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-H L F O M I S ir Official Media Sponsor Editor: Wilma Blokhuis Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com \ v i -:i ) m :s i >.\v. m a u c i i " , 2 ( k ). { · I 'a ^ c ( :i 9P P :-M i Courtesy of Phill and Anne Armstrong · Special to the Beaver Phill and A nne A rm stro n g atop S k in n e r's B luff along the B ruce T rail south o f W iarton. T he retired O akville couple led an end-to-end hike of the B ruce T rail over a tw o-year period Bruce Trail odyssey By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FO C U S EDITOR Tom Allen · Special, to the Beaver Looking at a pothole on th e B ruce T rail n e a r H ope Bay a re Diane T hom pson and Paul B ird of O akville. It's a hiker's paradise, a photographer's delight, a gourmet cook's open-air kitchen. It was a hike along the 826-kilometre Bruce Trail that will never be forgotten for its cama raderie. Friendships for life were forged along its wooded footpath and rocky brow overlooking Georgian Bay. Eighteen hikers trekked through fields of trilliums, waded through streams, marched in the rain, relaxed beneath warm sunny skies, and tramped through snow. They celebrated birthdays, two weddings, the birth of a grandchild, Canada Day and a 40th wedding anniversary. Diane Thompson of Oakville videotaped the whole hike, capturing those memorial moments, and edited it into a documentary complete with humourous commentary by fellow hiker A1 Pye. The yitljgp was, the, highU&ht ol' a reunion dinner held by the group at Ivtunn's United Church. Diane not only `filmed' the hike, she also wrote about it for the Halton Outdoor Club Newsletter. "On a single day it is possible to hike through mixed bush," she wrote, "a country lane, a pine forest, a stately stand of hardwoods and then emerge atop the high limestone cliffs down far below on the expansive waters of the (Georgian) bay. Many lookout spots dot the edge of the cliffs where you can see far out onto the lake (Huron). Such spectacles as Lions Head, Devil's Monument and the Potholes are just a few of the treasures that the Trail holds," Diane continued. "Lunches on boulder beaches, playing in the surf, dark brooding skies, spiral staircases, loons calling out on the water, gentle lapping water or angry crashing breakers, deep dark crevasses, a log cabin hidden among the trees ... these are just some of the memories we take home from the trail. `T he Bruce Trail is a world biosphere site, and lies out before the hiker like a gift. Each step along the way brings a uew vista, to shock Lhe senses. (See Hike' page C2) Mandy Walker · Special to the Beaver Leone C outts of O akville takes a break at a lookout overlooking G eorgian Bay. 340 L A K E S H O R E RO AD EAST D OW NTO W N O AKVILLE 905.338.0388 www.mformen.com fa ftlerdwdlgehtv> m 50 to 70%o§