Dan and I had our eye on the weather over the last 24 hours.  There were promises of thunderstorms last night, and rain today; so when we woke up and discovered some sun shining we decided to push for another 16-18 km.  Chump change for you Camino aficionados, but the escarpment is filled with challenges!

We parked our cars, and soon we were off!

Our trek today took us through lots of old growth forest, some at the top of the escarpment and some at the bottom!

We had just eaten breakfast, but my honey still found me some ripe blackberries for a treat!

With the rain from last night, the going was slippery, but lots of streams had been fed.  You could hear the collective sigh from the forest!  Soon we came across a lovely waterfall.The trail continued to throw challenges at us, including crossing a number of stream beds, many of which were freshly fed!  Note the white blaze on the tree across the stream!

At other spots, it was clear the Bruce Trail volunteers had been busy making life just a little easier for us!

The trail had many challenges in store for us.  Here are just a few!

Just when we thought we had come to a pleasant meadow with the trail easing up slightly, we discovered we were walking down a green run at the southern section of the Beaver Valley Ski Club.  The bad news was that we had to climb back up the other side of the runs, only this time it was to the top!!

First coming down the baby hill…All this in the first hour and a half of our walk!!

but soon we turned the corner only to discover we had to go back up,

And up…

And up!

Covering the ski from one side to the other and from top to bottom!  I think I prefer the chair lift!Of course, as we reached the top, the skies started to get heavy… Time for the ponchos!

and here comes the rain!

The rain was pretty short lived.  We soon were back in the woods experiencing some interesting specimens feeding off the moisture!

We also saw examples of massive trees recently brought down by lightening.  The green canopy smothered the charred wood below!

The mature forest coupled with the Karst lands gave us some pretty interesting sites.

Getting down into the valley kept some eager volunteer carpenters busy!

All in all, another day of gorgeous vistas

But the walk took its toll in my endurance!  Another 17-18 km day climbing an equivalent of 157 floors thru slippery, often treacherous forest paths has made me rethink our distances that we have planned.  If I want to keep up the walking, and be prepared to camp as well, we need to shorten our distances.  Dan has been great, and together we have worked out a revised plan that will let us savour the Bruce Pennisula!  Tomorrow we will drive to Owen Sound for a couple of nights, then go straight to Wiarton to start our Pennisula trek.  A doable 12-14 km per day, with hopefully a little less up and down will allow us to continue together!

After a nice dinner at a burger joint Dan and I are enjoying a wee dram.  Those stiff muscles are already starting to melt away!

Tomorrow, we’re in a campground.  Hopefully I can find wifi somewhere and post you an update.  For now, have a great night!