S1.Ep17 "Devil’s Glen – Freedom Rock" - Hiking The Bruce Trail

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Season 1, Episode 17 : “Devil’s Glen – Freedom Rock”
We began our journey on HWY 9 where we left off a few weeks earlier. It was a gorgeous sunrise and the leaves were beginning to change – with a 25C degree day in October we knew were in for a treat. Everything looked amazing the entire day as you will see, with glowing fields and golden autumn colours backed against a clear blue sky.
Field walking to start the day and weaving in and out of woodlots and road sections to eventually make it to the Transcarioca / Bruce Trail Friendship trail where beauty abounds and the apples were ripe and plentiful.
More pleasant road sections led up to Nottawasaga Bluffs Conservation Area where things got very interesting. We first took the short, and highly recommended, Keyhole Side Trail which led to a network of spectacular crevasses, and ultimately deep into the bowels of the Earth as we did some caving.
We took the long way around the Conservation Area walking through diverse environments – meadows, cedar forest, glowing autumnal deciduous trees, and eventually, the fantastic lookout where we ate lunch and gazed out over the vast and colourful rolling hills below.
After lunch we took another side trip to explore the fascinating “Freedom Rock”.
For more information on “Freedom Rock”, it’s history, and location, check out this great article : https://people.ryerson.ca/valliere/freedom.html
“Individualist Are Diamonds”, “Try”, and “Do Good” are a few of the interesting carvings etched so long ago in the escarpment rock.
The day got better as we made our way along the escarpment ridge then deep down into Devil’s Glen where the Mad River flows. Of course, when you descend into a deep river valley you also have to climb up and out the other side. Whew!
We caught some incredible views through the trees of the Mad River Valley and where we had came from, as the sun shone during the golden hour of the day on the great majesty below.
We pushed a bit further to Conc 10 where we ended the day just as the sun was setting,
Sunrise to Sunset on the trail – a well lived day.

Notes
Season One covers the first 450 km of the trail from Niagara to Collingwood and is 19 Episodes – airing weekly, every Tuesday from Nov.9th 2021 to March 15th 2022 on YouTube, Rumble, CloutHub, BitChute and Minds.
Visit SteveWelchOntario.com for more information, links to episodes, and music from the series.
Comments are welcome – Have you hiked this area? Are there other good trails nearby? Do you live in the area and have stories to share? Old escarpment legends or family history? What influence has the Niagara Escarpment and the Bruce Trail had in your life? It would be great to hear as well from those around the world who love to get outside and enjoy and appreciate the beautiful land.
Thanks as always to the many people, past, present and future who work tirelessly to create, maintain and improve our trail systems. And thanks to the landowners who share their beautiful land. It is very much appreciated.

Details:
Bruce Trail Reference Guide Maps: 21-22
Total Bruce Trail Map Distance : 28 km plus side trails
Step Counter Distance 32 km
Music from the Episode:
“Backstabber” from the retro archives.
“Glad You Have Come”, and “Pray For Rain” from the album Steve Welch 2019
And “Pebble In A Stream” from the retro archives
Intro : “Things Are Happening” and “Alive Healthy and Free” from the album Upland
Outro : “Algorithm” from the album Upland
Individual songs $0.99, Upland Album $9.99 (16 songs)
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Available at : Steve Welch (stevewelchontario.com)
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