Bruce Trail - Eigth Line to Heritage Road. Maps 13 and 14, Toronto Section

 Nicola and I are hoping to get the Toronto and Niagara Sections of the Bruce Trail completed this fall. The move and the weather has put us a bit behind but on Friday we got going again.

We dropped Nicola's car at the end point and then drove to the start in mine.

Nicola recognized this creek immediately and said we were in for a rough hike as she had done this section with friends before.

He was very striking, sitting, unmoving on a tree stump.

Flat-backed Millipede - approx. 5 cm

Subphylum: Myriapoda (Myriapods)

 The 2 other species of Xystodesmidae in eastern Canada
(Pleuroloma flavipes and Apheloria virginiensis corrugata)
are similar - many brightly coloured millipedes secrete a
compound containing cyanide

From Toronto Wildlife. Cyanide! Glad I had no interest in touching him.

Temperatures were getting fall like, very comfortable for walking.

A section through old forest with

some pretty impressive old trees.

Nicola's recollection was accurate, it was a very rocky trail. We had to constantly look down, being careful where we placed our poles and our feet. Ankle twisting territory.

The rocks were also mossy and slippery in places.

Lookout over a deep, wooded valley that I thought we would have to go all the way around (or worse, down into and then climb out) but we just skirted one side.

Its the time of year for lots of fungi

We thought this one was colourful until we rounded a bend in the trail

and saw this one.

We literally gasped, it was such a brilliant colour.

Fall flowers too - Asters,

Goldenrod,

White Snakeroot (needed Nicola's App for this one and the ones that follow),

Running Strawberry

and the berries of a Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Briefly on to a road and past a couple of ponds

and then a section through trees planted in rows.

We came out onto the road where we had left the car, but, NO CAR! Actually although the name of the road, signed on the trail, was right, it didn't look familiar. What now? We debated which way to walk but luckily a runner came out of the trail on to the road and, as his car was parked a short distance away, he offered to drive us to look for ours. Walking to his car, we spotted Nicola's. Back at home Nicola went on the website and found that the trail had been rerouted. Something to remember - check the website before hiking!

We walked from Toronto 33.9 to

Toronto 43.8. Just under 10km according to our map but the reroute will have added some. It took us 4hours and 20 minutes.

We had planned to hike the next 8km to complete the Toronto Section but it is through the "Badlands" and that section is currently closed. We will have to check on the website for when it is opening.

Tired and sore we thought we would just relax but after hot baths and a glass of wine we took the pick axe and shovel to Nic and Dave's front yard, moving shrubs, grasses and plants from their side yards into the front (which is a large expanse of sun baked, often dead, grass).