Beaver Valley - Metcalfe Rock (27.9 km) to Kimberley (46.8 km)- May 19, 2022.
Our Hiking with Friends group took a trip up to Beaver Valley this past week to tackle 18.8 km of the Bruce Trail, a hike which started at the parking lot for Metcalfe Rock on 10 Line in the Kolapore Uplands area, and finished in the beautiful town of Kimberley.
The bird's eye view of the route from the north looking southward with Beaver Valley running along the right edge of the photo. It was a 6 1/2 hour walk that involved a decent 430 meters of climbing mostly in small bits. I enjoyed this track for its varied elements (forest/meadow/road), great views, and challenging technical spots. We have some great visual evidence of all this (note: biased blogger speaking), so let's get started!..
Prior to our start, we dropped two cars at the finish in Kimberley...
A smaller than usual group of six hiking friends ready to take up the challenge on a somewhat damp morning. From the left, Steve, Barbara, Marleen, Doug (contributing photographer), Brian, and myself...with a successful day, Brian will be completing the Beaver Valley Section, and put himself nicely in position to wrap up his full E2E experience at the cairn in Tobermory in June!
Steve surprised us all by introducing what we can only surmise to be a "warm up walk" prior to our actual hike?..as we wandered up 10 Line a few hundred meters only to be told to turn around and get back to the actual trail which, it turned out, was right across the road from the parking lot?..such is the loyalty and allegiance to our head honcho that no one questioned his directions...so that's why my watch read 20 km at the end...hmmmm...
So here we are starting the "actual" hike after our warm up...those signs and blazes are a dead giveaway...
We begin a descent into a small river valley on a switchback trail...it is still quite damp so extra care is taken...
Barbara looking very stylish in her new hiking hat...
We reach the creek at the bottom of the valley (where else would a creek be?), and its time for some clothing adjustments...the rain is letting up but it is quite humid still...
I think the worn out sign says "Mill Creek Bridge" so let's go with that...a great spot for a bridge picture!..I got to be part of it because...
...Brian took the photo!..
And what might lie on the other side of the bridge?..
Well, the other side of the valley of course...
Our climbing is rewarded with a nice view of the incredibly lush valley...everything has certainly greened up the past couple of weeks...
We pass a sign indicating appreciation for habitat conservation efforts by the local landowner, and shortly after, happen upon a quite large segment of escarpment that has fallen away and looms in the forest...
We try to determine its origin location a few tens of thousands of years ago...
We skirt a bit of agricultural land and prepare to enter Duncan Escarpment Provincial Nature Reserve...
We soon arrive at Pinnacle Rock Falls...quite a pretty spot...
No time to dally though...we have lots of ground to cover...the weather is improving and it's turning out to be a good day...
A hiker in her element...
Our next visual stimulation is provided by Pinnacle Rock, a massive slab of Escarpment rock that fell from the cliff face thousands of years ago, its once horizontal layers now point vertically into the sky...
Doug admires the plaque that dedicates this magnificent geological feature...
A short but technical climb follows...a great spot to capture hikers in action...
A view of the escarpment face and then, deservedly, a short break to catch our breath and admire the forest...
Back at it...and then another great view of the misty, lush countryside...
Is this what you get when you cross a cedar tree and a cactus?..
Trilliums and trilliums of nice flowers are followed by a nice stretch of meadows...
Next up for visual (and olfactory) delight are some sweet apple blossoms...
Doug manages to spot this recently annotated rock just off to the side of the trail...young lovers?..
We reach 9th Side Road just east of the village of Duncan...
A right turn takes us past the small church and up The Blue Mountains - Euphrasia Townline...
Just past Fox Ridge Road, we head back into nature...
A couple of kilometers later, we pop back out onto the aforementioned Fox Ridge Road...
Shortly after, we turned south on the 3rd Line road allowance...
It's uphill for a bit before we decide to stop for Elevensie's...some natural rock steps provide seating for some...
Refueled, we are prepared to tackle the most technical descent of the day...another visually stimulating area with an imposing rock face...
It took a while for everyone to get safely down, but I didn't mind staying a few extra minutes to appreciate the beauty...
Steve passes by a woodpecker motel...
"Death by Blaze" again on the trail...
Brian waits at the bottom of our passageway back up the escarpment to McCluskey's Rock...a very cool (literally and figuratively) chasm in the rock...
Like passing through time...
We reach McCluskey's Rock and admire the view across Beaver Valley...it has turned out to be a magnificent day!..
In an oddity of the Bruce Trail, this sign indicates the northbound trail is towards the south, and the southbound trail is to the north...whatever our direction, we're all smiles today...
A view of the ski hill across the valley...and an abandoned RV sits forlornly in a field...
Doug pauses to wash off a pretty rock he found as a keepsake...
We spill out onto Side Road 7B and begin the looooong descent down to Kimberley at the bottom of the valley...a pleasant breeze helps cool our journey...
I've told you a thousand times...watch out for millipedes crossing the road!..
Some amazing views of the valley...it's still a ways down to the bottom...
A look back at Old Baldy...
We finally reach Grey Road 13 (aka Beaver Valley Road) and head towards downtown Kimberley...
One more good view of Old Baldy before...
...the ice cream store!..in what is quickly becoming a favourite tradition, promoted mostly by "You like ice cream, don't you?" Doug, we stop and enjoy some refreshment before we call it a day...
We're back at our dropped cars and all that's left is for Steve (and the rest of us) to congratulate Brian on completion of the Beaver Valley section...a great day all round on a spectacular track...well done everyone!
See you again next week from our second 3 day trip to the Peninsula...
The End
