Wow – less than one month since our last hike! We might actually complete this trail in our lifetimes. With a straightforward start to our day, we headed down to Niagara to Decew House Park, where we had left off last time. Now I hadn’t looked up information on this park as the last hike was long – as was the blog. Plus the First Nations Monument wasn’t complete and had no explanation so I wasn’t sure where to start. But with this fresh blog start I spent a few minutes google researching and lo and behold there is a significant story. In this park are the remnants of Decew (sometimes Decou) House. This was a grand manor used by British soldiers during the war of 1812. It is this house that was the destination of the heroine Laura Secord who travelled 32km from Queenston to warn the British of a surprise American attack. And in honour of Laura Secord, it has been a National Heritage Park since the 1950’s. So why this – now?

I remember wondering as a child in history class, how a young woman really made a 32km trek, alone, through the woods in 1812. Well Laura wasn’t alone. She was escorted by First Nations warriors and they guided her to the British near this very spot. This circular monument, unveiled in 2017, symbolizes inclusion and helps to emphasize the role that First Nations people had in our history. It is sad to me that this was not a part of our school curriculum. They then helped the British to defeat the Americans in this pivotal battle. And another important Laura Secord fact is that as children, Kim and I loved the mint chocolates from the Laura Secord chocolate shops. As I write this blog I am finishing off the lovely box of Laura Secord mint chocolates that Kim bought me for Christmas!

And off we went!!

The first part of the hike took us along the shores of Lake Gibson and Lake Moodie (where the dogs cooled off last time). These lakes are completely man made. Fed by water from the Welland Canal, they formed behind a hydro dam sitting right on the edge of the escarpment.

Fortunately, Stella can read!

From the dam, we headed west along the escarpment edge.

GIANT PUFF BALL!

Mindfulness is a trendy topic these days. I am not as well practiced as I would like, but since I lost Isabel I have learned more about its value. (A shout out here to my cousin Douglas Walker who has offered me sage guidance.) Our minds can only think of one thing at a time. If we are thinking of memories of the past, or hopes of the future, we are not registering the current moment. Grief is greedy and fills our minds and hearts with the pain of past loss – completely drowning out the present. Sometimes this is easier because the present feels lonely and the future is full of the fear of what it will be like to live without the one you have lost. I have worked hard to be in the moment at times. Once truly there, grief loses its control. The future is not a consideration. But this is easier said than done. I believe that our hikes provide an environment in which mindfulness will come naturally, and grief in that moment, has no space to exist.

The remainder, and majority, of our hike was through Short Hills Provincial Park. This was a dramatic difference over our last hike which travelled through St. Catherine’s and Brock University. It is the largest park in the Niagara Region, the ‘Short Hills’ being yet another glacially induced phenomenon. It seems everything geologic in Southern Ontario was formed after the Ice Age – I’ve given up trying to understand it all. Regardless, it was beautiful.

Every hike we are impressed again by the bridges that have been made along the Bruce Trail. Each one is different yet they are all natural, safe and well maintained. Not a soul in sight, it feels as if they were created just for us!

A natural staircase up the Escarpment – or is it a “short hill”??

This was an odd finding – a missing man, a picture by a creek with a fish in his mouth. I looked this up afterwards and he was a young man originally from St. Catherine’s. He had gone missing in Manitoba. He suffered from mental illness and has never been found. This was his favourite fishing spot and his family posted this sign. As we travel, there are always little reminders that in grief, we are never alone.

So “selfies” – THE thing to do – however talking a good selfie seems to be a huge challenge for Kim and me. Perhaps because at over 50 we just don’t look as good as we used to? Go ahead and laugh younger generation. Here we are capturing a moment in front of Swayze Falls – one of several… Where are the falls? Impossible.

Wait – just stick to what we know. “You pose in front and I will take a picture…”

When we arrived at our vehicle, I realized that we hadn’t seen Morningstar Mill. A 19th century mill that is still operational, we had looked forward to visiting it. I looked at the map – we should have passed it – how did we miss it?? Well my Bruce Trail guide book was published in 2014 and I guess there are constant updates of trail closures and reroutes. By looking on the website, we discovered that 1.9km of the trail by the mill had been rerouted through the park to a new 3.5km trail. We hadn’t hiked the planned 10.7km – we had hiked 12.3! Going forward we will always check the website. Now off to the mill by car..

It was very impressive, although closed that day. This beautiful historic gem is so close to home – we will have to come back. Today we started the hike along side a hydroelectric dam and finished here at the mill. Separated by over a century, both harness the power of water flowing over The Escarpment edge.

This fine day was topped off with lunch at Redstone Winery. Yummy.

40.5km done, 853.5km to go! (according to my 2014 guide ;-))