Ontario, Canada

Bruce Peninsula National Park

I feel slightly unpatriotic for leaving the States and heading to Canada for Independence day, but it was a prime 3 day weekend to get out of Gibraltar, Michigan and get some hiking in, and we took full advantage of it.

I had never given much thought to going to Canada to pursue backpacking opportunities before, and I'm unsure why. I was surely missing out on a great many of places to wander around, see pretty and interesting things, and enjoy a hefty helping or two of Canada's favorite snack, poutine. So when I was parusing the internet to see where we could get away for a few days within driving distance, I stumbled upon Bruce Peninsula National Park and the Bruce Trail. 

I am surprised I had not heard of the Bruce Trail before, seeing as how it is a premier long distance hiking trail. It begins at Niagara Falls and ends at the tip of Bruce Peninsula, traversing some 560 miles, and meandering through one of the 13 UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves. 

In many ways, the Bruce Trail in Bruce Peninsula NP is similar to the North Country Trail in the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. The trail hugs the shoreline of Georgian Bay, which is connected to Lake Huron, and rises and falls along beaches and cliffs as it presents memorable vistas of the blue waters of the bay and the beautiful forest that resides near its shores. Although I am partial to the Pictured Rocks, and believe in many ways that it has a better "cool" factor, Bruce Peninsula is not too far behind and is still a magnificent and memorable place to visit.

When planning the trip I ran into the all too familiar mistake of waiting to the last minute to book back country permits. As is the case in most popular National Parks in the States, it is often difficult to secure back country camping permits during popular times of the season. Canada was no different.

I had wanted to spend at least two nights in the Park, which would allow us enough time to traverse the majority of the Bruce Trail in that section. Unfortunately, I was only able to secure one tent site on Friday night, which would limit us to an out and back of roughly 16 miles. But that was okay, it would still be worth it to get out.

At least I learned a valuable lesson: when renewing a passport don't wait until the last minute! (To my defense, I was waiting on getting my passport back in the mail before booking sites, since I wanted to make certain I'd actually be able to attend, and would not have to send Carolyn off by herself to be with the snakes and bears and tics!)

For Saturday night, I found an off the beaten path tent and RV camp called Mountain Trout Camp, and paid an unruly amount of money to pitch a tent by a water spigot and picnic table. I had wanted to get a motel room in the town of Tobermory, just north of the Park, but of course everything was booked.

So on Thursday night, after Carolyn and I got done working for the week, we packed up our belongings and headed into Canada. It is roughly a 6 and a half hour drive up to the Park from Gibraltar, Michigan, so we decided to stay at Pinery Provincial Park for the night (about 4 hours from Bruce and 2 and a half from our home), and finish the drive up to the peninsula on Friday morning.

Canada!

Blue Water Bridge to Canada

Pinery is located around an hour or so from the border near the southern tip of Lake Huron, and is situated right on the water. It is a pretty park, with many many campsites. When we drove up to the "Burly" campsite, there were well over a hundred different individual sites, and the place was jam packed with RVs, tents, and people.

Although I enjoy car camping less than backpacking, I am beginning to appreciate the former a bit more as the days go on. For one, I am enjoying the more luxurious amenities that can be brought, like lawn chairs and a cooler, which make for much more satisfying meals and seating options.

The good stuff you just can't smoosh into a pack

After we set up our tent for the night, we took a short stroll down to the lake and watched the sun set over Lake Huron. The wind had picked up and the waves were rolling in one after the other. It's easy to forget you are on a lake when you have views like this: 

After a decent nights rest, we packed up and drove to Bruce Peninsula. It was a stress-free and scenic drive along a one lane highway. We passed by farmland and quaint towns, were given a few glimpses of Lake Huron, and saw many of these twirling about: 

Side note: there were as many "STOP THE WINDMILLS" signs as actual windmills.

At around 11, we reached the Park and collected our back country permit and overnight parking pass at the visitors center. After eating some pasta salad for lunch, we got our gear ready and began walking the Cyprus Lake trail, which eventually connected to the Horse Lake Trail, and spit us out onto Georgian Bay where we met up with the Bruce Trail. 

Cyprus Lake

Horse Lake

Hiking towards Georgian Bay

I had read the Bruce Trail was marked with Blue Blazes, but in this section the trail was marked with White Blazes, similar to the Appalachian Trail. For the afternoon, we followed the Bruce Trail East along the shore of the Bay for around 7km (Canada has a funny way of measuring distance). The weather was perfect and the views were spectacular. We eventually arrived at one of the two designated campsites in then park: High Dump.

Bruce Trail White Blaze and Sign

Carolyn taking a sneaky picture of me

One of many Rock Cliffs into the Bay

Me taking a sneaky picture of Carolyn

View of the beach at High Dump campsite

Be right back, gotta take a High...

I was informed upon booking the campsite that in the Park they provide wooden tent platforms to set up your tent, and forbid ground camping. I find tent platforms to be quite a nuisance, especially since I rely on tent stakes to pitch my shelter. I had done a bit of research online to see how other people approched pitching a non-freestanding tent on a tent platform, and many people suggested using eye screws. I picked up a couple at Lowes before heading out of town, and they provided to be quite useful.

Platform HD1

Eye screws - works wonders on wood platforms!

After we finished playing around with the eye screws and setting up the tent, we went down to the beach to relax and cook dinner. We sat for awhile and looked out at the crystal blue water of the lake and listened as the waves broke against the rocks. Eventually the sun set over the bay, showering us with pink, orange and yellow hues. The wind was soft and gentle as the first stars popped out after the sun had left the horizon, giving us the cue to hop into our sleeping bags and drift to sleep.

Looking East from High Dump

Boiling some water for din-din

Same eastward shot, as the sun sets

Doesn't get much better than this

Good Bye, World

We slept in the next morning after a somewhat pleasurable night. There was a creaky tree right near the tent platform which had me worried for much of the night. While Carolyn is scared of Bears and Snakes, I am scared of weak trees and windy nights. I've read several accounts of people being killed by falling trees, so I tend to pay attention to site location in order to prevent something like that from occurring. In the middle of the night I inspected the tree that was squeaking and it appeared to be in good shape. A branch from a nearby tree was rubbing into the tree trunk, making the squeaking sound. 

I tried firing up the stove to cook breakfast but the fuel had all run out, so we had to forgo our morning tea and were cornered into eating cold oatmeal. The day was again beautiful as we walked back the 8 miles we had already hiked the previous day. Even though it was much of the same views, I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would tire from them.

Taking a break

Not the Caribbean

Big hole

Paradise

After we finally mae it out of the woods, we hopped into the car and made our way to the nearby town of Tobermory. It is a quaint town with shops and restaurants, and we walked around for a bit and then grabbed a beer at the local watering hole. 

Tobermory

We then traveled back south to Mountain Trout Camp, where we spent our final night. It was situated by a fairly large inland lake, and seemed to be the type of place where families come for a few weeks to get away from it all. Lots of RVs there. I think we may have been the only tent at the camp. It was a nice, isolated place,with good vibes and friendly neighbors. 

Lake at Camp

Beer and Tent

The next morning we packed up and left the peninsula for our 6 and a half our drive back to the mainland. I really liked the area and hope to visit it again. There is a National Marine Park right nearby that has islands you can kayak to, so perhaps that will be something else to do if we find ourselves in our friendly neighbors backyard again!