played lots and lots of golf, all during the never-ending pandemic! With all of this going on, we have been too busy to hike the Bruce Trail, however, now we are settled, there are no more excuses! Additionally, we have learned that it is not only safe to hike, it is also a highly recommended activity for pandemic induced anxiety!

On Sunday January 16th, 2022, we decided to take a day off of skiing and finally resume our end-to-end quest. The pandemic continues, we are in another lockdown in Ontario and with restricted access to the lodges at the ski club, we are choosing to ski more during the week and leave the hills to families on the much busier weekends.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we met some new friends at our new golf club. Joan and Murray had recently built their dream home in Hockley Valley, lived across the Humber River ravine from us in Toronto, have sons the same ages as Jack and Lexi, love to travel, love to golf and love to hike… the similarities and common interests go on and on. We were delighted when Joan suggested tackling a section of the Bruce Trail together, because it is so much easier to have two cars and while in the thick of a mid-winter lockdown, we looked forward to socializing with another couple while hiking.

It was a blue bird day, -12 c, blue sky, sunshine and a light dusting of snow on the ground, when we set off from Hilltop Lodge to our meeting point at Devil’s Glen Provincial Park, an hour’s drive away. Today’s hike, in the Blue Mountains section of the Bruce Trail, was a jump on the trail map from where we had last hiked, but this didn’t matter, because we can complete those missed sections anytime. Joan and Murray arrived soon after we did and climbed into our SUV to drive to our starting point. Scout smothered Joan with kisses, from his perch in the rear. Joan took care of Scout in October and is now one of his favourite people.

We parked our car at the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation parking lot and entered the trail at the Hamilton Bros. Side Trail entrance and the start of an old logging road. Scout lead the charge, bounding through the fresh snow in search of the perfect stick. Joan and I were in front, setting the pace, chatting away and taking turns throwing Scout’s stick, while Paul and Murray had their own visit several strides behind. Our group quickly found our rhythm, and in no time knocked off the first few kilometres. When we encountered a snow-swept field, the most challenging piece of the hike began. We spread out into single file, following in Joan’s footsteps as we navigated through knee-high snowbanks and layers of crusty snow that supported you until it didn’t and you abruptly sunk into the depths. Despite the cold, this rigorous workout had us all sweating. At one point, I wondered if we should turn around, because we were not even halfway and if the rest of the hike was like this, we could be hours and hours out on the trail! Thankfully, once out of the field and back into the forest, we reached the entrance to the Devil’s Glen Country Club property, where the trails are well used and protected by the forest. We all agreed that for our next winter Bruce Trail hike we would bring snowshoes, just in case.

We hiked along the trail adjacent to the ski hills, then followed a switch back trail down into a river valley, beside the Mad River. We all wore crampons (Yaktrax) on our hiking boots for traction on the slippery slopes. I have broken my wrist and my knee while hiking on icy days, so now I rarely go hiking anywhere in the winter without my Yaktrax and we have a large supply to share with friends and family when they hike with us in Caledon. I always insist that friends take a pair along on our hikes, because I do not want anyone to slip and fall on my watch!

We paused occasionally for sips of water, however none of us wanted to stand around, because despite the sun, the day was cold and we all were perspiring from exertion. A few months ago, we travelled to Southern California with Joan and Murray for a golf vacation. We went on a few hikes with them during that trip, so we knew that we share a similar pace and hiking philosophy.

The final kilometre of today’s hike was a challenging climb up a steep hill, with a series of natural steps and wooden stairs. We could see the blue sky peeking out of the trees at the top and our watches, tracking our distance, told us we were close to the finish. At the top of the trail, we paused to take pictures, all of us with rosy cheeks, from the cold air and exertion. We climbed into Joan and Murray’s SUV, and shuttled back to the start of the trail, where we had left our car.

Paul and I are thrilled to be back at it, working our way through the Bruce Trail, one section at a time. Plans were made for the two couples to conquer some sections in Niagara, following ski season, and perhaps visit a winery or two while we are at it. We headed back to Hilltop Lodge, feeling exhilarated after a weekend of skiing and hiking. Life is good, despite the lockdown!