Distance hiked: 9.5km
Location: Belfountain Conservation Area, Ontario
Date: June 21, 2020
It’s been an unusually hot summer here in Ontario. With temperatures exceeding 30°C on the regular, it hasn’t been ideal weather for hiking. But we were on a mission to complete 52 hikes this year, so even though it was sweltering hot and humid outside, we went for a hike anyway. Besides, we planned to visit G & S afterwards to go swimming in their pool. So how bad could it be? Spoiler: it was terrible.
We decided to hike through the Belfountain Conservation Area due to its close proximity to G & S’s house. We’ve hiked part of this trail before and knew that we were in for a challenge as there are lots of steps up and down. But we thought we were getting in pretty good shape and could handle it. What we didn’t factor in was the heat.
We parked along the east side of Creditview Road and first hiked along the Bruce Trail for a few kilometres to get to the Belfountain Conservation Area.
The first stretch of the trail is reasonably flat and pretty uneventful. This was a good warm-up for the main event. After crossing Caledon Mountain Drive, the terrain becomes progressively more rugged and rocky. We followed a few steep switchbacks down the side of the Escarpment and were presented with our first (of many) stair challenges. There was even a rope attached to the side of the cliff to assist with the first set of steps. That’s how steep they were.
The path continues to weave its way down the Escarpment (key word being down), passing over, on and around lots of rocks along the way.
We then followed a few more stair cases further down before crossing a set of railroad tracks.
The path heads back through the forest for a few hundred metres before leading to the Forks of the Credit Road and Dominion Street. We followed the road for a short period (thankful for the fact that there were no roots and rocks to scramble down) before coming to the Belfountain Conservation Area.
The entrance was partially blocked off and we weren’t sure whether the conservation area was permanently closed or that the barricades were simply remnants for when all the conservation areas were closed during the height of the pandemic. We proceeded anyway.
We first hiked along part of Trimble Side Trail (2.5km one-way), which follows a river before ascending a large hill.
The trail then passes Crow’s Nest Side Trail (1.1km loop), which was named after the Crow’s Nest Quarry that opened in 1880. The trail loops through an old quarry road and leads up to a ridge overlooking Forks of the Credit Road. We didn’t see much in terms of views as the forest was quite dense. The views would probably be better in the spring or fall without all the leaves on the trees.
Once we looped back to the start of the trail, we took a snack break. We initially planned to complete the Trimble Side Trail, but we were a bit concerned with the hike back as it would mostly be uphill. We turned around and walked back the way we came.
It was a long struggle uphill in the heat.
Along the way back, we made a detour along the Ring Kiln Side Trail (600m, one-way). The side trail leads part way down the Devil’s Pulpit (going down anything with the name “Devil” in it probably means that it wasn’t a walk in the park) and follows a series of old rail beds to the Hoffman Lime Kiln Ruins. The climb downhill (and then back uphill) was worth it.
At the end of the trail there was an interpretive sign to explain the history of the ruins. The Hoffman Lime Kiln was constructed in 1896 with 12 draw kilns and was approximately 30 metres long and 15 metres wide. The kiln, which contained insulated chambers, was used to turn limestone to lime, which was then loaded onto trains and taken to local markets for use in construction, industry and agriculture.
From the side trail the path levels out. It was then a couple of kilometres back to the car. The fact that we were going swimming after this provided great motivation to get us through the hike.
L
My progress on the 52 Hike Challenge can be found here
Hiking in hot weather would not be a thrill for me. No worries here. After a day and a half of sunshine, we are back to rain this AM. Someday, our summer will come. Thanks for sharing. and stay well. Allan
I don’t know which is worse to hike in: the heat or the rain. Either way, at least we’re still getting out there. Thanks for reading.
Wonderful, exhilarating nature hike. Thanks
It sure felt exhilarating after finishing up our hike. It was a tough climbing down and up all those stairs even in the best of times and even more so during the middle of a heat wave. But the trail was incredibly scenic and we made sure to drink plenty of fluids along the way.
What a great goal: 52 hikes in a year! But when I saw those staircases, I thought to myself: that would be one less hike! Looks pretty treacherous to me, but then again, I don’t hike much. Wishing you all the best and safe travels on and off the hiking trails.
Thanks! We started the 52 hikes challenge at the beginning of the year before the pandemic. Turns out it was quite fitting as hiking has been one of the few activities that we’re still able to do these days. This hike was by far the toughest that we’ve completed. Glad that one is out of the way!
We would have just sat it out!😊
Wow, just look at how inviting that staircase is! I love this trail and the challenges it represents. We don’t really need special skills to cross the rural unspoiled landscape, it can be easily done in scorching hot weather, we just need to be well prepared! Thanks for sharing and inspiring 😀 Aiva
Haha, they were sure easy going down. But on the way back up, every time we had to climb up one of these staircases, I started to mutter curse words under my breath. It was quite the challenge, even more so because of the heat. Glad we packed lots of water. Take care. Thanks for reading.
I don’t like hiking in hot weather either. If it’s humid, I feel like I can hardly breathe! How was the humidity?
The humidity was the worst part. It felt close to 10C hotter with the humidity factored in. Glad that hike is over and done with. The local news these days is all about the pandemic and the heat.
Oh wow! Glad you got through it. Hope your next hike is less humid
Ha, me too. We ended up taking a week off of work and headed further up north to Lake Superior to escape the heat and get some hiking in. The good news is that the temperatures were much more tolerable up north. The bad news is that this is where all the bugs were hanging out.
Awesome read. Looks like a great hike 🙂
This hike was quite the challenge with all the staircases and hills, especially since we hiked it on one of the most humid days this summer. But it was a lot of fun. Glad we had enough energy to hike along the Ring Kiln Side Trail on the way back as it was neat to explore all the old ruins. Thanks for reading and commenting.