Bruce Trail Hike - Day 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 - CreditView Caledon to Innis Lake Rd Caledon

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When I hike the Bruce Trail getting back to my car is always tricky. Over the 14 days I have hiked so far I have done a mix of hiking with friends, getting friends to pick me up, Uber, Taxi, Buses, and walking back to my car. As I go farther north my range of options will be limited. Uber, buses and friends that far north will not be available. So I have to make choice about the hikes as I head farther north. I usually only count the distance I am on the Bruce Trail and not the distance I hike back to my car. I have decided to count the distance I hike as part of my Bruce Trail hike. For example if I hike 5 km on the Bruce Trail and than hike the km back to my car I will count it as a 10km hike. I will than skip the next 5km of the Bruce Trail and start at the next available parking spot. This way I will speed up my Bruce Trail hike while still hiking the same distance. I am not certain how this will affect my Bruce Trail certification but after careful consideration this is really the only way I can hike farther and farther from home. I have also decided to hike 5 - 10 km per day after or before work so I can cover more distance.

Day 15: First time hiking after work. I went to the parking lot I left off last time. It is located on the Caledon Trailway which I had mistaken for the Bruce Trail a number of KM back. I hiked northward on Creditview rd along the road until I reconnected to the Bruce Trail. This part of the trail pasts through private property and I noted the sign saying do not park next to the crossover stairs or else trail privileges will be removed. The bugs were out in force at this point and I wish I had brought some bug spray along. Once I had emerged from the hiking portion I found myself Old Base Line Rd. I have just finished the Toronto Portion of the Bruce Trail. I will have to decide on some kind of toast or celebration when I finish each portion going forward. I was now on the Caledon portion of the Bruce Trail. This portion runs northward until you hit Mono Centre, ON. I have been hiking for 3.8KM at this point and I decided that was enough and headed back to my car. Total hike for today 7.5KM.

Day 16: I was sore from all the hiking recently so I decided to take 2 days off and started up again on Thursday July 14th. I only skipped over about 500 meters of the Bruce Trail before starting my hike at the Caledon badlands which is at the end of Chincagousy Rd. That is the picture with the red muddy hills. I than hiked northward through a part of the Bruce Trail which is heavily forested. I only hiked 3KM before exiting on The Grange Side Rd. I than reversed course and walked back to my car. Total hike today 6KM.

Day 17: Friday July 15th 2016. I skipped ahead to the Forks on The Credit Park. You can park near Dominion St along the side of the road. You than walk about 1.5km along Dominion St past some nice fishing spots and a nice village. You than walk through Forks of the Credit Park which I had never heard before today. It is a beautiful park full of meadows, forests, a waterfall and challenging hiking trails. I hiked to the end of the trail of the park but the observation area was closed for some reason. I than double back along some side trails to see more of the park. The trail is also tricky at some points because of the incline and the guide lines were helpful. In winter it could be quite dangerous. I exited the trail back onto Dominion st ad went back to my car. It was 8KM hike this day.

Day 18: Saturday July 16th 2016. It took some research to find a parking spot for the next part of my hike. I finally found a spot where Willoughby Rd becomes Escarpment Side Rd. I reentered the trail and walked 1KM through meadows and forests until exiting back onto Escarpment Side Rd and starting walking on the road. Most of today's hike would be on the Rd. I walked down Escarpment Rd and took a small pedestrian tunnel underneath Hurontario St. The tunnel was made the Bruce Trail association so hikers don't have to run across a busy street. After walking a bit farther I went back onto the trail and the next 2km was mostly sunny meadows which was pleasant to walk through. I exited the trail portion back onto Escarpment Side Rd just before Kennedy Rd. I looked south and I think I could see my apartment building 20KM south of my present location. It would be my closest approach to my apartment in this whole trip. I than walked east until I reached St Andrews Rd. I than walked through 3KM more of actual trail next to a farmers field. It was a good hike until I ran into a large number of bees in a field of flowers. I made a run for it until I lost them. Thankfully they did not chase me for too long. I than found myself back on Escarpment Side Rd and after checking my GPS tracker I found I had hiked 10KM already. I than walked back westward on Escarpment Side Rd until I reached my car. I ran into a few other hiking groups along the way and I politely said hello to them as I passed. Escarpment side Rd in Caledon has some large and expensive houses and it is nice just to look at them. Total hiking today was 18KM.

Day 19: Sunday July 17th 2016. I parked at the end of Innis Lake Rd. I started hiking northward but today felt kinda funny. I had worn out my hiking shoes so I was having a hard time on the trail. I had new hiking shoes but they were not broken in yet so would be painful to hike long distances. I continued my hike northward and I was intending to Hwy 9 but somewhere along the way I wandered onto Pangrave Side Trail. The Bruce Trail is marked by white paint and the Side Trails are marked by blue paint. For some reason the side trails here are marked by the same white paint so I didn't see the turn trail turn. I only realized this when I realized the sun was in the wrong part of the sky for my hike northward. By that point I had 5KM and exited the Pangrave Side Trail onto Centreville Creek Rd. I walked another 3KM back to my car and headed home. Total hike 8KM

Total hike for the week. 48KM

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