On the Saturday of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, Tim and I drove out for a hike along the Bruce Trail. Knowing that he got a nice DSLR camera recently and had been playing with it lots, it was an opportune time with the fall colours to get outside. I also kept the location secret until we were driving!
Parking on a little street north of Eugenia (had to go a few places to find out that the parking was just on the dirt road where there was a bit of a clearing), we packed up out stuff; Tim with his camera, tripod, and binoculars, and me with the food, water, med kit, and map.
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| I'm just there for scale and light balance |
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| Using the tripod! |
The trail starts off at the 54.1 km mark going down the valley from the road, passing by a small empty green field along the left. Hooking to the south to go along the valley, the forest area was really colour above and underfoot.
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| The tree's on fire! |
There was no one on this part of the trail, so it was very peaceful and we had all the space we wanted to take pictures. On either side of the lookout, there are two stone culverts that were used in an attempt to make a hydro station in the early 1900's.
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| I was throwing leaves and stuff in the air while Tim was doing something meaningful with the camera settings |
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| Gotta love that 10 second timer :) |
Needless to say, the lookout point was spectacular...
Going down after the lookout point was a bit funny because we lost the trail, we tried going down this gravel hillside that was a bit slippery, but then we heard voices and saw the other culvert arch so all went well. On the return I'm sure we lost the trail again, but it was easier to see the destination. Regardless, we may have cut off some distance to Eugenia falls that way, helped by the fact that the water is low from the dam and the season.
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| Looking at the edge of Eugenia Falls |
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| Probably shouldn't step back |
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| To the right of Eugenia Falls, |
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| To the left of the falls, with the secondary waterfall |
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| Looking down from the edge was really cool, I took off my glasses first |
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| Tim looking pensive and wise |
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| The falls from top to bottom |
Despite the lack of people in these pictures, there were many people at Eugenia Falls, most of them with really big nice cameras too. One of them offered to take this picture, but too bad you don't see more of Tim.
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| Just enjoying the view |
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| Playing with long exposures |
The trail continued downstream a bit to get a better whole view of the falls. That leg to the right is the whole part we skipped by going down the steeper hill on the way in.
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| It used to be much larger before Eugenia Falls, Hoggs Falls, and a few others were harnessed for hydro |
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| This was my photo because when I asked for Tim to focus on the spider he thrust the camera in my hands |
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| History of the dam |
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| A really successful long exposure shot upstream of the falls |
At the most upstream point on the trail, you cross a pedestrian bridge. I decided to test how it vibrates. Conclusion: it doesn't, well not that much. It was a wood deck/railing bridge with a few steel girders underneath. You could tell there was a lot of redundancy.
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| This one didn't want to come out of the water |
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| Walking along the north shore near the falls on the way out |
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| Knit by my mom, this little one was for my trip to the Rockies and has hung out on my current backpack wherever I go |
We returned the way we walked in, but we got a couple of different shots along the way.
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| Tim found a nice rock where he did a few poses, but this was after he stopped posing. My favourite |
After getting back to the car, we decided to go check out Old Baldy. I was hoping it wouldn't be paid parking because the map had a red P instead of black, turns out it just means a larger parking area. When looking up pictures of this place the week before, it seems this place is popular with climbers.
The climb up the hill by car was really darn steep and less than 1-1/2 cars width. We saw this cyclist on the way up and we both had so much respect for this guy.
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| This guy's such a trooper! |
The walk to Old Baldy was really short so there were lots of people around not with intense hiking gear. What surprised Tim and I was the lack of signage warning of the steep cliff...even BC had signs when ridges and drop offs were coming. At its highest, Old Baldy is a 150 m drop, pretty darn sizeable!
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| No warning signs, but the view was excellent! |
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| Holding onto the branch for some stability (I'm right on the cliff edge) |
Tim was chasing some turkey vultures with his camera and then he got a few nice shots of Beaver Valley Ski Hill.
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| And the tall, skinny trees that look like they're on fire |
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| Adventure pose! |
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| Trying to get some depth perception on that edge, but it's difficult |
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| Now we get to see the actual cliff part |
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| Of course, sitting right on the edge of the lookout |
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| I found the climbers! There are signs advising not to throw stuff off the edge |
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| Big Ann, tiny trees |
Perfect weather. Perfect scenery. Perfect company.
:)
