Fri, Apr 22 2011 - Bruce Trail: Kimberley to Epping (View Original Event Details)

Event Coordinator(s): Alison
Participants:Kaisa, Nic S, Pia, Alison, Brad Kyte, lynseythy, Wei Yang, Bashir, Jounghwa


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Write Up:
Drivers: Alison, Brad, Nicholas - many thanks to the three of you!
Donations: $12.00
Badges: 1
The first 2011 hike of the on-going Bruce Trail end-to-end turned out to be on the best day we've had so far this spring. A bit of sun, comfortable hiking temperatures, no significant wind, rain holding off until the drive home, what more can a group of hikers ask for? A few patches of snow remained in sheltered areas along the trail, and even though the hard-packed pistes of the Beaver Valley Ski Club will be there for a few more weeks, the streams and rivers coming down the valley side were in full spate with melt-water. New plant growth was starting to show along the trail - the trout lilies will be out in flower in a month and a small, yellow, daisy-like plant is already flowering (sorry, don't own a wild-flower guide :-( ). The animals are also a bit more apparent - a family of turkey vultures shadowed us up the length of the escarpment, using the up-draft to soar just above our heads. A woodpecker was busily looking for its lunch as we sat on a dead tree-trunk and ate ours. Deer prints were noticed on the trail a couple of times but we never saw the animals themselves. Some creatures didn't survive the winter, as the body of a porcupine and the skull of a young raccoon attested. From the top of Talisman resort, we had great views across the valley to Kimberley, and Old Baldy - fun to remember that we were on that side just a few hikes back :-) This section of the Beaver Valley includes a wide variety of terrain and flora. The trail moves from ski-slopes, to large deciduous forest cover, to the edge of fields, to beaver ponds, to cedar bush and even a bit of road tramping at the end. Truly something for everyone!



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.