I dropped my car at a parking lot just east of the current Welland Canal at the 18.2km mark of the Niagara section of the trail. It was a bit of a guessing game whether we could hike the planned 18km but we thought we should be able to do it. We drove my son's car to Queenstown, parked and looked for the Bruce Trail Southern Terminus cairn. After some searching through parking lots and parkland we finally found the cairn.
We began our hike and it wasn't long until we came to our first puzzle - a old metal mechanical hoist that may have been used to lift and move rock from a nearby quarry - still not sure after searching for some information on line.
We continued on to the 7km mark where we crossed the railway tracks to be informed that the trail forward was closed. We saw what looked like trail blazes heading along the road and followed until we hit Mountain Road in Niagara Falls. We followed the blazes along Mountain Road, a 4 lane city street and a number of times wondered if we were going the right way. The blazes were there but we wondered if they were trail blazes or something the local hydro marked on their poles. In the end we trusted that it was the right way and ended up, after about a 1.8km detour, meeting back up with the trail where it crosses Mewburn Road at the 9km marker. A lesson for future hikes - check the Bruce Trail website where this detour was posted if I had looked before hiking.
Shortly after we rejoined the trail, we arrived at the pedestrian bridge crossing over the QEW.
After travelling along country roads we headed back into the bush at about the 12km marker and a short while after came upon a historical site called Woodend in the Woodend Conservation Area. Some research showed that Peter Lampman, a United Empire Loyalist established this property in 1779 and some of the original buildings have been incorporated into the present day structures. Very interesting that there was a "3 gun battery" on this property during the War of 1812 due to the commanding view out over the land below.
Walking along the escarpment we came across many spots where the limestone had broken away from the escarpment - here is a picture of a large section that has broken away sometime in the past.
We travelled down the escarpment and walked along and through the Royal Niagara Golf Course.
The last 2km was probably the most interesting part of this first hike as we came up out of the bush to hit an old section of the Welland Canal. I took some pictures but unfortunately I seem to have lost or deleted them in error as I can't find them - too bad! Researching a bit of history, the 1st Welland Canal was built in 1829 to allow ships to pass back and forth, over the Niagara Escarpment, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. What we encountered at the 16.4km marker on the trail was the 3rd Welland Canal opened in 1881. The canal and locks that the trail follows for approximately 1.6km, are in incredible shape for being a 100+ years old. The locks are built with large stone blocks and although some of the locks are starting to fall apart, many were still intact - what an amazing sight and engineering feat and a great way to finish up the first day of hiking the Bruce Trail.
Final tally for the day was about 20km with the detour.
The feet were a bit sore but I'm already looking forward to the next hike!
Completed: 18.2km
