Sat, May 18 2013 - Mono Cliffs Provincial Park (10-12 km, 4.0 k/h) - SLOWPOKE HIKE (View Original Event Details)
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We lucked out on this May long weekend trip to Mono Cliffs provincial park, with great weather (sunny, with a high of about 20 C) and even better group of people to share the adventure.
Fourteen of us met up at the Downsview subway station.
For those who like to have the driving directions: We went west on Hwy. 401, then north on Hwy. 400 toward Barrie. As we reached the Holland Marsh area, at exit 55, we took Highway 9 west until the small town of Mono Mills. We stopped briefly at the Tim Hortons, then backtracked a few metres to head north on Airport Road, west on Mono Centre Road and north on 3 Line E to the Mono Cliffs parking lot. GPS coordinates of parking lot: 44.04679, -80.06221.
The park fee/parking was $14 and to our delight, the machine allowed credit card payments instead of just loonies and toonies like last year. (Even though Christine was Boy Scout-ready with two $25 rolls of loonies….
We started at about 11 a.m., gradually ascending alongside a meadow on the Carriage Trail until we reached the turnoff on the left for the connector trail to the South Outlier Loop. This lead to zig-zag path up a cliff face, easily the steepest climb of the whole hike but beautiful and not very long. At the top, we reached the South Outlier Loop itself and turned left, walking along flat ground through lovely maple, beech and pine trees. We met up with the main Bruce trail at a big hydro tower and turned right to follow the main trail. At the next trail intersection we went left, dropping down a slope to where the Walter Tovell Side Trail begins.
We went left instead, sticking to the Cliff Top Side Trail. It wound past two large and pretty ponds – photo opp! – before climbing gradually through areas of forest and open meadow (several times passing through old orchards and the remains of farmsteads). We eventually reached a gravel road, turned right and followed along until we saw the McCarston’s Lake Trail sign on the left. We followed this along through more beautiful forest at one point using a wooden boardwalk through a marshy area. Then we came out to a sandy opening by the lake itself.
A large group was already sitting in the main clearing, so we staked out spots in the steeper hillside by the lake for lunch. While we watched the red-wing blackbirds and others wildlife dart among the reeds at the lake’s edge, the group serenaded us with a few hymns in Mandarin. Then, when everyone had had a breather, we moved on, hiking gradually downhill past the turnoff for the Lookout Trail (another time!) and down to the intersection with the CliffTop Trail again.
Just right of the intersection was one of the highlights of the trip – Jacob’s Ladder. The unmarked steel staircase drops down a few metres, then jots right to a viewing platform between amazing rock fissures that were once the bottom of an inland sea about 400 million years ago. The rock has ancient fossils as well as the roots of white cedars that could be up to 700 years old and other rare plants. After more photos, we climbed back up the stairs and followed the CliffTop Trail a few metres further to the best viewpoint of the whole trip. Turkey vultures circled over head as we took in the rolling hills and farm fields at the bottom of the 100-metre-high cliffs.
Then we met up with a part of the trail we had been on before and followed it until we reached a turnoff on the left for the Carriage Trail – a short cut to the parking lot that drops more steeply than the other trails. A friendly white dog joined us for sections here, bouncing from one petting hand to another, and then disappearing again. Wooden stairs carried us down past more cool cliff faces, no doubt pocked by caves and crevices.
When we reached the Walter Tovell Trail, we went left a few metres, then right again on the Carriage Trail. At the Spillway Trail we went right along a pond, then left again along the Carriage Trail until reaching the parking lot.
We opted not to go for dinner on this particular trip, as a few people had commitments back in town.
Hike stats, courtesy of Saman and his handy GPS tracker!
Activity type: walking
Description: - Total distance: 11.88 km (7.4 mi)
Total time: 3:49:14
Moving time: 2:57:48
Average speed: 3.11 km/h (1.9 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 4.01 km/h (2.5 mi/h)
Max speed: 11.03 km/h (6.9 mi/h)
Average pace: 19.30 min/km (31.1 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 14.97 min/km (24.1 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 5.44 min/km (8.8 min/mile)
Max elevation: 494 m (1620 ft)
Min elevation: 346 m (1135 ft)
Elevation gain: 523 m (1716 ft)
Max grade: 18 %
Min grade: -44 %
Recorded: 18/05/2013 11:07
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.