Caledon Comment. Whether hiking, snowshoeing or skiing, especially on the Hockleycrest Ski Trails, make the most of the beauty of winter in Ontario.

Transcription

1 Vol 53, No 4 Winter Caledon Comment Whether hiking, snowshoeing or skiing, especially on the Hockleycrest Ski Trails, make the most of the beauty of winter in Ontario.

2 EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT Bob Ferguson VICE PRESIDENT Fred Somerville ext 110 SECRETARY Amy Darrell TREASURER Andree Zeritsch BTC CLUB DIRECTOR David Lamb HIKE COORDINATOR Marilyn Ross TRAIL COORDINATOR Joan Richard MEMBERSHIP Sally Ker LANDOWNER RELATIONS Carol Sheppard FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR Janice McClelland LAND STEWARDSHIP DIRECTOR Gary Hall PUBLICITY Louise Carberry VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Colleen Darrell SOCIAL CONVENER Jackie Clark PAST PRESIDENT Jean Kerins DIRECTORS AT LARGE Peter Leeney Diane McKenzie Marisa Jokelainen Follow us on Instagram & for the latest updates, news and photos from the trail. Cal E-News is our club newsletter that keeps members up to date on major club activities between editions of the Caledon Comment. Subscribe at: Visit our website, for lots more information about us, including the most up to date hike listings. Winter Loppet at Hockleycrest Photo by Frank Chow WEBMASTER Heidi Bischof Support Volunteers EDITOR, CAL E-NEWS Kristina Zeromskiene DEADLINE FOR THE SPRING EDITION: JAN 5, 2018 Send copy by to: ADVERTISING ARCHIVIST Helen Billing ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Louise Porter TUESDAY HIKE COORDINATOR Rob Martin LANDOWNER RELATIONS ASSISTANT Emily Stitt EDITOR, CALEDON COMMENT Jean Kerins SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Christine Elliott TRAIL DEVELOPMENT Dave Moule (H) (C) SIZE RATE Business Card (3.5 x 2.0) $30 Quarter Page (3.75 x 5.0) $60 Column (3.0 x 10.0) $70 Half Page (7.5 x 5.0) $85 Opinions expressed in the Caledon Comment are not necessarily the views of the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club unless stated as such. Advertisements do not necessarily imply endorsement by the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club or The Bruce Trail Conservancy. Send address changes to: The Bruce Trail Conservancy 2 PO Box 857 Hamilton, ON L8N 3N9 Full Page (7.5 x 10) $145 HST must be added Terms: Cheque with order Cheque should be made payable to: The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club

3 Heidi Bischof Hiking to the Website by Ross McLean For most new members of the Caledon Hills BTC, the initial motivation is usually to hike in Escarpment country. Very commonly after joining, the goals alter. New members appreciate the Conservancy s aims of securement, preservation and access and they learn of ways that can both help the club and increase their own personal enjoyment. Such is the story of Caledon Hills new webmaster, Heidi Bischof. Heidi s interest in hiking began after she moved to Caledon East in the mid-1990s. She joined the CHBTC because she thought it would encourage me to hike more. She tells a delightful story of her motivation: Heidi heard of the Niagara Club s Laura Secord hike and thought that if Laura could hike 30 km in the dark without special equipment, then I should be able to do it in the daytime. She concedes that she is still working on that - it will be a much longer-term goal. When asked about the joys of hiking Heidi comments on the peacefulness of being in the forests and staying fit. She is also a badge collector and also enjoys photography which helps me to slow down and actually see the Trail in a different way because I m looking for artistically framed images. In 2015, Heidi decided to attend her first CHBTC AGM. There she ran into David Lamb who remembered her from an end-to-end hike from the previous year. David asked Heidi if she would be interested in becoming the club s webmaster. She explains why she accepted the role: her day jobs had been in finance, and she did not regard herself as a tech-savvy person. She says, if someone was going to offer me the chance given my limited background in website design and management, I should take the opportunity! Today she looks back on the satisfaction of the visual and written creativity I am able to apply in my website and blog work. The accolades have poured in. Jean Kerins, past-president and Caledon Comment editor comments that Heidi has shown great initiative in her volunteer role as webmaster and she is keen to maintain the website as a valuable tool for the club s membership. Helen Billing, the club archivist, writes that Heidi s redesign of our club website has resulted in a very crisp and clean outlook. Heidi s blogs which you can get to directly from the home page (or you can sign up to receive them as an ) are varied and informative. All the information is presented clearly and precisely, with easy-to-navigate links to various parts of the website. Heidi is glad to share the praise for the quality of the website. She appreciates the teamwork: when I need information, photos, or guidance, there is always somebody there to help out, including David Lamb, past webmaster, who is still incredibly helpful and patient. When asked about her personal goals, Heidi mentions wanting to become more familiar with the Caledon section of the Trail. She is working on a very leisurely end-to-end with some colleagues and she is looking forward to some of the 150 th Canada/50th Bruce Trail anniversary 3

4 Heidi Bischof continued from Page 3 badge opportunities this year. In addition, having taken the hike leaders course last fall, she plans to lead hikes for the club. Heidi comments that she has learned that while hiking is a key part of what the CHBTC does, all the clubs are actually so much more than hiking clubs. Her vision for the next decade is that more of the Trail is secured, that fewer trail kilometers will be on road, and that more people will be enjoying the trail. If you have not already done so, check out the CHBTC website, and join one of the hikes that Heidi will be leading. Get involved as she has, and you will discover opportunities for new experiences and for the pleasure which involvement with the club can bring. A Bonanza Bruce Trail Day!! By Louise Carberry With Blue Skies overhead, a steady stream of visitors to Glen Haffy made our 2017 Bruce Trail Day a success. Some visitors were enticed by the unprecedented offer from Ontario Power Generation of the 50th anniversary Trail Guide offered free to new members who signed up today. Others just wanted to take advantage of the lovely weather, the guided hikes and our delicious BBQ, and homemade cookies. Don Scallen's Nature Walk was a hit with the crowd with all attendees going home carrying a healthy oak tree to plant in their favourite place. A record number of 20 new members took advantage of receiving the Trail Guide FREE. We welcome them to our club and look forward to meeting them on the trails in the coming months. Some new members expressed interest in becoming volunteers and there is always work to do. Trail captains, trail maintenance, hike leaders and board members are all opportunities to become more involved in your local trail. Thanks to the many volunteers from our Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club for volunteering to make this day the best yet. Caledon Mayor Allen Thompson joins our club at this year s Bruce Trail Day Bruce Trail Day Photographs Courtesy of Peter Wm. Richardson 4

5 Calling All Trail Angels by Dave Moule Would you like to become an angel some day? Well, you could have your wish, thanks to a new program that the Caledon Hills club is considering. Several Bruce Trail clubs are now offering a Trail Angel service for hikers in their sections. This program attempts to match up hikers with a local volunteer who can help them to do a car shuttle, or provide a pick-up or drop-off at a trail head. Typically, this involves a couple of hikers, or a small group who would otherwise bring two vehicles to the trail so that they can leave one at each end of the day s hike. With the assistance of a Trail Angel, the hikers can leave one of those vehicles at home, thereby saving some money and also reducing their carbon footprint. Hikers may also wish to start their hike at a location where there is no parking available, so a Trail Angel would enable them to do this. The service might also be used by a through-hiker who is backpacking the whole trail, or a major portion of it, and needs a ride into town for groceries or to do laundry. The benefits of the service to the hiker are obvious, but there are benefits to the Bruce Trail and to the broader community: Reduces number of cars on the roads; Reduces harmful emissions into the atmosphere; Reduces number of cars being parked at trail heads; Hikers typically make a small donation to the club as a token of their gratitude; Club members who are Trail Angels will get to meet friendly hikers and receive compliments about the exceptional quality of our trail. The Caledon Hills Club is trying to determine if we have enough willing volunteers to offer this service. If we can develop a roster of a dozen or more members who live close to the trail and would be willing to provide a ride occasionally, then we would try it out and see whether it is working. If you live close to the trail, and would be willing to help out as a Trail Angel, please contact Dave Moule at salydave@sympatico.ca or by phone or text at

6 The Creation and Decline of the Peter Beecham Side Trail - by Ross McLean The Peter Beecham Side Trail first appeared in the 19.2 edition of the Bruce Trail Guide Book. It does not appear in the 18 th edition of the guide book. At that time there was only one route or trail between the 3 rd and 4 th Lines of Mono on The Ontario Hydro Conference and Development Centre property. At that time, the main trail proceeded south on the 4 th Line and then crossed into the Ontario Hydro property where the present stile is located. The 18 th edition describes the trail in these words: it follows the road around a forested punch bowl before re-entering the woods. This forested punch bowl would later attract our trail development team to later purchase the unopened road allowance for the new main route that hikers now use. But in those days the main trail descended the hill crossing a small stream and eventually followed the old logging road to the 3 rd Line. In 1996 or 1997 during my tenure as Trail Director in the Caledon Club it was decided to re-route the main trail in order to take it off of the 4 th Line. The route of this new main trail from the 4 th Line was basically the route of the present Griffith Ravine Side Trail. If my facts are right, Chris Walker and his Bramalea School Outing Club did most of this work and also built the bridge and boardwalks that are found closer to the 3 rd Line. As trail director I was concerned that the old route over the stream and winding its way along the higher ground would now be lost but Chris Walker assured me that it would become a side trail. The only thing was that we required a name for this new side trail. During those years the main trail between the 3 rd and 4 th Lines through the Ontario Hydro property was under the care of a trail captain who was the property manager for the Goodyear Memorial Scout Camp on the 1 st Line of Mono (just to the west of our trails). My records indicate that his name was Tom Waechter. For a few years Tom would have a scout troop from the Goodyear Memorial Scout Camp help him maintain the main trail between the 3 rd and 4 th Lines. For many years there was a wooden sign on the trail at the 4 th Line that informed hikers that the scouts looked after that section of trail. So when I was asked to provide a name I went to Tom for his suggestions. It was at that time he informed me of the unfortunate accident and death of Peter Beecham the scout leader of the scout troop that looked after the trail. Tom said that it would be appropriate to remember him by naming the trail the Peter Beecham Side Trail. The side trail followed the old route of the main trail including 700 metres of the 4 th Line. In 2013, it was decided that the BTC purchase the unopened road allowance on the west side of the 4 th Line and therefore make this land available to us to re-route the Peter Beecham Side Trail off of the 4 th Line. During the construction of the trail around and through the hardwood trees of this natural punch bowl formation, I suggested that this would be a beautiful route for the main trail. It did not take long to implement the change. Most of the Peter Beecham Side Trail over the high ground and alongside of the stream and across the babbling brook became the main trail. It ended up that the Peter Beecham Side Trail decreased from a 1.8 km trail to an access trail from the 4 th line of only 25 metres. The old main trail to the north was renamed the Griffith Ravine Side Trail. The Griffiths were long time members of the Bruce Trail and had a country residence about a km north of this trail. The three trails mentioned here make a very pleasant loop hike and are used a lot by local residents. 6

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8 Comfortable Hiking Holidays 1 (866) info@letshike.com NORTHERN LIGHTS NORWAY February 14 to 24, 2018 A full itinerary of adventure like crosscountry skiing, dog-sledding & snowmobiling plus Mother Nature's lightshow - the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights). Home base is Tromso - one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights. Also visit the capital, Oslo, for some cultural exploration. Part of the C.H.H. Adventure Collection. THE CAMINO April 28 to May 10, 2018 The Camino de Santiago is an iconic trek covering some 800km across the north of Spain. Our journey encompasses the last 160km from O Cebreiro to Santiago de Compostela, including many extras in order to make it a complete Galician experience. Thousands of pilgrims have walked before us, and it is time to add your footsteps to this famous trail. GREAT MARITIMES ROAD TRIP June 21 to July 3, 2018 Experience the world's highest tides at the Hopewell Rocks in NB; meet Anne of Green Gables and build sandcastles in PEI; celebrate Canada Day in Halifax, NS. Plus lots more activities from cycling to hiking, and you could eat lobster every day of this trip if you tried! Part of the C.H.H. Adventure Collection. SLOVENIJA July 13 to 23, 2018 Slovenija, where the Alps meet the Mediterranean, is a country of amazingly unspoiled beauty. Our program includes hikes behind the thundering Slap Pericnik waterfall, through Vintgar Gorge gushing with white water, on the slopes of & Mt. Triglav, and around the glacier-fed Lake Bohinj. Home base for the entire holiday will be the fairy-tale setting of Bled. MACHU PICCHU, PERU September 14 to 26, 2018 Day hikes throughout the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Then that all important day when we hike into Machu Picchu rounding the corner of the Sun Gate and seeing Machu Picchu with your own eyes will give you goose bumps! (No camping!) Sometimes our sawyers leave more than a bunch of cut logs beside the trail. They also like to leave their mark! These photos show John Maxwell s and Norm Randle s initials on logs they cleared south of the 7th Line. 8

9 Cross-country skiing returns to the Caledon Hills trails again this year. By Dave Moule As we have done for the past several years now, a portion of the Caledon Hills trail network will be groomed for cross-country skiing again this coming winter (assuming we get enough snow!). The trails, known as the Hockleycrest Ski Trails, are located north of the 5 Sideroad of Mono and east of Airport Road. In addition to the main trail, the Harmony Side Trail, and the Hockleycrest Side Trail, a number of other trails are opened just for the winter, and groomed for skiing. The total length of the ski trails is 14 km. A map of the trail network is shown below: There are several new features for this year. The first is that, for the first time since we started doing this, all the trails in the network have now been cleared wide enough for the groomer to pass through. Widening of a 100m long section of trail was carried out during the early summer, so that there is a minimum width of 1.5 metres throughout. Second, we will temporarily close a portion of the main trail to walkers, and reserve that section exclusively for skiers. Hikers and snowshoers will have a temporary alternate route they can use. Connected to the alternate route, there will also be a 1.5 km loop, known as Peter s Path, exclusively for snowshoeing. A map of these trail changes will be available on the BTC website about December 1. Finally, we are going to try some signage to help skiers and walkers better share a portion of the Hockleycrest Side Trail. This trail section is over 3 metres wide, so there is plenty of room for both user groups, provided each stays to one side. Our new signage will attempt to keep skiers on one side, and walkers on the other. The club website has a Cross-country Skiing tab which anyone can use to obtain more detailed trail descriptions, and a downloadable map. During the ski season, regular updates on trail and snow conditions will be posted at 9

10 Have You Even Encountered a Problem on the Trail? This is How You Can Help Hikers, please take the time to send an to the website, or post on Facebook or Instagram, if you encounter any problems with the trails. Every section has a trail captain, but they cannot be out there all the time. One of the ways to help is to provide an accurate location. The app can help with that, but for the rest of us, please remember that all structures have an ID plate. So if you come across a tree blocking the trail, for instance, please take a picture (so we can determine size and tools required). And if you meet a set of steps nearby, please take a minute to look for the ID and snap that too. Bridges and boardwalks also have numbers but they are usually under the deck boards, so are a bit more challenging to locate. Together we can make the trails better and better. By Joan Richard, Trail Co-ordinator 10

11 NEW FILM FUNDRAISING EVENT SUCCESSFUL By Janice McClelland Two hundred and thirty tree-loving people attended a new event this fall a film screening, organized by the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, of Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees. This Manitoba-made film features Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a visionary scientist, conservationist and author. The film is visually beautiful and powerful, as Diana travels to forest communities in Japan, Germany, Ireland, the American west coast, and Canada. With her background in chemistry and biology, Diana describes the benefits of forests to humanity. She sums up part of her philosophy - Climate change is happening. What can we do about it? It will start with a shovel and an acorn, but we might just change the world. With this first time film event by the Caledon Hills Club, our purpose was to build awareness of the land preservation work of the Bruce Trail Conservancy and to raise donations to help secure the remaining vulnerable 40% of the conservation corridor containing the Bruce Trail. The Gorge Cinema Photo by Janice McClelland The film screenings were accompanied by an inspiring visual presentation by Beth Gilhespy, Chief Executive Officer of the Bruce Trail Conservancy, about the over 11,000 acres of Niagara Escarpment land that the Bruce Trail Conservancy has preserved for future generations. The event raised over $6,000 for the Bruce Trail Conservancy Escarpment Legacy Fund success!! It also brought together a range of people members and yet-to-be members of varying ages in the cozy, welcoming environment of the Elora Gorge Cinema broadening their knowledge of the activities of the CHBTC and the BTC. (Due to the overwhelming response to the event and the size of the Cinema, we held two screenings.) Thank you to all who attended and donated. As Beth Gilhespy said when showing the slides of the trees and wildlife that the BTC has protected - It s your trail, it s your conservation corridor, it s your donations it s you who have made this happen. thank you for that! The Club also organized a brunch prior to the 2:30 pm screening. CHBTC long time member and volunteer, Sallie Smyth, opened her home in Elora, above the Grand River, for the brunch - which sold out in a blink of an eye in May! Fifty-one people attended the brunch socializing while eating delicious food catered by Resa at the Desert Rose Café in Elora added to by Sallie s home cooking!! A special thank you to Sallie Smyth who made the day very memorable and very enjoyable!! This Club could not ask for more than the generosity that Sallie has given us. 11 Continued on Page 12

12 Film Fundraiser Continued BTC Honorary President and one of the four Founders of the Bruce Trail Conservancy, Philip Gosling and his spouse, Susan Gosling, were our special guests at the brunch and film screening. Speaking at the 2:30 pm screening from his experience when organizing volunteers to lay out the Bruce Trail back in the early 1960 s, Philip commended the CHBTC volunteers for all their work organizing the event and urged our guests to donate to help secure the Bruce Trail along the precious lands of the Niagara Escarpment. Thank you to our sponsors Wild Birds Unlimited store and Brock Road Nursery in Guelph and Salon Pure Environment (organic hairstyling) in Georgetown. They helped make this event profitable and we urge our readers to consider these fine businesses when you are making your purchase decisions. Barry Coak from Fergus and Nancy Kumpf from Burlington incidentally, both gardeners won the door prizes donated by Brock Road Nursery. Photo by Janice McClelland Thank you to our partner the Gorge Cinema Julianna and Payton were a pleasure to work with and they made sure that everything went smoothly on the day of the event. To Beth Gilhespy and Marsha Russell from the BTC and all the volunteers who helped with the film screenings and the brunch your hands and hearts were needed and you came through with flying colours and that s despite on-off torrents of rain and gusting winds. We could not have achieved this success without you thank you! 12

13 HIKING INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES The hike listings in the Caledon Comment have been condensed. To get the full description of each hike, you must go to the club website at Please arrive 15 to 20 minutes before departure time. Bruce Trail map and kilometre references are from the 29th edition of the Bruce Trail Reference. Always carry your Ontario Health Card. Carry an adequate amount of water and food. If you have to carry an auto-injector or other medical device, make sure someone on the hike knows about it. Unless stated otherwise hiking boots are required and no dogs are allowed. Unless stated otherwise all hikes will depart at 9:30 am. Check the website regularly for updates to the hiking schedule. While there are a few portions of the Bruce Trail within conservation areas that are wheelchair accessible, use of the majority of the Trail is suitable for foot traffic only. To participate in an organized hike you need to be able to complete the specified length of the hike on your own or with your own support person within the time allowed. Please refer to the hiking schedule for details. Hike ratings have been standardized across most of the Bruce Trail Clubs. Pace - Leisurely - 3km/hour or less Medium - 3 to 4 km/hour Brisk - 4 to 5 km/hour Fast - 5+ km/hour Terrain - Easy - Mostly flat and usually good footing. Moderate - Some hills and/or some poor footing. Strenuous - Hilly with steep climbs and some poor footing Thank you for following the Trail Users Code all year. Please stay on the Trail. WINTER HIKES Saturday December 2, Caledon Hills Section, Forks of the Credit, Map 14/15, Canada 150 No. 4, This 12 km "there and back" hike will take approximately 4 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. Saturday December 9, Humber Valley Heritage Trail, Humber Valley Heritage Trail Map 17, This is a 12km car shuttle hike at a medium pace on easy terrain and will take approx. 5 hours. Saturday December 30, Dufferin Hi-Land Section, Mono Cliffs Provincial Park, Map 19, This 12 km loop hike will take approximately 3.5 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. There is a dropout point after 7 km Sunday January 21, Caledon Hills Section, Forks of the Credit, Map 15, This 10 km loop hike will take approximately 3 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate (Continued on page 14) 13

14 Hiking Schedule (Continued from page 13) terrain. There is a dropout point after 7 km. Saturday February 10, Caledon Hills Section, Glen Haffy, Map 17, This 10 km loop hike will take approximately 3.5 hours and is at a leisurely pace over moderate terrain. There is no dropout point. No dogs please. There will be a refreshment/pub stop afterwards. Monday February 19, Toronto Section, Hilton Falls Conservation Area, Map 11, This 7 km loop hike will take approximately 2.5 hours and is at a leisurely pace over moderate terrain. There is a dropout point after 5 km. Be sure to come out and support our Christmas Tree Sales at Hockleycrest Farm. Full details are on Page 17 Norm Does It Again! This bench, built using special preservation techniques (see Page 17 in the Summer 2017 Caledon Comment ) is on the Hockley Heights Side Trail about 1/2 km south of 15 Sideroad. The bench was built by Norm Randle and installed by Phil Kidston and Norm. Photo by Phil Kidston Taylor-Made Bed & Breakfast Come and enjoy some of the best nature has to offer Doug and Diana would like to welcome you 31 Bryon St. Lion s Head, On taylormade@bb-bruce.com We Love Hikers! Daily fresh produce Excellent selection of meats Fresh baked buns and breads Store-made deli sandwiches and hot table Only a 4-minute walk south of the Caledon Trailway on Airport Road in Caledon East 14

15 WINTER TUESDAY HIKES FULL HIKE DESCRIPTIONS CAN BE FOUND ON THE CLUB WEBSITE AT See Page 13 for More Hike Information and Guidelines Tuesday December 5: Toronto Section, Scotsdale Farm, Map 13. A 10 km loop hike that will take approximately 3 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. Tuesday December 12: Caledon Hills Section, Palgrave Forest, Map 17. An 11 km loop hike that will take approximately 4 hours and is at a leisurely pace over easy terrain. Tuesday December 19: Woolwich Trails, St. Jacobs. A 10 km shuttle hike that will take approximately 3.5 hours and is at a medium pace over easy terrain. Tuesday January 2: OPEN. Check website for updates Tuesday January 9: Caledon Hills Section, Palgrave, Map 17. A 12 km shuttle hike that will take approximately 4 hours and is at a leisurely pace over easy terrain. Tuesday January 16: Iroquoia Section, Waterdown, Map 9. An 11 km shuttle hike that will take approximately 4 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. Tuesday January 23: Caledon Hills Section, Glen Haffy, Map 17. A 10 km loop hike that will take approximately 3.5 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. Tuesday January 30: OPEN. Check website for updates Tuesday February 6: Toronto Section, Scotsdale Farm, Map 13. An easy loop hike of 10 km (about 3 hrs) at a medium pace on variable terrain. Tuesday February 13: Iroquoia Section, Dundas Valley, Map 8. A 12 km shuttle hike that will take approximately 4 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. Tuesday February 20: Toronto Section, Scotsdale Farm, Map 13. A 13 km loop hike that will take approximately 3.5 hours and is at a medium pace over moderate terrain. Tuesday February 27: OPEN. Check website for updates SUSQUEHANNOCK LODGE and TRAIL CENTRE Hiking in the Highlands of North Central Pennsylvania NEW YEAR S Dec Jan 1, 2018 Enjoy New Year s on the trails and by the fireplace. Full turkey New Year s dinner. EASTER March 30 - April 2, 2018 Welcome spring on the trails and a Polish Easter Dinner. The Lodge is located in Potter County, Pennsylvania, 2.5 hours south of Buffalo. There is no agriculture or industry in the area, just great trails. Daily hikes of 10 to 15 km are led through hardwood forest, many beside mountain streams. Our lodge provides comfortable accommodation & excellent meals for $70.00 semi-private, $75.00 private-double occupancy, $90.00 private-single occupancy, USD per day per person. These outings have proven to be popular with the lodge filling quickly. For more information, including driving directions, please see hikevincent.wordpress.com or contact Greg Vincent at or vincent.greg@gmail.com For reservations call Carol Szymanik at

16 Screwball Comedy A CHBTC Fundraiser at Theatre Orangeville WEDNESDAY APRIL 4, pm The goal of Screwball Comedy, a new play written by Canada s most popular playwright Norm Foster, is both to satirize and pay homage to the type of film comedy of the title that flourished from the 1930s to the mid 40s, e.g. His Girl Friday (1940). These comedies also often depicted social classes in conflict. The year is 1938 and aspiring reporter Mary Hayes, is struggling to break into the male- dominated world of journalism. Jeff Kincaid may be the hottest reporter in the city, but his job is on the line and Mary could well be the one to replace him a competition is set up between the seasoned reporter and Mary to cover a society wedding. Reminiscent of the zany, cinematic screwball comedies of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert or Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, this delightful play crackles with wit and humour. Join members of the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club and their guests for the Dress Rehearsal of this play. Tickets are limited so we highly recommend that you book your tickets soon, certainly no later than March 4, Tickets: $35. Contact Theatre Orangeville at or to book. Please identify yourself as part of the group from the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club. All funds raised support the Bruce Trail Conservancy s mission of securing the trail within a conservation corridor along the Niagara Escarpment. (Sorry, charitable donation income tax receipts are not available for this event.) Theatre Orangeville, located at 87 Broadway in Orangeville, is fully accessible and also has a hearing assistance program. Free parking is available in the vicinity of the Theatre. Dinner Option: If you are interested in enjoying dinner together, around 5:30 pm, prior to the play, please contact Dorothy Mazeau: dmazeau@rogers.com. Cheltenham Badlands Photo Courtesy of Region of Peel 16 This is an aerial photograph of the newly built parking lot at the Cheltenham Badlands. This lot will accommodate 33 cars and two buses. The parking lot and site will reopen in 2018 and an access trail will connect the main Bruce Trail with the parking lot. A sidewalk from the parking lot to the main feature has been built and a temporary viewing platform is being planned.

17 All-Natural Christmas Trees for Sale Pre-cut and Cut Your Own $30 Each Plus Assorted Boughs, Planters and Wreaths Available at Excellent Prices Where: Hockleycrest Farm, No on the east side of Airport Road (Dufferin County Rd. #18), 4.4 km north of Hwy. Mono Mills When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday beginning December 2nd while supplies last. Come and warm your hands by the bonfire while you sip on some warm apple cider our thank you for your support. For further information, contact Dave Moule: (home) (cell) Or salydave@sympatico.ca Photo by Dave Moule The Elves Have Been Busy In late November each year at a secret workshop in Caledon, elves converge to create beautiful festive planters and wreathes. Be sure to check out this year s selection at Hockleycrest Farm. All proceeds will go toward the Bruce Trail Conservancy s program to secure, protect and maintain a continuous conservation corridor containing the Bruce Trail along the Niagara Escarpment. Supply is limited. First come first served. 17

18 Memories of Chris Walker by Ross McLean Last year (2016), while on a Caledon Trail work party, a new volunteer asked me: Just who is this Chris Walker that I keep hearing about? Initially I was shocked that Chris name could be forgotten, but then I realized that without an ongoing celebration of his contributions, Chris efforts would ultimately be confined to the dust of the archives. In June we celebrated the 50 th anniversary of the Bruce Trail and the pioneers who had the vision and the initiative to make it happen on the ground. These individuals are justly celebrated. But in the past thirty years, Chris Walker did so much to further the Bruce Trail to its ultimate vision of becoming a world-class trail and protecting the Escarpment in perpetuity. During this time, Chris worked closely with each of the nine clubs. At the time of his death, he was both the BTC s Trail Director and a member of its Land Acquisition Committee. A number of key memories flood back and remind me of Chris intense loyalty to the Trail. In the 1980s he organized a Summer Environmental Youth Corps to undertake demanding trail jobs that clubs could not handle themselves. For example, an early task was the building of the interpretive display at the Devil s Monument. Each of those rocks which form its structure had to be carried from the shoreline to the top of the scarp. Who better to do such a job than a group of his high school students? Chris taught at Bramalea Secondary School and led the Outdoor Education program. Under Chris leadership these students formed the nucleus of the summer program. Chris was motivated by the goal of the optimum route, and we frequently explored areas where the Trail might be located. In his last ten years we would organize both spring and fall adventures. Chris had an eye for the land; trail design was one of his many strengths. I remember scouting possibilities with Chris in the White Chris Walker Installing the Hoffman Ring Kiln Interpretive Plaque July 2007 Bluff area in the Bruce Peninsula. Chris at one point said that he was going to explore a possibility away from our existing route, and he headed off alone into the bush. The others became worried when he did not return. Having explored with Chris for many years, I assured them that he would be back only when he was successful. It took about three hours, but I remember him bursting out of the woods and exclaiming I have found it. The ideal route had been discovered! The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club benefitted enormously from Chris contributions. Laurence Christie remembers from his days as CHBTC Trail Director in the 1990s: What a help he was.i left it up to him and his Bramalea students to build every bridge that we installed during those years. The list of accomplishments for Caledon Hills in Chris last year was typical of his annual contributions: he led a volunteer team to build a long boardwalk near the southern end of our trail; with Dave Moule he designed the rehabilitation of the Trail at The Badlands and then worked for days on site as a volunteer leader; he helped to plan the location of the optimum route and a proposed 18 Continued on Page 19

19 ANNUAL WINTER HIKE & POTLUCK SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 At Caledon Village Place 10:00 am 1:00 pm: Hike. Meet in the parking lot at Caledon Village Place at 9:45 am for an enjoyable hike. 1:00pm Light refreshments at the Hall 2:00 pm Presentation by Skid Crease Winter Story Telling - Tales from the Bruce Trail and how to attract a new generation of new Canadians to share and care for the trail system 2:45 pm 3:30 pm - Social Hour with lots of time to bid in the Silent Auction and to check out the merchandise table 3:30 pm - Fine Dining - Bring a potluck dish to share Check your basements & closets for items to contribute to our silent auction Bring the ingredients list for your potluck dish so diners can allow for food allergies Social Convener: Jackie Clark, or clark3@rogers.com Caledon Village Place is located at Hurontario St. (Hwy 10) on the east side just south of Charleston Side Road (#124) Continued from Page 18 bridge-crossing of the West Credit River; he GPS d the extension of the Hockleycrest Side Trail on a new handshake-agreement property (now main Trail and optimum route) and just two months before his death he poured the concrete for the installation of the interpretive plaque at the Ring Kiln Side Trail (see photo on Page 18). In his spare time he contributed to trail successes in other clubs, especially Peninsula and Sydenham. Chris was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in I remember well my last visit to Chris, just days before he died. His dying request was that he be remembered by naming the recently acquired stretch of shoreline at Rush Cove after him. That was the origin of the Chris Walker Nature Reserve. At his death, accolades poured in from trail volunteers who had worked with him. What an incredible person and what an incredible loss read one, and it has been a privilege to have worked, laughed and dreamed with him. Chris truly was the consummate volunteer, the epitome of the spirit of volunteerism on which the Bruce Trail has been built. His legacy must not be forgotten. 19

20 Save the Date Sunday, December 3rd Winter Hike and Pot Luck. See Page 19 Weekends in December Christmas Trees, Planters and Wreaths on sale at Hockleycrest Tree Farm See Page 17 Wednesday, April 4th Theatre Orangeville Evening. See Page 16 Sunday, April 8th Annual General Meeting Details to Follow Bruce Trail Conservancy Mission Statement The Bruce Trail Conservancy is a charitable organization committed to establishing a conservation corridor containing a public footpath along the Niagara Escarpment, in order to protect its natural ecosystems and to promote environmentally responsible public access to this UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Thank You for Receiving Your Caledon Comment Electronically. Photo by Jean Kerins on Return undeliverable copies to: The Bruce Trail Conservancy P.O. Box 857, Hamilton, ON L8N 3N9