Distance hiked: 11.2km
Location: Bruce Trail, Ontario
Date: April 4, 2020
We haven’t really left our apartment much over these past few weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we made an exception to go for a hike (or rather three hikes) as it was beautiful outside and we needed to get some exercise. We figured today would be the perfect opportunity to finish up the Iroquoia section of the Bruce Trail as we had three smaller portions of this section left to hike, none of which passed through a provincial park or conservation area (which are currently closed).
The first hike was the shortest, but most challenging and involved hiking up and down many hills (so many hills). The path crosses the Bronte Creek and contains a small boardwalk section that weaves through a marshy area. We were pleasantly surprised that the trail itself was not muddy considering the time of year.
After finishing up, we took a short snack break. It was then a short drive to get to the second hike. The break (and exercise) was most welcome as this hike also involved many ups and downs. This time we left our jackets in the car.
This part of the trail had a few muddy sections, which we tried to (unsuccessfully) manoeuvre around. The trail also involved hiking up, down and around rolling hills. It was quite the cardio challenge, which is probably a good thing considering that we’ve been staying indoors for the past couple of weeks.
Our legs were pretty sore by the time we finished. The third and final part of our “hike” (if you can even call it that) involved walking along a sidewalk through a residential area in Hamilton. Usually we’re not a fan of the road/sidewalk portions of the Bruce Trail, but in this case, it was most welcome to give our legs a break. We didn’t end up including this portion of the hike in our distance total as it’s not really a hike. We wanted to finish this section anyway for completeness though.
This marked our final hike along the Iroquoia section of the Bruce Trail. Since 2015, we’ve been trying to hike the entire length of this 121.7km section. And today we’ve completed it.
L
My progress on the 52 Hike Challenge can be found here
Did you see many others out on the trails? We have limited our walks to the paths through our City of Beaumont. We found that people did not know how to social distance on the Edmonton paths. It appears that is starting to happen here as well, now, so we walk the paths that are widest or along streets. It is good to get out for sure. Stay well. Allan
We encountered a few other hikers, but they were really good at keeping their distance when passing. It’s hard to go for walks here in Toronto just because there are so many people that make it next to impossible sometimes to keep the appropriate distance between people. It’s only going to get worse as the weather becomes warmer. I know we are encouraged to stay home, but in some ways we feel safer leaving the city to hike as we encounter significantly fewer people. Thanks for reading.
At least you could go for a hike. The parking lots for all parks are closed here in southern Alberta, so it’s not possible to hike unless you can do it from your front door.
All the provincial parks are closed here in Ontario too. I’ve been trying to get creative at finding trails that don’t pass through provincial parks or conservation areas. News flash: there aren’t many. I’ve been relying on my map book of the Bruce Trail (an 885km trail that follows the escarpment from Niagara to Tobermory) and have just been hiking sections further away from the city. It’s been pretty good so far. For now. Take care.
Great that you can get out. I guess our other problem is that the snow is too deep to hike, but not good enough to ski.
It’s hard to believe that some places still have so much snow :p Hopefully it’ll melt soon so that it’s easier to go for walks or hike. Stay safe.
That’s the mountains for you!
It’s been months since I had a good hike. This post brought back so many memories. 😍😍
I’ve been doing more hiking than usual because of the 52 Hike Challenge, but also because it’s pretty much the only think I can still do during this lockdown. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Love your posts. Great material as always!