Sun, Aug 21 2005 - Osler Bluffs (View Original Event Details)
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Another great hike to add to the list of hikes to revisit in the future!
This was the longest drive yet for a hike - out to blue mountain near Collingwood - but it was worth it. The trailhead is not easy to find, once again a trail book lacked description and the maps were not very detailed. Once on our way, however, we found that we could take some short cuts and make our own route easily. We only had to back track once! But that was because you should always read the fine print - they renamed a trail, and had we looked closer we would have seen it said 'Formerly know as...'. Oh well, live and learn!
The Petun side trail started out with a challenge over large blocks of granite and other mosscovered rocks, slippery from the recent rain. On section required a rope handhold to get us to the top, where we were rewarded with a lovely view of Nottawasaga Bay. We could clearly see the lighthouse on Christian Island. We continued along the trail and decided to detour along the Pretty River Side Trail in order to eat lunch by pretty Sundown lake. On the way we saw at least ten different types of mushrooms, some of them I've never seen before, others only in children's picture books. It was definately a Smurfy moment. We even saw a faery ring, but we didn't dare step in it, just in case.
after lunch, we headed back to the Osler side trail, or the trail formerly know as the Osler side trail, towards the highest point on the Bruce trail at 540 m above sea level. There was a sign there, but no lookout. We all agreed that we felt a bit out of breath from the 'altitude'.
The trails on the way back to the start of the trail were full of mountain bikers, so this is a popular destination for trail riding. The last few kilometres were to follow a dirt road back to the vehicles. Not the best part of the hike, but an gentle ending. According to Laney's pedometer we travelled 10, 000 steps, or just over 7 km. A pleasant hike, and will be nice to return in the fall when the hundreds of apple trees we passed will be laden with ripe fruit.
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.