Sat, May 2 2009 - Bruce Trail - Standing Rock & Caves Side Trail, Pretty River Valley (View Original Event Details)
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It was a nice cool day, just right for a hike. Partial cloudy all day with some sunshine every so often and a few sprinkles (but the rain held off all day). The great thing was the bugs were not out yet(a few by the river). Well at least not biting. Our hike started with a visit to the Standing Rock & Caves Side Trail (or what we thought was the trail). We planned to do this while we were fresh. We found some snow and sink holes as our trail decend down the escarpment pass the Standing Rock. Heading north and down hill we headed towards the Pretty River Valley Provincial Park. And yes, we found a few very pretty rivers. We took the Pretty River Side Trail by a small lake that climbed back up the escarpment. Almost at the top of the escarpment we took another side trail (John Haigh) which lead us to the HIGHEST POINT on the Bruce trail at 540 meters above sea level. Heading north we headed into the Petun Conservation Area. Some of us did a short escursion to the Osler Bluff ski hill were we had a good view from the top of the ski lifts. This created a 5 minute gap between the main group and the Osler Bluff ski hill group. Well a few phone calls later and a GPS coordinated we found the main group. We also found Alex in the process walking east on the 6th Sideroad. We had some great views of Collingwood and saw one turkey vulture riding the air currents. We followed the Bruce Trail (white blazes) back down the mountain to the Pretty River Valley river. Heading south, we were again climbing back up the escarpment, back to the parking lot. We took the Bruce Trail up the escarpment. On top, we discovered the "true" Standing Rock & Cave Trail. We were all tired, but some of us decided to do the official trail down again. WOW! THIS IS GREAT! The deep slotted canyons were like a maze. Adding in the snow and ice for additional challenge made negotiating the narrow passageways an effort. Kate watch your head! About 15 minutes later we merged with our bushwhacking trail in the morning, pass Standing Rock and all the way to the base of the escarpment again. We got back on the Bruce Trail and climbed back up again where we meet up with everyone. One car back to Toronto (no supper) and for the rest of us off to Stayner for a beer and supper. We deserve it! Great hike.
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