This was the first hike for which I didn’t have to cross the James N Allen Skyway to get to my starting point. That more or less means I’m off the Niagara Peninsula. The trail circles the Dundas Valley and cuts through the town of Dundas itself. The route isn’t direct — the valley holds Hamilton Harbour, and the trail builders clearly decided no sober pedestrian should have to walk the Skyway.

I was a bit worried that this one was going to be boring. But no! There was lots of stuff to see and to relate. I’m hoping that’s the case going forward. The reason I say this is because, looking at the map, the trail kind of goes through nothing particularly interesting until you get to Collingwood. Luckily I still have lots to talk about.

Despite the fact that I started at Tiffany Falls, I didn’t actually visit the falls. I’ve been there before, and was anxious to get started. The parking lot was empty, but there was a pay station. I had to pay $11.50 but it wasn’t clear why. There were signs around that said no barbecues or parties, one hour limit. One hour limit on what? Parking? Anyway, I paid the damn money and hoped that my car would still be there when I got back a few hours later.

Shortly after Tiffany falls I hit Canterbury falls, which is down a very short side trail. After looking at it I realized I’d been there with my children. Not that long ago, but also so long ago. Time to move on.

Usually I listen to podcasts while walking. But this time I decided I would wait on that. Why? I’d noticed in the past that wild animals are most active in the early morning before the humans arrive. I wasn’t wrong. I heard a commotion in front of me and thought it was other hikers. I looked up to see a fully grown male white tail deer standing on the trail. It moved away before I could get a good photo. But, I did manage to get a few snaps of it in the distance. They are way bigger than you think. Just like the coyote.

After this I found myself in the ruins of an old house. It’s called The Hermitage. It was a country home for a wealthy family a long time ago. I sat there for a while. It’s really neat that the city sort of “reconstructed” the facade of the house. I bet it’s really spooky in the fall at night.

Unlike almost all the previous hikes, it was at this point I noted a lot of people on the trail. An awful lot. And they had water bottles strapped to their waist. Et cetera. I had stumbled upon some kind of hiking event. Happy Trails Racing as it turns out. This was at about 8:30AM, and a race was ending. There was an announcer saying that the winner had covered 160km in 24 hours. After looking it up they do a 7km loop. You can sign up to do it one, two, or three times, or as many times as possible in 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours. Pretty wild, my joints are killing me after 25km of walking on these trails, I can’t imagine what running over 100km would feel like. I wonder how many of these people are over 40.

Following some more forest-y and meadow-y sections of trail I found myself walking through Dundas, Ontario. My gosh what a lovely little town. Full of historic houses and churches, with a busy Main Street and two breweries. Neighbours were out talking, people were going to church, and children were playing in the parks. What a lovely little life a family could have here.

While hiking through Dundas I noticed the large cliffs looming in the distance. Just after going through the town I noticed a side trail that seemed to go back up to the top of the escarpment. I decided to have a look, even though taking side trails slows my progress a bit. I wasn’t disappointed, I was treated to a large CN freight train transiting a bridge I hiked under, and on that theme noticed that the trail itself was a former rail line, with the ties and spikes still in the ground. The lookout was stunning, with views over the entire town and out to Hamilton harbour and Lake Ontario.

The rest of the trail went through lands managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens and I stopped at “Rock Chapel”. My customary Uber ride went fine, my car was still in the parking lot, and I decided to drive back into Dundas for lunch. I first tried the Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. but was told the main dining room was closed for an event. Instead I visited their “patio” which was a few tables in a very narrow alley between buildings. There were many people there and all were looking at menus. This is a reliable sign that the service will take a while, so I bailed. Instead I walked down the road to Barrel Heart Brewing & Blending. They are a very posh “farm to table” type place. The food and beer were very good, but very expensive and you don’t get much of it. I used to love this “local” slow food type stuff. But, it really only works when you have someone to share it with. On your own you just want a pint and a sandwich that’s not outrageously priced.

Only 728km to go!