Sat, Sep 14 2013 - Bruce Trail Series - Part 9: Red Hill Valley Trail to Beachway Park (18-20 km) (View Original Event Details)
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Ok... when one needs to ask for directions about 300 meters into a hike... what can one expect?? The couple that responded to the question 'which way is the main trail?', stated, that they did not know... because they themselves been going around in circles (not a good sign..), but if we were follow one of the paths, it would take us to the waterfalls.. The group decided to take the waterfall detour - since we're here anyway...
To the waterfall we went. We took the trail that ran alongside the river and that required some vaulting over fallen trees, and carefully sliding downhill on our butts in a couple of places, but that eventually got us to the Albion Falls. The view was impressive even at low water levels.. Not many people get the view from the vantage point we were at. On the way back, we decided that it would be less challenging to walk on the river bed, scrambling over rocks and hopping on rocks over flowing water than to dodge trees and scrambling along the river bank. As we walked, we enjoyed the lush greenery of the trees and sounds of the cascading/flowing water. This detour took about 1.5 hours (total return distance of about 2 km) and that has set us back in our schedule for lunch by quite a bit.
Thus, as we continued hiking on the Red Hill Valley trail, we only had to ask for directions 2 more times! to help us moving to the beach as quickly as possible. Red Hill Valley Trail has very nice maps at the trail-heads but with what seems like hundreds of paths branching off (and some of them, one could easily be mistaken for a mail trail) the main trail could use some blazing/direction. Anyway, if we had more time, it would be nice to explore many of those side trails.
Arriving at the beach, we stopped at Barangas for lunch. It was nice to sit down after about 12.5 km hike and to enjoy the patio atmosphere overlooking Lake Ontario. We then continued along Hamilton beach strip...about 6 km of beach walking. Walking on the soft sand/pebbles was a welcome change from the pavement/gravel trails but this also slowed our pace down a bit (or may be we were just getting tired..). It was a gorgeous sunny day for the beach with the sound of the waves washing ashore. We walked towards Burlington Canal Lift Bridge that connects Hamilton Harbour with Lake Ontario and we missed seeing a tanker sailing though the bridge /canal by about 15 min! But then once we got to the pier, I think they lifted the bridge, just for us... ok, ok... may, it was their regular schedule to let a sailboats go into the harbour. In any case, it seemed special. The bridge looked impressive in the setting sun, with the view of the Burlington Skyway in the background.
We then continued hiking for about about 1km to Beachway Park (that's the beach on the Burlington side of the lake) to get to the car. Part of the way, we passed rows of homes that seem to be squeezed in between the beach on one side and the roadway on the other but which were interesting to see. They added different character to the area.
In total, we covered just over 20 km with almost 6 hours of hiking. Along the way we witnessed the beauty of the waterfall and numerous cascades, the boulders and the rocky river bed, the tree-lined trails with unique cobble stone pavement sections, the numerous bridges and roadways, the long beach strip, the Burlington Skyway, the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge and the cottage-like homes along the beach. We also enjoyed each other's company - a great, friendly group!
Thank you to Anton and Galina for driving.
$8 in voluntary donations was collected with thanks!
See you at the next event.
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