Fri, Apr 22 2011 - Bruce Trail: Kimberley to Epping (View Original Event Details)
Event Coordinator(s): | |
Alison
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Participants: | | Kaisa, Nic S, Pia, Alison, Brad Kyte, lynseythy, Wei Yang, Bashir, Jounghwa |
| Click for Album |
Write Up:
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Drivers: Alison, Brad, Nicholas - many thanks to the three of you! |
Donations: $12.00 |
Badges: 1 |
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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.