Starting from the Niagara end of the trail, we headed out on a rather dreary day. There was no sunshine and it was a little cool(-7ºC). We learned a little about how to dress today: one word- Layers! Andrew managed in a pair of khaki cargos and I wore a shell over my pants, which proved great as long as we were moving. Whenever, we stopped we cooled down quite a bit.
An old crane structure left rusting in the woods.
We quickly realized that we’d not only be hiking the 800+ kilometres, but 1600+ because we’ll always have to get back to the car! Perhaps we’ll figure a way around this. Suggestions? So, while we covered 7.2 kilometres of the trail, we did it from Fireman’s Park to the tip of the trail and back again.
The great news is that we over-estimated the amount of food we’d need to sustain us on our trek! We had sandwiches, bananas, lara bars, pumpkin seeds, several litres of water and hot chocolate (which was much appreciated!) So, despite the grey day, we were definitely taken care of.
Andrew taking a break
The trail itself had some good uphills and the sound of the gun-shot like clappers of the nearby vineyard was a reminder of where we were, but starting out on December 24, we only came across one other pair of hikers. The distance was good for a start and hopefully we’ll end up covering more on each hike, but we’ll work our way up to those.
Parking lot at Fireman's Park
So, what did we learn from our first hike:
-rest up
-wear layers
-if you pack, you carry it the WHOLE way
-’point & shoot’ cameras are easier on the trail
-we’ve got at long, long way to go…..
The Southern Terminus of the Bruce Trail
A friend and I, along with our boys (two each), are planning to hike the BT from Queenston to Tobermory. It was good to read your blog entry – we also wondered what the crane-type structure was. Did you ever find out? How is your hike going? Where are you at on the trail now?
Thanks for the comments Kristine, we are currently at DeCew House Park along Lake Moodie in Niagara. Our next hike will take us through Short Hills Provincial Park. We never did find out what the crane structure was for, when you pass it on your hike perhaps you can figure it out and let us know. You can easily start your own hike blog by going to http://www.wordpress.com/ and signing up for a blog, if you’re interested.