Day 6 - Hiking Day 6 - Monday September 11 2017

Day 6 - Hiking Day 6 - Monday, September 11
West of K 53.6 - Cape Dundas Parking Area located on private property at the end of Scenic Caves Road and side trail back to trail to K 32.4 Cape Croker Park Gate (Park Road)
Distance: 22.12 k 
Time on the trail: 8:35

Monday was another beautiful day on the Bruce Trail. We hiked from Cape Dundas to Croker Bay. Most of this day was spent in spectacular forests with paths filled with the roots of the forest trees and Georgian Bay limestock rock. Also some granite rock snuck in there from a number of thousands of years ago from the “other side” of Georgian Bay.  The terrain was varied, i.e. we climbed up and down the cliffs picking our way with care over the steep rock and boulder studded slopes. We had some beautiful views of the lake but the day was really about the forests and the boulders. We met the steepest and most difficult descent of the 6 days and very carefully placed our feet and poles as we inched down the slope. A fall could mean the end of our venture. A fall at the least would be painful. At the most it could be disastrous. We walked down into Hope Bay, a little community of pretty homes and gardens and a sandy beach. We were looking for a “public” spot to have lunch and came across a sign that said the gift shop, "The  Frog and the Nightgown"was closed but the garden was open. We read this to mean that we were welcome to come in and look around the garden…which we did! It was beautiful and had a wonderful mix of driftwood, stone, and pretty flowers. There were also many little sitting areas with metal or wood chairs and tables. Then we spied the boat launch ramp and as the sun was shining and the lake stretched out in front of us, we thought this would be an ideal setting in which to have lunch. We took off our boots and socks to let them and our feet dry out in the sun and ate our food. It was a lovely respite from trekking. We left the owner a note to say “thank you” for welcoming us into your garden and sharing your beautiful views of the lake. We never did find out if the owner was home or not. A very special find. Then it was back into the cliffs and woods.

The steepest descent came in the middle of the day. “A nasty bit of trail” according to our host…and Robin!  

Apart from some of the boulder fields and the very steep descent, today was probably a little easier than yesterday. The last part was over a very foot friendly boardwalk and an easy walk into the campgrounds at Croker Bay and back to the car. Then it was about 20 k back to Lion’s Head and the guest house….and our usual routine!

In the morning Doug said he would leave the hot tub on….and he did. We got back, took our stuff up stairs, and changed into our ....hot tub clothes! It felt amazing on our tired limbs, then it was dinner at the usual spot, where we are now on good terms with the staff, and bed.

We are looking forward to no alarm tomorrow and allowing our over worked bodies to heal. 142.5 k to date.  We had a toast to our achievement so far, and to show gratitude to our bodies for getting us to this point safely.

PS - Here is a wonderful anecdote to add to this day sent to me by email from Robin on November 10:

Hi Elizabeth. Here is a great story in the “it’s a small world” category. Rachel’s graduation for her MSc was on Wednesday (November 8). It was a lovely ceremony in historic Convocation Hall. The Campbell-Jewett’s now have six U of T degrees among them, with a seventh soon to be added when Tamara graduates from the law school. Peter’s undergraduate degree from Queens is the only outlier.  Anyway, after the ceremony, Peter, Rachel and I joined two of Rachel’s fellow graduates, Zoe and Courtney, and their parents for lunch. Zoe’s mother commented on our hike and mentioned that they have a family cottage in Hope Bay. I said we hiked through Hope Bay and that it looked like a lovely cottage community. She then mentioned that her mother in law, Zoe’s grandmother, has had a store there for years - The Frog and the Nightgown! I told the story of how we stopped by there for lunch - “Store Closed, Garden Open” and showed them the pictures on my phone. Zoe said yes, that’s the dock my dad built. Apparently the gardens used to be much bigger, but Zoe’s grandmother is getting on and has had to cut back. 
Isn’t that something!? It makes me all the more happy that you left that nice note. 😊

R