Borer’s Falls Hike

Sunday, January 27 – 2008
13:00 – 16:35
Start: 13:10
Roads: Dry / Clear
Visibility: 24km
Temp: +1C
Area: Borer’s Falls
Vehicle: Black Sunfire
Weather: Overcast, Cold, No Wind
Trail Conditions: Snow Covered
Hikers: Tori, Wolf, Chuck, Merlin, Morgana
Plan: Hike to the waterfall
GPS: 43.29347 x -79.93674

13:00 Arrive in Hamilton as we originally wanted to goto rattlesnake park. We found a closer park using google maps!

13:10 Hit the trails. Lots of other people around, we want to get into the gorge and explore.

13:20 We found a gentle slope downhill to the bottom of the gorge. During our descent I started to go fast, and saw a nice large treetrunk infront of me. I put up hands up to grab a hold of the tree to stop my descent and to my surprise and the laughter of Chuck and Tori – the tree snapped and fell over! I toppled down the hill screaming but did not fall over. We then continued on.

13:40 Merlin and Morgana found a raccoon in a tree stump. We ripped the dogs off the tree and grabbed some photos. Nearby was a sign stating “Bruce Trail Campsite – CLOSED This sign must have been here for a great many years as they stopped camping on the trail decades ago.

14:20 We started to the ravine where the waterfall was located to find a wonderful evergreen – possibly a cedar growing through a big rock. We took some photos and chuck noticed some blood on the ground. Merlin was bleeding from his front paw. We stopped for a bit to bandage-up Merlins left front paw using some duct tape and a dollar-store dickie that Chuck had. We normally don’t carry first aid kits, but our hikes have become increasingly difficult as of late. We just proved the need for one.

15:02 We stopped for a rest a fair distance from the waterfall location. On one side was a sheer rock wall, on the other, the partially frozen stream.

15:47 We arrived at the waterfall with some difficulty. There was a lot of debris scattered about near the waterfall in the form of old antique pots and pans as well as large bails of old fencing. It’s very beautiful here. We found a nylon white rope stretching from the top of the canyon to the bottom. We could have done this in 1/8th the time but it was fun either way. We took some photos and relaxed then headed back out. The rock face had some great ice formations to photograph and Tori stayed closer to the rim of the canyon. During our photos – Tori let out a bone chilling scream!

Chuck and I raced to see what the issue was only to find nothing wrong but the dogs whining was really bothering her. Chuck and I returned to the ice formation to grab some more photos.

16:10 We made the rather challenging climb up the steep rock face with some old beat up and questionable looking ropes.

16:20 We made it to the top of the small canyon and made the brief treck back to the car on the road. During the hike we could hear the cries of a hawk overhead.

As usual I wore my faded glory boots, goretex gaiters, military underwear, blue coveralls, parka, ski-mask and new military hydration pack and my black WWII Reproduction goggles – which fogged up right away and were useless. I need to buy some proper ones for these harsh environments.

16:32 We arrived at the car, changed Merlins bandages and examined the gaping wound in his hand and removed our gear to head for home.

It was a great hike and a great waterfall with amazing ice formations. The best part about this spot was a challenging hike down into the canyon and even more challenging to reach the area. That meant for us, there was a greater degree of desolation.