Blue Mountains

Balsam wetlands to Glen Huron

Hosting Club: Blue Mountains
Category: Organized Hike
Location (Google Maps): Tim Horton’s, First Street, Collingwood

Hike Leader(s): David Little Click here to contact Hike Leader(s)

Pace: Medium – 3 to 4 km/hr
Terrain: Moderate – Some hills and/or some poor footing
Distance: 12 km

Description

This is a car shuttle hike. We will drive to and leave the cars on Station Street in Glen Huron and drive to km 37.4 (BTC parking lot off Cty.Rd. 91) to begin the hike. The trail winds its way through privately owned forest and farmland eventually coming to a viewing platform south of Cty. Rd. 124. The hike continues down into the valley and at km 30.6 we meet up with the Mad River Side Trail. Following the side trail parallel to the Mad River we continue on to the cars. Bring a snack or lunch and water.

Beaver Valley Geology Hikes Badge Hike total 8

Hosting Club: Blue Mountains
Category: Organized Hike
Location (Google Maps): Tim Hortons on First St. in Collingwood.

Hike Leader(s): Annette Sandberg Click here to contact Hike Leader(s)

Pace: Medium – 3 to 4 km/hr
Terrain: Moderate – Some hills and/or some poor footing
Distance: 7.1

Description

This badge is earned by hiking each of 8 hikes outlined in Beth Gilhespy’s first Bruce Trail Geology book, Walking Through Time, and then submitting a log which includes the required
photo taken during each of the hikes. This is a great opportunity to boost your knowledge of the geology of the Niagara Escarpment. Gather some hiking buddies and become rock
hounds!

Visit and take a photograph of 8 features profiled in Walking Through Time:
1. June 14 – Len Gertler Memorial Loree Forest: Natural Arch at Stop 4 (Pages 47/48)
Natural arches are created when water pounding against a cliff face exploits cracks and crevices, gradually
wearing the rock away. Natural arches can become flowerpots if erosion continues. Thousands of years ago
the level of the Great Lakes was significant higher and lapped up against the promontory of Loree Forest.
2. July 5 – Margaret Paull and Indian Brook: Flowerpot at Stop 2 (Page 52)
Flowerpots are created by water that exploits cracks and eventually removes the material between the flowerpot and the main rock face. The water smooths and rounds the rock of the flowerpot. The flowerpots at Indian Brook were created several thousands of years ago when lake levels were significantly higher than they are today.
3. July 23 – The Mill Creek Valley: “Castle Ramparts” at Stop 8 (Pages 63/64)
The Manitoulin Dolostone layer of the Niagara Escarpment forms a steep edge along the valley of Mill Creek.Over time the thinly bedded rock breaks away from the cliff face and lies scattered along the slope. Many shell and horn coral fossils can be found in these flat, shingle-like rocks. Note that when leaves are fully out
in the summer months the “castle ramparts” may be hard to see. A photograph of the talus rock below the cliff will be sufficient for this badge location.
4. August 2 – Fox Ridge and McClusky’s Rock: Badland at Stop 4 (Pages 72/73)
Queenston Shale is the bottom-most layer of the Niagara Escarpment. Where vegetation is removed, the shale appears as a “badland”. The brick-red shale has long been excavated along the Niagara Escarpment to make bricks.
5. August 20 – Falling Waters: Waterfall on Stew Hilts Side Trail at Stop 3 (Page 86)
At the lovely waterfall on the Stew Hilts Side Trail water trickles over the hard Manitoulin Dolostone layer and falls onto the soft Queenston Shale.
6. September 3 – Wodehouse Karst (Southern Route): Rock Outcrop in Bowles Gully at Stop 9 (Pages 98-100)
At Bowles Gully two Escarpment rock layers – the Amabel Dolostone and the Manitoulin Dolostone – outcrop along the sides of the steep ski hill.
7. September 20 – Wodehouse Karst (Northern Route): Fossil in the Barn Foundation on Stone Foundation Side Trail at Stop 6 (Pages 95-97)
Barn Foundations are wonderful places to see many different rock types, including the Escarpment’s Fossil Hill Dolostone layer, which is full of coral and other fossils.
8. October 1 – Griersville to Webwood Falls: Erratic boulders at Stop 4 (Page 109)
Glacial erratics are rocks picked up by glaciers and transported great distances to be left behind as the glacier melts. These erratic boulders are 1 billion years older than the local sedimentary bedrock, and originally came from the Canadian Shield.