Bruce Trail End to End: Sydenham Km 29.7 to Km 44

Hikers: Steve, Helgy, Christine, Andy and Case
Guest Hiker: Ros

Leaders: Richard and Karen

Section and Distance: Sydenham Km 29.7 to Km 44

Weather: Sunny, hot and humid

Actual Distance hiked: 19.25 km

We left Oakville and met at Tim Hortons for our usual pit stop.

After positioning the cars we continued north into the Bognor Marsh Management Area along an access road for 500 m to a clearing where there were picnic tables and washrooms. The Management Area includes upland forests, three major marshes, natural regneration areas and several small springs feeding the marsh and stream system. It is home to a variety of waterfowl and other marsh-living animals, birds and plants.

We turned left at the edge of the dam and continued west, crossing a pond on the floating boardwalk.

Entering the Bognor Marsh Management Area

Ontario Anemone

We then turned right into a cedar forest and continued to the west to an old cart path. We turned right and followed the path, which was very muddy, to a bridge, where we turned sharply left and we climbed the escarpment. When we reached the summit we turned right and followed the scarp edge to another cart path.

We continued east and exited the Bognor Marsh area and entered the BTCs recently acquired Silent Valley Nature Reserve, where we said goodbye to Ros. We descended the Escarpment only to ascend it again and entered the property donated to the BTC. We continued east and then north and eventually reached a glacial spillway. We followed the spillway down the escarpment past a cave and continued left along a forested path. We then climbed back up the escarpment to a thick stand of spreading Canada Yew.

Saying Goodbye to Ros

We suddenly turned right and descended a spectacular crevice. We gradually ascended the escarpment to BTC-owned land. We passed several crevices and caves and then crossed Hwy 26.

Lunch

We followed the road through the hamlet of Woodford and then turned left onto a private laneway. We followed a narrow easement along the edge of the laneway for 100 m and reached the foundation of a pioneer church.

We continued around an old limestone kiln, which was made from a glacial pothole. We continued through a mixed hardwood forest to a "disappearing waterfall". (For approximately one week of the year, in the spring water thunders over the edge, for the rest of the time, the lower amounts of water find a crevice upstream and re-emerges on a spring at the base of the waterfall.)

We crossed the usually dry stream above the waterfall and descended the escarpment to the outlet of the spring. We passed the foundation of the settler's barn and cabin as we climbed up to the scarp edge and then dropped into a narrow crevice. We continued eastward to reach the St. Vincent-Sydenham Townline. We turned left and followed the re-route north on the road to the River Kwai Side Trial, where we had parked our car.