Hike Report - Iroquoia 5

Section: Iroquoia, Sydenham Lookout Side Trail to Tiffany Falls Access Trail, Markers 58.4 to 44.8, for 13.7 km.

Hike Leaders: John

Hikers: John, Bill, Carol, Agnes, Margaret, Stephen, Jim, and Rudi

Cold and happy

From an 8:00 am start at Colborne Centre, on another very crisp January Monday morning, the Hike proceeded to Tiffany Falls to stage two cars and onward to the parking area at Sydenham Lookout on Sydenham Rd where the Hike accessed the Trail just above the Sydenham Lookout at marker 58.4.

Sydenham Lookout

The Hike moved briskly down the Trail to exit on Sydenham Rd and then down across the railway bridge to Sydenham Street then right at Melville St through the Town of Dundas to King St W. At the railway bridge the Trail moved onto Woodley Lane and then onto an old road allowance skirting the Dundas Golf and Country Club and rolling terrain to exit at Governors Rd.

Friendly neighborhood dogs

No side trails today which allowed a number of hikers to fulfill another end-to-end section.

Old School house

tree bark eaten by deer

Crossing Governors Rd the Hike entered the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, passing the Trail Centre and stopped at the Hermitage for a brief history update.

Conservation Centre

The Hermitage

Nearing the Gatehouse Museum and remote parking lot we were greeted by two romping healthy looking Beagle pups which ran down the slope to meet us. Neither had a collar. Nor appropriate winter weather protection. Nor was there a sign of an apparent owner in the immediate desolate area. They seemed to have been abandoned. Team members quickly picked them up and held them in jackets to keep them warm while Stephen hiked up Mineral Spring Rd to check for possible ownership at a couple of nearby homes, without success. Luckily, Bill remembered the near proximity of the Hamilton Conservation Authority Office and he and Jim hoofed up the road with “Lost” and “Found” to the HCA office and left the pups in the care of a doting staff.

"Lost" & "Found"

Both quickly returned to the Hike to proceed through the Carolinian Forest, past the partly frozen Sherman Falls to finish at Tiffany Falls Access Trail and Wilson Street.

Sherman Falls