Beaver Valley -  Eugenia Falls (60.8 km) to Kimberley (46.8 km)

                           November 4th, 2021.

This week's E2E outing in the Beaver Valley section took us from Eugenia Falls Conservation Area to the town of Kimberley, home of Karen Holland, who holds the present fkt (fastest known time) for completion of the Bruce Trail, for a distance of 14.4 km.

A bird's eye view of the route with the corresponding elevation gradient at the bottom. This route involved 460 metres of ascent, but it was the final descent that was probably the most challenging aspect.

Nine hardy hikers were poised to take on the challenge on this day, including Ken (photographer), Ron B. (contributing photographer), Arpi, Sandra, Brian, Barbara, Doug (contributing photographer), Alex, and our leader, Steve.

A few short strides brought us to the lookout for Eugenia Falls, "discovered" in 1852 and the sight of a "Fool's Gold" rush...

This area also became the chosen site of the second hydroelectric plant in Ontario...

An abandoned building is a remnant of the failed attempt by the Georgian Bay Power Company in 1906-7 to establish a plant here...

Crossing over the Beaver River...

We soon came upon the Roman style stone archway at the bottom of a former 867 ft long, 9 ft high tunnel that was never ultimately used (and subsequently filled in)...apparently the problem of quicksand led to huge cost overruns, the company went bankrupt, and the project was abandoned.

Apparently, Hydro tunnels were often built on steep slopes...we were about to find out how steep...

 

A few huffs and puffs later, we were rewarded with our first (of many) spectacular views of Beaver Valley...

And we found the top of the tunnel!..

Hike, regroup, repeat...

Across Captain's Hill Road...

Brian inspects a potential new hiking toque find but determines that, while the colour is to his liking, the size may be too small...and he would have to change his name to "Anabelle"..

The rising sun begins to take the edge off a rather frosty morning...

We exit the forest and approach a functional hydroelectric facility in the area (or the latest space rocket endeavour?)...

Part of the Eugenia Falls generating station, these two towers are "standpipes" at the top of the valley; essentially pressure release valves for the system, which could otherwise explode from changing water pressure.

Feeling no pressure ourselves, we took advantage of the site to enjoy  Elevensies and "recharge" for the trail ahead...

Back on the Trail with our leader showing us streams to cross and hills to climb...who knew?..

A perfect sized bridge!..

Just a bit of colour left to admire in these great views...most of the foliage was carpeting the forest floor...

Out of the forest for a short stretch of road walking...

Heading north on Hwy 13...

And across the road to reenter the forest...

For yet another (short) climb...

Soon after, an open field lay ahead...

Entering Old Baldy Conservation Area...

A harbinger of the season ahead...a reminder to put the "icers" back in the pack...

A pretty lane way allowed us to lengthen our stride for a while...

The spectacular views were a nice reward for all the climbing...

Just because, you know, we couldn't get enough of climbing, our leader took us up the Mac Kirk Side Trail to Old Baldy Point...a detour that proved well worth it...this was the best view of the valley that day!..

A few of us momentarily lived life on the edge for the best view...

All that was left was to descend a very steep, and somewhat slippery, slope all the way down to the base of the cliff...several handy rope lines were in place and appreciated...

Brian and Arpi enjoy a quick respite after the difficult downhill stretch...

One last stream to cross, on a somewhat angled bridge, and we were just about done (literally)...

The final few steps..the conclusion of a great day on the Trail!

The End