Sun, Oct 5 2008 - Hockley Heights Loop (View Original Event Details)

Event Coordinator(s): Alison
Participants:Alison, becky, Kate E, Anita Block, Carob, Pia, Hiker84, Jim O, Susie Tu

Write Up:
It was a dark and stormy night, and the TOC... Oops, wrong event! Rewind...
It was a fine and temperate fall day, and 9 intrepid TOC members set off on the Hockley Heights Loop of the Bruce Trail, opting to head south from the Hockley Road parking lot, and walk the trail in the anti-clockwise direction. 20km later, having tramped up hill and down dale, through woods, along roads, on sand, mud, leaves and gravel, the troupe trooped out of the woods with aching muscles, big smiles and a well-earned sense of personal satisfaction at having completed one of the more vertically challenging sections of the mighty Bruce. The 40% chance of rain fell in our favour for once, and the temperature was such that most of us were constantly putting on or taking off layers as we rested or walked respectively.
While we didn't see a lot of wildlife, we did hear a number of different birds - the woodpeckers were easy to identify but given the variety of sounds, there appear to be some pretty strange birds in them thar hills! The fall colours were just coming into their own, and the lookout points on the trail gave wonderfully colourful vistas across the Nottawasaga Valley. Except for the couple looking for the Truck Mud Bath, who we met twice, we encountered few other people all day; it's a wonderful feeling to have a large section of such a popular trail for your exclusive use...
Everyone made it back to the vehicles more or less in one piece, although I suspect that the makers of Epsom Salts were doing a brisk business last evening (Note to self: buy Epsom stock!). For the participants who didn't have to rush back to Toronto after the hike, a short trip back up Highway 9 to Tottenham afforded us a delightful evening at the Man of Yorke - highly recommended to other groups who find themselves in the general area on other events!
Event photos are courtesy of Susie, who graciously accepted the role of official event photographer, and happily took out her camera to capture shots requested by the other members of the group. Many thanks!



Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.