Although I mostly hike in Huron County, I occasionally venture to trails outside the County. A recent one was with a group of local hikers on the Bruce Trail between Rush Cove and Hope Bay on the Bruce Peninsula.
Although this was shown as only 14 km, it was made challenging by the rocky path. As one member put it, “On the Maitland Trail, there are places where you constantly have to watch where you put your feet, but these don’t last long before you are on a good old logging road. On this section of the Bruce Trail, you had to be careful about 95% of the time”. The day was hot and humid (a high of 27.8oC) and the forecast afternoon rain did not occur. We found that taking longer than expected in the heat, we had not taken enough liquid refreshments. Not a big problem, but a bit more liquid would have been nice.
There were many different ferns and lots of Trilliums and Forget-me-knots. The more unusual sightings for me included a Smooth Greensnake, Western Rattlesnake Plantain (an orchid), Carpet Bugle, Rock Polypody and Wild Sarsaparilla. Researching Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia), I realized that a better name is False Sarsaparilla as it is not related to the Asian Sarsaparilla (Smilax) which is used to make the herbal Sarsaparilla drink common in the 19th Century when it was considered a remedy for skin and blood problems.
Our Wild (False) Sarsaparilla root has been used as a substitute for true Sarsaparilla. The plant develops purple black berries which are sweet, spicy and edible.
Congratulations to other local hikers, Susan Ethelston, on recently completing the whole Bruce Trail, and to Boris Rajic, who completed the Maitland Trail both ways (104 km) in one day. What a remarkable feat!
NOTES:
The work on the G2G tunnel under County Road has started and that portion of the G2G and county road will be closed until at least mid-June.
Saturday June 8th 9:00 a.m. Maitland Trail. Hike River Line to Sharpes Creek – meet at 80918 Sharpes Creek Line and carpool to River Line. Expect some large hills. For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact George Cantin at streamsideinc@gmail.com or Jonah Melville at Jonah.melville@ gmail.com. This is a Level 3, moderate pace, 2.5 hours.
Sunday June 9th 9:00 a.m. Cycle Point Clark Light House. Start at Point Clark lighthouse and ride along the beach roads to Bruce Beach Road and then return to the Lighthouse. Meet at parking area at Point Clark Lighthouse. Highlights: Views of the lake and fascinating cottages/homes. For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Donald Andrew at 519-530- 9019, call or text. This is a beginner, crushed gravel trail, some pavement, some off-road trails. The distanced is 14 km one way.
Saturday June 15th 10:00 a.m. Cycle - Naftel's Creek Conservation Area. Start at parking lot of Naftel Creek Conservation Area on Bluewater Hwy 21. Highlights: forested area. For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Donald Andrew at 519 530-9019, call or text. Difficulty: moderate, some hills, roots on the trails so parts are bumpy. The distance is 8 km one way.
Saturday June 15th 1:00 p.m. Hike the Maitland Trail from Cherrydale Road to Sharpes Creek Line – meet at 80965 Sharpes Creek Line (near Bishop’s Road), to carpool to Cherrydale Road. Expect to take about 2.5 hours. For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com. This is a Level 3, brisk pace, 2.5 hours.
All participants taking part in the Maitland Trail events should sign the waiver for 2024, preferably the online version (there’s a link to the waiver in the website footer at maitlandtrail.ca).
Tuesday Trompers meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to hike for about an hour. If you wish to be on this email list, send an email to mta@maitlandtrail.ca.
Midweek Hikers hike for 1 ½ to 2 hours on Wednesdays or Thursdays, contact Patrick Capper.
Both groups meet at 9 a.m. and are open to non-members provided they sign the MTA On-line waiver.
If you have questions or something of interest for Trail Talk email me Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com.
