It is 2022. We have lived through two years of a pandemic which has for me, created an unimaginable work situation in my veterinary businesses with over the top demand, staffing shortages and supply chain issues. Needless to say no hikes, and even more to the point no time to write blogs! But as my mother said, “This too shall pass”. True to her words, today I was able to immerse myself in pictures of this hiking day from 2020, reviewed the notes that I had made and had a chat with Kim. It all came flooding back.

As I mentioned before, this trail used to be a railway that ran from Hamilton to Brantford. See my previous blog for cool information on that! Today’s transportation corridor, Highway 403, still follows the natural line of the Escarpment between these two cities.

I wondered how this trail was going to get by what lay ahead – the 403’s massive intersection with the Lincoln Alexander Parkway and the Meadowlands, a huge development of box stores and restaurants. It was hard to reconcile being on a “Ribbon of Wilderness” so close to urban sprawl. But first, the radial trail ended and opened up into this large meadow. It was strangely barren of trees or biological diversity. Maybe it had been something urban that had been left to naturalize.

On this day Kim had brought her Miniature Dachshund, Roo. Stella had suffered a bout of pancreatitis and we had thought it best to leave her home. Roo was not a rugged fellow, but Kim thought that this shorter hike would be one that he might enjoy.

Acquiring and naming pets takes on a new twist after people die. They become memorials, happy reminders, a way to keep some joy of the ones we have lost truly alive in our grieving worlds. Kim’s husband Brett loved Dachshunds and they had one who was named Reggie. He was their first child, essentially. After Brett’s death, Kim and the girls acquired a new Dachshund, carrying on Brett’s love of this breed. Reggie had the nickname “Reggie-Roo” and from this the new puppy was named “Roo”. This connection was only clear to those in the know. For me, I named our cat “Fizzle”. Born on the day of Isabel’s Celebration of Life, her name came from Isabel, shortened to Iz, to Fizz (the fond nickname given to my daughter by Georgia Bermingham) to “Fizzle”. Really only I know on a daily basis where that name came from. It is a secret hug, a quiet smile, an eternal nudge every time I see her.

We didn’t have to hike to the Meadowlands. The Bruce Trail bears right and crosses over the 403 highway just before the intersection with the Lincoln Alexander parkway. If you are reading this and not from Ontario, Lincoln Alexander was a well known Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. He was the first black Member of Parliament, the first black Cabinet Minister and the first black Viceroy. He championed multiculturalism and youth and was also Chancellor of the University of Guelph. Somewhere I have a picture of him granting me my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.

We carried the dogs over the highway. It seemed the right thing to do.

On the other side of the 403 the trail runs along Filman Road and we came across this sign – so funny! The Tamahaac club, a private social club, is also on this road. I wonder how many times these folks have had uninvited guests!

The next section of trail enters an area so familiar to us. Between Ancaster and Dundas the Escarpment does a hairpin turn, curling around the west end of Lake Ontario, folding the land into a concentrated area of rocky trails, cliffs and an abundance of waterfalls. Much of this area is protected by the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, a place that both of us have spent much time in – Kim on feet or skis, me on a horse. The Bruce Trail Map shows it the best! Follow the red line. The 12/11 2020 arrow shows where we finished this hike.

In the next two kilometres we would visit 3 significant waterfalls – Tiffany, Sherman and Canterbury Falls. I wondered if I should group these together in this blog because really, who wants to read about three waterfalls? But hang on, in this case they each have interest value.

Tiffany Falls is 21m high and today is managed by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. The Bruce Trail club, the Rotary Club of Ancaster and a Trillium grant have all contributed to the user friendly access to this beautiful waterfall.

We didn’t get up close and personal with this waterfall as there were a number of visitors. Located just off of Wilson St in Ancaster, theoretically we could go there anytime. But somehow, as locals, we never do that. The falls were named after a physician, Dr. Oliver Tiffany, who practiced in this area in the late 18th and early nineteenth centuries. Supposedly he kept horses stabled at various places as his practice was so large. Over 600 horses and buggies jammed up the local routes on the day of his funeral.

For Kim and I, this was a slightly low point in our hike, as we realized that the yummy cookies that she had brought had been left in the car.

Between the waterfalls – a walk we have never done in spite of living here our whole lives. Every step is beautiful.

Just before Sherman Falls, the Trail spit us out onto a road. A road whose name was familiar. However, without the perspective of where we were driving from and to, we had no idea where we were. It is so amazing how are brains do, or do not, work. I had to pull up the GPS on my phone for us to get our bearings.

The next waterfall was not far off. Privately owned, Sherman Falls cascades off of the edge of “someone’s” backyard.

This is “someone”. We are looking in their backyard. Thank you for allowing Bruce Trail hikers to pass through.

From Sherman Falls it was a short hike to the third waterfall – Canterbury Falls. Kim and I have great memories of this area as we spent two “Enrichment” or E-weeks, at Canterbury Hills during our school years. The first was in Grade 8. I remember playing survival games in the woods, putting my bottom tooth through my lip tripping up steps and I have the very clear memory of watching “Lord of The Flies” and the feelings of shock and horror that movie brought to me followed by my first true feeling of disappointment in the human race. It is interesting what memories stand out 40 years on.

Yet I didn’t remember the waterfall. Canterbury Falls is 10m high and is located on property owned by the Anglican Church of Canada. These three waterfalls, Tiffany, Sherman and Canterbury, located within 2 km of each other along the Bruce Trail represent a perfect trifecta of ownership – State, Private and Church.

Soon after we entered the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, the 3,000 acre park full of winding trails that were so familiar to us. It felt a little like coming home, although I don’t believe I had ever been there without a horse underneath me.

We came to a spot where trails intersected and the one to the left continued down a rocky steep curve. I remembered this trail as horses always prefer to canter up the steep hill. I don’t think I have ever approached it from the other direction, going down. Kim recalled her girls skiing down this hill, the tumbles and spills and laughter. Yet somehow she could not place our current location with the memory in her mind of this place and how she would normally get here. It drove her crazy and we spent a fair amount of time here while she tried to figure it out! Our memories rely on so many sequences, and once out of order it is surprising how quickly confusion sets in!

We ended at the parking lot on Sulphur Springs Road that I have driven past a million times. A muddy 8km hike that took us way down memory lane. So much water has flowed under the bridges of our lives and it is so special that two childhood friends can walk these same paths together, even if at times it was confusing!! 149km down, 765 to go.