Hike #49 August 19, 2014, Bruce Peninsula Day 4

Hike # 49

Date – August 19, 2014

Location – Map 38 Lion's Head

Distance – 14

Total Trail Distance – 645.1 (248.9 to go)

Hikers – Steve, Elza, Simon, Dean, Marlene, Madeleine, Kent and Benjamin

Start – 68.8 Barrow Bay, Peninsula Section

End – 82.8 Lion's Head Harbour, Peninsula Section

Direction – North

Weather – Cloudy, intermittent rain, warm

Warning: this is the hike we consider to have been the most beautiful one so far. Therefore, there are lots of pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

We drive to our end point in the town of Lion's Head and drop a vehicle at the marina, then we squish into the Folkerts' van and drive to the start. Elza is hiking today too!

It's another beautiful day and this is another spectacularly beautiful hike. There are tremendous views over Georgian Bay and some death-defying cliff-edge overlooks, which scare Madeleine. We decide that the overlook called "Gun Point" is aptly named, meaning "fear." The terrain is also often challenging underfoot, with lots of rock and uneven ground. We spend much of the hike in Lion's Head Provincial Nature Reserve, which means we meet a lot of other day hikers, and we also come upon some rock climbers who are testing their skill against sheer rock faces.

We enjoy another lunch on another pebble beach. Yesterday's beach was mostly white rocks but this one features rocks of many different patterns and colours. I find them so beautiful that I take many pictures, prompting Dean to tell me that I don't have to photograph "every one." Yes I do.

A fearful man in a small group of hikers asks "are there snakes?" Later we learn that Madeleine and Kent, who encountered him first, said "yes," while Dean and I, who pass him five minutes later, assure him "no." Many of the other hikers we meet, who appear to have headed south from the town of Lion's Head, ask us if the hike to Lion's Head lookout is worth it. We always say "yes," although when we get to the point that is actually marked Lion's Head on the map, there are too many people, so we don't linger very long. There are many other more beautiful lookouts.

Ben pees off a cliff -- "a majestic pee," he says. He also sees a bald eagle at Gun Point. We also encounter a man who is not particularly appropriately dressed who is running hard. We wonder why. Could he be trying to get ahead to set up a wedding proposal? Two other hikers we meet are women who are hiking "from house to house," using what they called a "Home Network" of B&B operators who move their vehicle for them.

The water in Georgian Bay is clear, sparkling aquamarine in the sunlight, and we think this is one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever done.

Near the end of the hike we linger and then detour slightly to visit both the Lion's Head Pothole and the Giant's Cauldron Pothole. Chances for more pictures. LOL.

At the end, when we are actually hiking through the town of Lion's Head, Ben and Simon miss a blaze and end up taking a different route, but luckily the town is small and they know where we parked the van. We spend some time swimming and cooling off at the beach near the marina, and try to figure out what the Lion's Head actually is. We're stumped.

After we've cooled off, we head to the Lion's Head Tavern for dinner -- a wonderful way to end the day. The forecast for the day had called for rain, but we missed most of it.