Careful What You Wish For

Cheryl, Mads, Sheila, Jude

All winter I was begging my BFRs to go for a winter hike with me. We never did. Until that Saturday in April that was... The Dufferin Hi-Land section has a 3-day end-to-end hike scheduled for this year: April 20th, May 25th and June 1st. A few of us got together and signed up for the first hike on April 20th, thinking it'll be a nice sunny spring day. Well. Mother Nature had different plans. See the white stuff in the background? That's snow. And that came with gail force winds. But as you can see on the picture, we smiled and hiked on. About 21k I think. It was 4 of us and Carsten. And then 12 other brave souls that came out for the hike. It was Jude's birthday and we celebrated in style. Next time she signs in for the hike she can make the checkmark at the yes by the question if she is a Bruce Trail member. Because that's what we got her for her birthday, a one year membership for the Bruce Trail.

This hike was what they call a 'car hike'. We all meet in one location, drop off a bunch of cars, hop in the remaining cars and drive to another location where we drop the other cars and then hike back to where we left the bunch of cars in the morning. No bus ride, no check points. Everybody brings their own lunch and water and snacks. The leader Les was leading the way to the start point, it just happened that he got left behind in the parking lot and who knows who we all were following. After a little detour however we found the start point, parked the cars, did a head count (17) and started hiking. about 5 minutes into the hike came the first official pee break. Women to the front, men in the back. A little while after we stopped for a snack break, did a head count and hiked on. Lunch came and went together with another head count. And then as we were descending into a ravine, fearfully glancing over to other side, seeing a steep steep hill that we will have to climb up again, we came to a stop. One of the ladies in the group had fallen on a wet rock and broke her ankle. She was very calm and collected, a little bit upset that now, at the beginning of the season, after all these years injury free, she must break her ankle at the bottom of a ravine. The next road was near, so someone phoned for help. Some people stayed down there with her, the rest of us went up to the road and waited for the ambulance to arrive. It didn't take long at all, but it was a pretty sad sight. Both staff were in no condition to climb down into the ravine and carry that little lady with the broken ankle up. So they called for help from the firedepartment. One of the first aid responder hiked down into the ravine, while the other one waited on the road. Carsten showed him the way and carried the big first aid bag down to prevent any more injury. It wasn't far at all I might add. Anyhow. The first firetruck came. The rest of us decided to continue the hike and let the rest others catch up to us. As we were walking away, the second fire truck with a trailer for the Argo arrived. And as we were just entering the forest again, the third fire truck showed up. I believe Carsten said something about 17 fire fighters for one broken ankle. The Argo went exactly 100 meter into the trail and then they had to get off and walk down the ravine and somehow got the lady up in a basket and ropes and I don't know what contraptions. It was a great practice run for a rescue mission for the mostly volunteer fire fighters from the area. We hiked on through howling winds and sideways flying snow and eventually came back to where we left the cars in the morning. Hike one of three for Dufferin Hi-Land under our belt. Some went home, the others went to hang out in Jude and Rob's family cottage on Lake Eugenia. I will stop right here or else this entry will never end. Check out madsventures.blogspot if you want to read more stories.

Bye for now.
Mads

Ice Cream in Tobermory

Here is the plan:

Park one car at the ice cream place in Tobermory, drive in the other car to the Bruce Peninsula National Park and hike the Bruce Trail back to the ice cream place and reward yourself with ice cream after a gruesome 20k hike.

We had some takers: Dianne, Judy H., Anne and Mads.

Anne secured her family cottage in Oliphant for the weekend and invited us out to stay over and hike together. We got there Friday night and had delicious fish & chips on the way up in some place that I don't remember the name of, but I would find it again.

Saturday morning started out with a healthy breakfast of green smoothie, fruit and egg wrap and of course coffee. With all the driving up there and dropping off the car in Tobermory and driving down to the National Park, we didn't get on the trail before 11-ish. The weather was perfect, clear sky, sunshine, not crazy cold, dry, only a little bit windy by the lake and on the cliff.

Only because no jumping or pushing BFRs off any cliffs is one of the rules in the BFR code of conduct did we not jump off the cliff today.

The hike was beautiful. I want to say that this is the most stunning part of the Bruce Trail. We started at the Grotto/Horse Lake Trail head at km 147.7 (map book edition 26) and ended at the cairn in Tobermory at km 167.4. 

We didn't exactly rush ourselves on the hike but did a lot of sightseeing along the trail. We played with a corn snake, got sprayed by the waves, looked at leaves and rocks and roots and trees and lychen and moss and funghi and all sorts of interesting things along the way. There are some stunning views and amazing private beaches. Close to the end of the trail is the visitor center with the observation tower that of course we had to climb up. There were a few stiles that also wanted to be climbed and here is a picture to proof that we climbed over and did not just walk around it where there was no fence really.

It was a beautiful day and I am now almost over the fact that there was no ice cream at the end of the day. By the time we crawled out of the trail it was dark and everything was closed. But that was fine. We had lots of delicious food back in the cottage (thanks Anne for the soup and veggie lasagne) and ended the day in the hot tub to ease our sore muscles. Pancakes and fruit for breakfast on Sunday. Dianne had to leave early-ish. Anne, Judy and I vegged a bit and went for a short walk to the dock in Oliphant where the water levels are at an incredible low. We had a fantastic weekend and it did not rain on us at all! Hope the new and old injuries heal fast.

Can't wait to get out again.

Mads

A Walk in the Park in the Caledon Section

Last Sunday, a few BFRs (Anne, Sheila and myself) and friends (Rob, Carsten, Dexter and Jenn) went for a walk about in the Forks of the Credit. 

We did about 10k, from the parking spot at 9.4 to the parking spot at 19.0 on map 15 - Cataract of the map book. Very beautiful and a bit hilly but not overly challenging. It drizzled a bit but we didn't get wet thanks to the canopy of the trees. A perfect day and perfect distance to break in new hiking boots that Anne had on her feet. No blisters, no pains for a change. We had a nice picnic in a beautiful little spot and as always had just a bit too much food.

A few of the group went off trail to take some pics by climbing under the fence that said DANGER.  

credit river - view from behind the fence, past the DANGER sign

Others went to explore tree houses along the way. 

Sheila in the tree house 

3 BFRs at the end of the hike

We found a great little coffee shop in Erin for a tasty treat after the hike. The place is called the Shed and they have spare tubes for cyclists that pass by and have a flat. Neat little place. Definitely worth going back. And that we will do as there is more to hike in the Caledon Section of the Bruce Trail. 

BFR Code of Conduct

All BFRs shall adhere to the following code of conduct:

1) All BFRs start and end the Bruce Trail adventure together.
2) All BFRs must wear the official hiking shirt while on the trail to have the miles count -- dirty or clean.
3) No BFR left behind.
4) No jumping or pushing other BFRs off of cliffs.
5) No eating, or using plant life for unintended or using purposes before checking Magic Judy.
6) BFRs must obey the Bruce Trail Rules.
7) All parking tickets obtained while parking to go hiking, must be shared equally by all BFRs in attendance at the time.
8) No shining of flashlights in other BFRs faces!

Additional codes of conduct will be added only as agreed to by the group!

Blue Mountain E2E May 26/27

on the top of the ski hill

Judy M, Tanya, Dianne and myself set out for a weekend full of fun and blisters. Ouch,ouch and ouch. Walking 34k on challenging terrain and doing that 2 days in a row requires a new definition of the word 'fun'. Once again we were asked by other participants if we had trained for this. ... I am now thinking maybe we should have. The distance on those days is far and the pace is fast. 

somewhere on trail

Anyhow. All in all it was a great weekend.  Thanks to my generous boss, we even had a place to stay. He let us have his waterfront cottage and we got treated to most beautiful sunsets on Friday night and Saturday night. On the trails we met lots of people who were in Niagara the previous weekend. Our orange team shirts sure helped them to recognize us. You wear the orange shirt and people know who you are. Very cool.

BFR stilin'

The trails in the Blue Mountain section are beautiful. Pretty valley sure is pretty. We need to come back and play there some more. Each day there were 3 check points where we were treated to water refills, water melon and lemonade along with cookies and the most amazing peanut butter treats. The volunteers were amazing. A big Thank You to them. It's a huge help knowing that the next check point is only a few kilometres away for a fuelling and rest stop.  Blisters and all - we did it. 

the proof is in the badge!

Niagara E2E - We did it!

A long weekend. Perfect weather. A group of enthusiastic runners turned hikers. Cheryl, Jenn, Judy H, Judy M, Mads, Michelle, Tanya and Sheila laced up their boots.  It was fun. It was challenging. It was fun. It was hard. It was fun. 

the finish line

What does BFR stand for? Bare Footed Rescuers? Blisters For Runners?  Babes For Rent? Being Fairly Ridiculous? You choose. 


The part of the Bruce Trail we saw on this past weekend is just beautiful. It has it all. Steep climbs, breathtaking vistas, steep descends, meandering paths through forests, criss crossing golf courses, along highways that you can hear but not see because you're in the forest. Many flowers, green things, birds and critters to look at. 

Team Orange. We did it! We earned our badge. 

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Think about your eyes and all they’re seeing. They’re far, far from your feet.

By now the blisters are dried up, the ankles stopped paining, bruises and scratches are healing. And we're off to the next adventure: The Blue Mountain E2E this coming weekend. Stay tuned. 

E2E Niagara Section - May long weekend.

Almost there..... We're starting out with the first 'real' hike tomorrow.  A looooong weekend with a lot of hiking. Here's the agenda: 
Saturday, May 19: 24.9km from Balls Falls to Grimsby
Sunday, May 20th: 33.3km from Balls Falls to St. Catharines
Monday, May 21st: 22.9km from St. Catharines to the very start of the Bruce Trail
A total of 81.1km in three days. At the end the official end-to-end badge awaits us. 
Stay tuned for pictures ans stories.