Date – May 18, 2014
Location – Map 24 Blue Mountain and Map 25 Kolapore
Distance – 21.5 km
Total Trail Distance – 546.3 (347.7 to go)
Hikers – Steve, Simon, Elza, Robyn, Dean, Marlene, Benjamin, Harold,
Janette, Julian, Sue, Benjamin, Therese and Kai
Start – 23.8 Reg. Road #2, Beaver Valley Section
End – 2.3 Intercept Side Trail
Direction – South on trail, but really East
Weather – Warm and sunny, blackflies just starting
This is the first hike of a two-day weekend in the Collingwood area.
We're booked into Georgian Manor and we have a large group of enthusiastic
hikers.
It's a beautiful
day, sunny and warm, and it doesn't take long before we're shedding layers.
When we come to a stream where we stop for our second lunch, many hikers take
advantage of the cool water to soak their feet. There are huge rainbow trout in
the stream, and we learn from another hiker that the fishing season opens next
weekend and the fish will most likely be caught.
We also meet two
through-hikers, Rory Biller and Mick Allaby, who are working their way north.
Mick calls The Bruce Trail "Canada's Appalachian Trail" and says that
he has been hiking for several years. When he's done the Bruce he intends to do
the Appalachian. Rory and Mick didn't start out together, but met on the trail
and have been together for a couple of days when we meet them. Mick says he
quit his job and sold his possessions and is taking some time to just hike.
 |
| Rory (left) and Mick. |
I like it when we
meet through-hikers. Even though our end-to-end is taking a long time and we
are making only incremental progress, it's encouraging to meet people who also
see the value in the trail. For something so wonderful that is so close to so
many people, there are very few who actually use it. Even though I like the
wilderness experience, the solitude that we find on the trail both surprises and
saddens me.
Here's a link to
Mick's blog: https://mikenmilo.wordpress.com/author/mikenmilo/
Near 18th Sideroad we
are met by a friendly dog, who happily joins our entourage, walking a
considerable distance with us. When we order him home, he ignores our commands
and continues to hike with us, until some of the kids, worried that he'll end
up lost, retrace their steps to take him back in the direction from which he
came.
A carpet of green
is beginning to emerge on the forest floor, but in a deep, north-facing gully,
where winter wind has swept mountains of snow and where the sun's rays have not
yet ventured, we find a large snow drift. We stop and wait while the kids
descend the bank and have a snowball fight. We also encounter some lingering snow on the runs at Blue Mountain.
 |
| The last snowball of the year. |
As is often the case, this hike includes both stiles (that helpfully and easily get us in and out of farm fields) and donation plaques. Even though we don't meet many actual people on the trail, these are regular reminders that our travels are made possible because of the hard work and generosity of many others. We are grateful.
We end our hike at
the place where we started (and ended) our failed hike on New Year's Eve a few
years ago. There is still a stream
and a puddle there, but this time, instead of soaking our boots, they provide a
fun way to pass the time while we wait for our rides. We dam the stream, hang
out on a farm gate and eat all the candy we have left.
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