Peninsula - Jackson's Cove (51.9 km) to Barrow Bay (67.9 km) - May 24, 2022.

Welcome back to the adventures of the "Hiking with Friends" Bruce Trail E2E group as we recap the first of our second round of 3 day hike trips to the beautiful and challenging Peninsula Section. Our walk on this day took us 16 km. from where we left off last trip, at Jackson's Cove Road , around Cape Dundas, and ending at Barrow Bay.

The bird's eye view of our route, which took us 6 hours and 45 minutes to complete and involved 260 meters of climbing, mostly coming in 2 significant ascents as shown in the elevation profile above.

Having settled in at our cabins in Lion's Head the night before (save for a few who drove up the morning of), we are assembled at our trail head and ready to see what the Bruce Trail will delight us with today. Our group consists of Frances, Barb C (a special welcome to our newest friend!), Steve, Richard, Sandra, Brian, Catherine, Annette, Doug, Laura, Barbara K-W, and myself (sporting my new lid!)...

 We walked a short way down Jackson's Cove Road and then it was a sharp left turn and into the woods we went...

The forest has turned a beautiful lush green in the two weeks since we have been up here last...there's foliage on the trees and new moss growth on the rocks...

Our newest hiking friend, Barb C, shows that she has a great stride, and then we are afforded our first (of many to come) great morning view of the water, with Jacksons Cove just below, Sydney Bay Bluff across the way, and Cape Croker in the distance...it is a perfect day weather wise...feeling good!..

To say that the view is spectacular is almost an understatement...land, water, and sky merge to form a simple, yet breathtaking combination that mesmerizes the hiker at almost every vantage point...

Numerous stops to enjoy the vistas do slow us down a bit, but really, why rush away a day like today?..

After the intersection of the Jackson Cove Side Trail, the main trail turns more inland, away from the bluffs, and heads northward...

A short staircase takes deeper into the lush forest...

A bit of open field is always a nice respite from the woods...

The day is warming up nicely, and another great look out spot is a great place to make some clothing adjustments and take on fluids...the words of wisdom on the plaque above speak to our relationship with this magnificent resource we are enjoying...

Some happy hikers...

Richard and Brian decide to pop down the Shoreline Access Side Trail for a close up view of the water...a set of stairs helps them rejoin the main trail...

We are now in the Chris Walker Nature Reserve on the southern shore of Barrow Bay...in a classic "trompe-l'oeil", Steve and Richard appear to be standing at the water's edge but are actually on a ledge a couple of hundred feet above...the clear water reveals stones that are really quite large...the ledge is shown below...

We pass by Rush Cove...

We eventually spill out onto (the aptly named) Rush Cove Road and a line up quickly forms at the boot brush station...

After a bit of road walking, it is time to re-enter the forest for the last few kilometers...legs are starting to tire a bit, but we are up for the challenge and already looking forward to a shower and a nice dinner...

Some decent technical descents in this area require concentration...

Our efforts are quickly rewarded with, you guessed it, another awesome view of the bay...

We've earned a break, haven't we?..a small fern nearby starts its life atop a rock nearby where I'm sitting...

Recharged, we begin the final stretch...some our fuel is needed for this decent climb...hopefully the last one for the day!

Our climb is quickly followed by a short, steep descent, aided by a ropes...

The rope aided descent continues...we were cautioned!..

After we reassemble at the bottom, it's time to put some more steps in...

Hey...what's another short climb?...my legs are fine...for sure...

A very well constructed staircase takes us to our last vista for the day overlooking Barrow Bay and, to the left, Little Lake...

Maybe knowing our hike was almost done for the day, we lingered here for a while, appreciating the view and taking our requisite photo memories...

After a pleasant meadow stretch, our leader Steve holds court...perhaps he was grading us on our performance?..more likely discussing dinner plans I recall?..

We are on the last stretch...a road walk on Highway 9...it feels good to stretch the legs and search the horizon for the cars...c'mon, I know you do it!..

And there are the dropped cars!...boots come off and everyone agrees that this was a great hike to start our second trip up to the peninsula...for me, this section is living up to its reputation...tough, but spectacular and well worth the effort...already looking forward to our next hike!..

...uh, which turned out to be just a couple of hours later!..now I remember why Steve was holding court back there!..damn, he sold us (well those of us who "needed to") on hiking a relatively easy 5 km portion of what have been part of our last day's hike to make for a shorter "return home" day...spoiler alert: it was wise decision...

So that's how the seven of us ended up at the Richardson Access Trail parking lot...on our own...in the wilderness...with roughly 5000 meters between us and the safety of our cabins...how would we do?

Incredibly tough going so far, but we seem to be managing...

We navigate a very technical "left turn" and head down what can only be described as a "sloping lane way"...nobody warned us...

Some beautiful natural seaside furniture and some "barrows by Barrow Bay" help distract us from the arduous journey...

After being on the trail for what seemed like minutes (75 to be precise)...we arrived back at the cabins where we were greeted by...no one...it's a good thing I documented this portion or you would never believe what we had just accomplished...

See you tomorrow!..

The End