My previous two hikes were in some unseasonably hot weather, which impacted my hiking. Today I was heading out for leg three of the Niagara section, with nice cool weather and a dry trail. My goal was to hike just over 20km to get me to Balls Falls.
I started at Short Hills parking lot (where I had finished at 38.3), and headed out. A good portion of the trail today was in the woods, with one long road walk (almost 2km). There were a lot of water features, including several falls, as well as a walk along the river.
As I started my hike, I noticed that the trilliums had started to bloom. Ontario’s provincial flower is also really nice to look at, and I regretted not getting any photographs once they disappeared. After stopping for a drink I saw a cloud of the flowers off the trail, and decided to snap a picture. I got the picture, but I also wandered into some thorns that tore my shirt in several places. Of course, minutes later there were hundreds of trilliums again along the trail…
I had a chance to admire the work that goes into maintaining the trail and keeping it accessible. There was ample evidence of trees being removed and blow downs cleared, as well as many bridges / board walks. I hope that hikers appreciate this work and either donate or join one of the clubs.
As with previous hikes, the first 10km were easy, the next five challenging, and the final five were devastating. The fall themselves where nice to see, but were more impressive in the length than the drop.
As I came close to wrapping up my hike, walking along the creek, I noticed a set of stairs in the distance. Normally not a big deal, but why was I seeing them from so far away? Why, because it was a massive stair case, which had over 120 steps in case you are wondering. Great way to wrap up the day, and a super hike. One more session and I should finish the final 25km of Niagara.
In case you are wondering, this stair case at the end of a long hike was….hard.