Sat, Jul 14 2012 - Bruce Trail Series - Part 3 ~ 20 km DeCew Falls to Rockway (View Original Event Details)
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The air was already hot when everyone arrived at the carpool at 8 am, yet undeterred, we're headed out...
We began our hike at the DeCew House (km 29.8 on Bruce Trail). As we neared the DeCew falls, we looked for a way to go down to the river bed. There were a number of well worn paths (a couple of them with ropes) but all of them appeared to be quite challenging, vertical descents, and since not all of us were skilled at rock/cliff climbing we decided to abandon the idea (safety first!). We stopped at the Morningstar Mill where a couple of friendly volunteers gave us a bit of information about the mill and it's operation. We then continued into the Short Hills Provincial Park where in addition to the Bruce Trail we completed the Terrance Creek, the Scarlet Tanager, and a southern section of the Black Walnut Trail. While all the trees were beautifully green, the ground was dry, cracked and starved for water. All the creeks were also dry. That also meant.. no waterfalls... That left us only to imagine how beautiful the flowing water might have been in early spring coming down the rocky outcrops. Also many sections of the trails were quite open, making our hike quite warm. Hence we paused frequently in shady spots to cool down. Amy, Pete and Mike set and kept the hiking pace around the average 4.5 km/hr. They also waiting for us on every hilltop (ok.. for me...:) as I huffed and puffed, hiking up the steep hills. Thanks guys and gals for being so considerate, as you helped us all to stay and hike together as a group. We've ended our 20.1 km hike at the Rockway (km 45.1), close to 4 PM, VERY hot and exhausted.
Thank you to Shelley and Morteza for making this their very first TOC event!!
Thank you to Heather, Pete and Galina for driving.
$13.50 in voluntary donations were collected with thanks!!
Look forward to seeing you all at future TOC events.
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.