October 2023
Ah, sweet October, that month that is so kind to hikers, especially in Ontario. May you all get out on the trails and enjoy the fall season.
Here's what you'll find in our newsletter this month:
- Bruce Trail Day 2023: And what a glorious day we had to celebrate our trails and our organization. With 4 hikes on offer, and an open house, our Club was busy.
- Toronto Club's End to End: 35 hikers completed the one-day challenge, and a further 68 completed in 2 days. Congratulations, everyone!
- 100 Saturday hikes in a row: ... and counting! Hike leader Mohammad Aghamiri took his love of hiking from Iran into the forests in Ontario, leading hikes every Saturday. Read the story to find the one exception.
- New Hike Ontario Rep: Congratulations to Jacqueline Van Dyke, chosen to represent the BTC on the Board of Hike Ontario.
- Humans of the Bruce Trail: Yolande Edwards, who grew up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, says she loves the Bruce Trail because being in nature is in her DNA.
- Grand Valley Trails: Looking for a new challenge that's close to home? Have a look at the Grand River valley trail system.
- Gatineau Winter Weekend: Martina Furrer has put together a new weekend adventure, in the Ottawa area - March 2024.
- Mark your Calendars: We bring you some of the highlights of our hiking program as well as other upcoming events, listed here to help you plan. Don't miss events like pumpkin picking, salmon runs, and a bus trip to Algonquin Park.
Happy October, everyone.
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Bruce Trail Day - "Bringing the Message of Welcoming to the Trail"
 From Queenston Heights to Tobermory, nine clubs were out Sunday October 1 for Bruce Trail Day, to welcome newcomers to join them in their love of hiking and the outdoors. The weather was perfect for a day to hike, meet new friends and to enjoy a summer-like day.
The theme this year was "Welcoming" and "Belonging for All." Your Toronto Club added two urban hikes for Bruce Trail Day, where accessibility is easier for many more people. In all of our four hikes (Mississauga, Toronto, Limehouse and Scotsdale) our hike leaders took special care to ‘make everyone feel welcome,’ and talked about how we want to build an inclusive hiking community. To see some of pictures from the hikes, go here.
The Club also had an Open House in Limehouse, offering hikers snacks, refreshments and information on joining the Bruce Trail Conservancy. A biodiversity hike, organized by KJ Chong, left Limehouse in the morning and returned to the Limehouse Memorial Hall for a social time. A bus hike leaving from Toronto and starting out on the trail at Scotsdale Farm was led by Peter Leeney. Peter's group followed a series of trails and made their way over to Limehouse to pick up their ride back to the city. Meanwhile, Hike Director Tom Swales led a hike in Toronto and Andrew Proczek led a hike in Mississauga that started at Erindale Park.
Bruce Trail Day celebrations are also a great opportunity to capture a photo on the trail for a “Moments of Wonder on the Bruce Trail” photo contest. From September 1 through October 15, the Bruce Trail Conservancy invites photo submissions of the places, people, wildlife and nature of the Bruce Trail that makes you feel a sense of awe. Learn more: brucetrail.org/photocontest.
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Beautiful Days for Toronto’s Annual End-to-End
 September 9-10 were beautiful days to be walking in the woods – a special bonus if you had challenged yourself to complete the entire 50k path along the Toronto section. The annual Toronto Club’s End-to-End event brought smiles, blisters, a rewarding finish, and a great sense of accomplishment.
In total, 68 hikers finished the two-day event (28 km the first day and 22 km the second day) and 35 hikers completed the one-day event on Saturday (an option that is offered every other year). The weather was near perfect and event coordinator Jacqueline Van Dyke received many compliments about the condition of the trails, the delicious snacks, and the overall organization of the event.
 "The highlights for me are always seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces when they finish." says Jacqueline. "It doesn’t matter if it’s their first time or their 14th time, everyone is so pleased to get their badge and appreciate reaching their goal. Some have trained for many months and there are some very determined people!"
There were hikers of all speeds and abilities, each determined to complete their E2E. Some were trying to finish first while others were rising to the challenge of completing their first E2E event of this nature.
Jacqueline was extremely grateful for the 20+ volunteers who helped prepare for the event beforehand and over the weekend. Volunteers provided assistance at the checkpoints, cheered on hikers and offered delicious snacks and water. In particular, Jacqueline's second-in-command, Linda and her husband David, have been involved with the End-to-End for 25 years, sending emails, coordinating permits and providing organizational support.
All volunteers are greatly appreciated in all the ways they provide assistance to make this event a success. They brought home-made cookies, created a foot-care station, and cheered with positive messages of support. Volunteers came from the Toronto Club, but also from other clubs. Twelve members of the Club’s trail maintenance team spent time on the Labour Day long weekend making sure the trails were in good shape. To see more photos of the event go here.
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Hike Leader Mohammad reaches 100th hike milestone
 Congratulations to Mohammad Aghamiri who led his 100th weekend hike for the Toronto Bruce Trail Club on September 16. He has accomplished this in only two years, taking groups out every Saturday (with one exception - he switched the hike to Sunday the weekend that his son got married on Saturday).
The car hike he led for this occasion was a 15k trek through the beautiful Wilder and Uxbridge forests.
Mohammad is an experienced hiker who got his hiking start walking the mountain trails in Iran. When he moved to Canada, he began walking the streets and parks of Toronto, eventually taking in more nature hikes.
During the Covid pandemic he led 6 to 7 hikes per week, following all the protocols, with two of them 12 to 15 k, and the rest around 8k. This added up to more than 300 hikes in about 2.5 years.
As a Bruce Trail member, he decided to become a hike leader after veteran hike leader Mina Kazemnia encouraged him to get his certification. Mohammad began organizing two regular hikes of about two hours each week. He has two groups of hikers that come out regularly, but all are welcome to sign up for his trips!
As a hike leader, he loves all of the Bruce Trail, but likes to arrange hikes that are closer to Toronto, making it easily accessible by car. “I am very happy that I can help others to get outdoors and hike in nature,” he says. Mohammad’s goal is to reach a 300th hike milestone as a Bruce Trail hike leader and to arrange more bus hikes in the future. “I’ll keep going as long as I am able to walk!” he adds.
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Jacqueline Van Dyke our Hike Ontario rep
 One of the Toronto Club’s most experienced and active hike leaders has been appointed as the Bruce Trail Conservancy representative to Hike Ontario. Jacqueline Van Dyke is a busy volunteer for our club, organizing the annual spring Hike Leader Training Program as well as the annual fall Toronto End-to-End event. Jacqueline will represent all of the BTC’s 9 clubs, providing full reports on our initiatives and membership on a quarterly basis. All of our hike leaders follow Hike Ontario specifications in its certification program.
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Humans of the Bruce Trail, featuring Yolande Edwards
On a regular basis, we will introduce you to members of the Club. We are, after all, humans of the Bruce Trail, joined by our love of the outdoors, and hiking.
 Q:1. Why did you join the Toronto Bruce Trail Club? I was introduced to the BT many years ago, by a member. I loved it and continued off and on to the present time. Growing up on the Island of St.Vincent and the Grenadines we were always outside, on the beaches, the rivers, the mountains and out back or front yards. Being in nature was and still is in my DNA. Hiking allows me to continue the love affair.
Q:2 Where do you live? In Toronto's West End.
Q:3 Most memorable outdoor experience? One of my most memorable hiking trips was the weekend trip to Algonquin Park, I did the Centennial trail, which was a challenge hiking through the rain. I enjoyed it. When we got back to the cabin we played Taboo with our cabin mates, we had a great time.
Q: 4 Favourite words to live by? My mantra is “ live as you go”.
Q:5. Most admired person and why? In my immediate circle the person I admire the most is my 27-yr-old daughter. She pursues her passion with determination and tenacity, and I often stand in awe of her.
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Discover the 250 km Grand Valley Trails and Quaint Rural Villages
 Tired of the same old trails? Why not travel further west from Toronto and explore the 250 km trails along the Grand River Valley. Not only are the fall colors peaking, but there are many beautiful small towns and villages to explore along the way.
In the northern part of the Grand River trail, you will find scenic views of the 22-m deep limestone cliffs of the Grand and historical limestone buildings with quaint coffee shops and boutiques in Fergus and Elora. In the southern part of the Grand River Trail, you can choose a loop hike from Brantford to Paris and check some local history and see the confluence of the Nith and Grand Rivers, or shorter hikes around Caledonia and Cayuga where you will enjoy beautiful views of the river and pretty picnic areas.
The Grand Valley Trail Association (GVTA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a registered charitable organization this year. Club President Annie Côté-Kennedy says that a new cairn was created at Belwood to mark the northern terminus. The GVTA Trails Guidebook with detailed maps and local points of interest was updated and published. An end-to-end hike was organized with a group of 20 hikers that are completing the entire trail together; the series of hikes started in April from Belwood Lake and will be ending in October in Port Maitland at Lake Erie.
The Grand Valley Trail offers a variety of landscapes and geography that is representative of southern Ontario including forests, natural park areas, a river valley and falls, villages, farmland, Mennonite farms and some urban portions, says Côté-Kennedy. Her personal favorites are the Elora Gorge and Fergus section and the Paris to Brantford loop. Hike leaders also like taking groups out around Natchez Woods area in Kitchener. The West Montrose covered bridge side trail is also a popular destination. Other urban areas dotting the trail include Kitchener, Cambridge, Caledonia, Cayuga, and Port Maitland.
The group hikes are led by Hike Ontario certified leaders. Non-members can sign up from the GVTA website https://www.gvta.on.ca/. There are also self-guided guides on the website as well as a map app.
The president suggests going to Google or the Waterloo Wellington Loops and Latte Hiking Guide to find unique coffee shops, pub lunches or to discover local bakeries, boutiques and galleries after your hike is done. “There are so many beautiful villages around the trail – and it really is very accessible for people coming from Toronto,” she says.
Fortunately, the 250 km length of trails isn’t as daunting to maintain as one might think. The president says that there are several overlapping trails and ‘shared agreements’ with various municipalities, and landowners to help lighten the load. “We are well represented with trail maintenance volunteers in many areas but we still need volunteers in some areas. Our goal is to grow our membership, raise our profile, offer more variety in group hikes and to continue to improve the trail,” says Côté-Kennedy.
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Coach Trip to Gatineau Park, March 1 to 4, 2024
 Join us for an awesome weekend of winter fun in beautiful Gatineau Park.
Skiers: come discover 200 km of classic trails, 100 km of skate trails, and 45 km of backcountry trails. With so much variety, you’re sure to find the perfect adventure.
Snowshoers/hikers: wander through amazing forests, past spectacular lookouts, and around tranquil lakes and wetlands on 80 km of snowshoe trails and 11 km of winter walking trails. Explore on your own or join hike leaders Nijole Mockevicius, George Lennon, and Tim Wainwright for guided hikes.
We hope to offer two guided snowshoe/winter hikes each day (full day hikes of about 8 km and 12 km). Routes and distances will vary depending on snow, trail, and weather conditions. Be prepared for hills. All fit, experienced skiers and snowshoers/hikers are welcome.
Spend your days immersed in nature and your evenings in Canada’s capital. Sleep at the Best Western Plus Gatineau-Ottawa Downtown, walking distance to shops, restaurants, galleries, and the Rideau Canal Skateway in downtown Ottawa.
Our luxury highway coach will depart from 10 York Mills Rd at 7 AM on Friday March 1 and be back in Toronto between 8 and 9 PM on Monday March 4.
Costs:
- Coach fare is $170 per person, $100 per child (12 and under)
- Accommodation is $494.15 per room or $247.10 per person based on double occupancy (includes three hot breakfasts)
- Lunches, dinners, trail fees, and gratuity are extra.
Registration opens at 8 PM on Sunday October 22. Non-members welcome. For more information visit the Gatineau Park Trip page. Questions? Contact Martina at martinabeatrice@gmail.com
Looking for more outdoor fun this winter? Saturday coach trips to southern Ontario’s best cross-country ski and snowshoe centres will run from January 6 to March 16, 2024. Stay tuned for the schedule.
Martina Furrer, Ski and Snowshoe Program Coordinator
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Mark your calendars
Notable Car Hikes
Oct 15: Maureen Smith tribute hike. A gentle, level 2 loop hike to honour Maureen Smith
Oct 22: Pumpkin picking and promenading. Family friendly. Super combination.
Notable Urban Hikes
Oct 8: Niagara Falls. White Water Walk, Cham Shan Temple and more. GO train from Union station in Toronto.
Oct 8: Fall Colours in Toronto. 2nd in a series of 4 hikes to enjoy fall colours, really close to home
Oct 15: Salmon Run, Etienne Brule Park. Family-friendly - watch the salmon leap up the falls as they go to spawn.
Upcoming Bus Hikes
Oct 7: Scotsdale Farm to Terra Cotta. Toronto E2E, 3 of 4
Oct 14: Blue Mountains E2E, Hike 2 of 6
Oct 28: Blue Mountains E2E, Hike 3 of 6
Oct 21: Algonquin Park, Centennial Ridges Trail
Mar 1-4, 2024: Gatineau Park weekend
For the latest in all our hikes (bus hikes, car hikes, urban hikes and coach hikes), check the Hiking Calendar.
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