So 1,200,000 steps south of sixty is the title of my blog. I came up with this name as over the past months I have decided to hike the Bruce trail. \240The trail starts in Queenston and ends in Tobermory, Ontario and the total length is 912 km. \240I calculated to hike 912. Km you would take approximately 1,200,000 steps! \240I called it South of Sixty as I will be celebrating my 60th birthday this summer.

I first heard about the Bruce Trail. In about grade 7 when a friend of mine wanted to Walk the trail with me that summer. \240Being young boys it sounded exciting and we talked about it a lot, but in the end we were too young \240to do the trip. Years went by \240and life got busy, \240marriage, raising a family, running a business occupied my thoughts \240for the next many years, but somewhere in the back of my mind \240I still wanted to complete a major journey by either riding a bike or hiking at some point in my life.

One day a friend of mine suggested the Bruce Trail and I loved the idea. The idea was given thought over the winter and started to come into form this spring. \240I am not 100% sure I can complete the hike as at this point it feels overwhelming but I do know it will also take alot for me to give up as generally that is not in my nature.

\240 \240 \240

I walked past the place I took Linda on \240 our first date ( we went fishing with a bottle of my dads homemade wine!)

I was very excited and happy to have everyone support me and even take time from they’re \240busy day to walk a couple km’s with me! They even made Duliban 60(my age soon) shirts that everyone wore!

The best part was when Paisley fell into the mud and got covered in it ! \240After a few tears she decided to walk back to the car with her mom Kelly however changed her mind and turned around to walk with the others stating Duliban’s \240don’t quit things they start! \240I was very proud of her and it made me think that it would take a lot to stop the hike in my mind as well.

Today was a great day after that great start. Felt good most of the day and walked 24.82 km ending up at The Bench Brewery! \240Total 61.72 km hiked!

It was a good day and I think I have found the secret to preserving my knees. \240I now have two knee braces that I will wear full time. Guess you do what you have to do to get it done!

Here are some more photos of the day!

\240 \240

I have walked the entire Niagara section of the trail and am starting the Iroquoina club section!

After lunch I continued on my own and the day featured straight well worn easy hiking trails and the kms continued to add up!

I hiked past Stoney Creek ( I had never saw the actual creek before)

Later in the hike I saw Red Hill Creek and Kings Forest Golf Course ending the hike by climbing a super huge set of stairs in Hamilton, not exactly what you want see after 28 or more Kms but I did make it up to the top where I stoped the hike at Jolley Cut in Hamilton ( A Nod to my Gramma Jolley The total today was 29.04, all in total of 115.62 km

It was a total day of 8 hours hiking and the first 3 km or so I walked past many homeless people under the over passes. \240It was unnearving and I just wanted to keep walking. \240 The next 5km or so it was constant motorcycle noise as I was close to Hwy 403 and everyone was driving motorcycles to Port Dover. \240It is Friday the 13th today and it is \240a tradition for people to drive motorcycles to Port Dover on that date.

A Quick note to say if any future generations of Duliban’s ever consider walking the Bruce, maybe don’t walk by Hamilton on Friday the 13th!

After a few Km’s, the day changed as the trail turned into a nice quiet day! \240At one point I climbed up a large hill and thought it was the perfect place for a lunch. After the big uphill climb I set up my lunch setting and my water bottle fell over and rolled down the high hill! \240I had to climb down the hill and go back up again! \240Guess those things happen!

After that, the day was great \240 I passed many waterfalls and the trail was easy her are some photos

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240

The day finished \240at a dog park by Clapton Corners by Hwy 6. \240Hamilton is behind me and it will start to get more remote from now on. Today was a total of 30.60 km and a grand total of 146.40 km hiked! \240I am well on my way!

Km 10 to 20 saw \240mainly conservation park hiking with probably the most people ever on the trail, lots of couples and day hikers. Waterfalls galore again and a nice hike along Grindstone creek

The next km’s \240featured unfortunately about 7 km of roadway walking with no sidewalk. I had to be careful in this stretch!

And finally I ended the day at Nemo Mountain conservation area

The last km again was a little hard to finish but I did it! \240After that I took an Uber ride back to my starting place and a bit of rest before my me.

Today I hiked 29.86 km for a grand total of 173.48 km

The first 3 km was a road hike. That gradually turned into a nice conservation area where I encountered my first river crossing of the day.

Around the 10km mark or so I entered another park and every few hundred feet they had a carved bench to sit on!

Later on in the day I crossed Kelso mountain and Glen Eden ski resort. Lots of people mountain biking today. I walked the ski slopes on top of the escarpment for about 5 km before winding my way down to the bottom.

Lastly I walked under the 401 Hwy and finished at Hilton Falls conservation area. This is where I will start my first three day hike on Saturday! Today I hiked 30.81 km for a total hike of 204.8km since the start!

After about 5 or 6 kms,the path turned away from the escarpment and I just saw forest interior for a while and saw a nice bridged river crossing.

After about 12 km I turned onto a road and encountered an old vacant gas station and I sat down and had lunch.

Just after lunch a wild hail storm with lightning came through. I was very glad that I could just sit under the porch and stay dry!

After about an hour the storm cleared and I continued my hike \240on roads and interior forest. Lots of downed trees on my path!

I was glad to finish the day when I saw my motel. It’s not the best place ( think Dunnville Motel). But it’s a warm bed and place to crash! Todays total was 27.99 kms.

The first few km were inland forest hiking up and down followed by the odd water falls!

We had to move or walk around many trees blocking the path today from the storm yesterday!

After that we hiked down down some country roads and eventually came across a mailbox that said \240“Jasper and Janet”. \240Both of us never said anything about it but both remembered it for some reason.

Later that evening we went to the “The Copper Pub”. It \240turned out to be owned by Jasper and Janet”!

All and all it was a great day of hiking with Jason. Nice to get together and have a fun day! Today we did 28.68 km of hard hiking and good times. Good job by all!

However shortly after that \240the day started for real! \240The hill is called Devils Pulpit and it took me 26 minutes to get down it!

Finally the bottom, and a nice walk along the Credit River. \240A few Km later and the road! \240 I think I walked 20 km \240on dirt, paved and then busy roads today.

After that the road continued however I did have some nice views ( still seeing the CN tower)

At one point I walked under a Hwy in a tunnel!

I met a couple of nice hikers today, one guy who was a Bruce trail professional who has walked it 5 times, and also another couple that walk the trail each day, and also pick up garbage as they walk!

That last couple of kms, I was back hiking in the forest! \240Lastly a couple of nice views. A stone walking bridge I finished the day hiking 32.55 km! Grand total after 10days of hiking is 292.07 km!

Today I hiked through Hockley Valley. \240A beautiful golf ski resort.

Over 34 km hiked I Finished the day hoping to finish a the 29 km mark however Apparently I am \240out of range for Uber so I had to hike another 4 or 5 Km’s \240ending the day at Mono Center where I \240connected with a taxi back to the Orangeville Motel

View from taxi going back to my motel, 326 total Km ! \240That’s more than 1/3 done!

\240

\240

I officially crossed into the Dufferin Highland section of the trail today This is section number five after Niagara, Iroquois, Toronto, Caledin Hills.

\240 \240

\240

The day ended up at Christ church in Shelburn ON! Over 30 km for the day 355.27 total hiked!

The First couple of km’s was an easy hike down a county road Then about at the 3 km mark, I turned down a path beside the Pine river, \240This river had the most water since early in my hike at Balls falls. It also had the remenents of an old mill.

Continuing along I came to a fishing pond and an old fisherman \240told me to keep hiking Young man! \240Feels \240great!

A few Km’s later it turned into a large uphill hike that turned through the forest, over a fence and then up another large hill. \240I looked up and Holy Cow I’m in a pasture! That’s no Bull! \240I hope! \240I carefully hiked past them and then over another fence to a pasture with the nicest views ever.

My Tesla was happy to see me when I finished today and had a big smile! Totals total was 24.26 ending in Lavender, ON! \240Weekend total was close to 85 km and total to date is almost 380 km!

How does a tree grow on a rock?

This would be a great place to stay a couple days!

Finally the trail went down to the Noisy River.

After that, it featurered road hiking \240then back up the escarpment where I had lunch. \240After lunch the trail made its way to Nottawasaga Bluffs conservation area where I picked up the car and will start tomorrow. 22.39 km today!

It was nice hiking with them however they both go faster than me! \240We talked a lot and it made the day go fast. \240Even better, not to long into our hike we connected with “Ian”, A nice man and hiker from Burlington who is also trying \240to complete the trail!

Together we had a great day and pledged to do it again tomorrow!

The hike started at Nottawasaga Bluffs however we did not see any Bluffs, \240it was however nice trail walking

Eventually we crested the escarpment and saw a couple nice views today.

We ended the day walking along \240pretty \240river for a daily total of almost 27 Km’s.

The hike started immediately with a huge uphill climb up a mountain , once we got on top, we had really nice views.

Many hours of walking past Bruce mountain ski resort and lots of mountain bikes to dodge today. Blue mountain is a very large village with lots of people enjoying the outdoors

We saw our first views of Georgian Bay today.

Also Bailey had a lot of fun swimming in every brook we crossed.

Eventually we said goodby to Brent for the day and just Ian and I carried on the day. It was pretty level compared to the last couple (at least the first 15 km or so) The last km’s were hard but we made it. It was nice to see the car It was also nice to hike with Brent, Ian and Bailey today. We did over 31km today! \240I am hoping to complete another 28k tomorrow but it is looking like rain. I will do the best I can.

It was raining almost all morning which made for a wet slippery hike today but I was determined to push through and get the km’s in today. The day was pretty level compared to the last couple (at least the first 15 km or so).

I met a couple new friends to hike with!

About 20 km in I had to climb around a large cliff that must have been over 100 feet high.

The day also featured some nice places for a break or lunch.

\240 \240

The day ended with Buddy Brent and Bailey picking me up again to bring me back to the car.Thanks Brent!

Later on, I came across views of what looked like Russian missiles but they turned out to be old silos.

Later I looked across the valley to a ski resort. I would be walking up tomorrow.

Later in the day, I hiked by two beautiful waterfalls (Hoggs falls).

Eugenia Falls

Towards the end of the day, I came across this sign. I think it is encouraging and does show I’m over half way.

Brent and Bailey pick me up and met me hiking the last 2 km or so and Bailey chased and caught a porcupine only to get about 40 quills in her mouth. We had to go to a general store to get some medical cleaning alcohol for her. She turned out to be ok!

We finished the day with a bbq at my cabin for the next three nights.

The day was mostly forest trails early and all was going good until about 10:30 when I slipped on a Muddy section and was covered in mud from head to toe. Of course the next three rivers I hiked by were dry and I could not clean off until about noon!

Later in the day I hiked up Beaver Valley ski resort. These hills were hard to climb!

The day finished in Epping ,ON where my trail Angel Linda picked me up again. We had a nice dinner in Kimberley at Justin’s Oven Todays total was 30.68 km with a grand total of 547km’s.

Then drove to my starting spot in my taxi as my car was at the finish spot. The first 10km’s were road walking it was fast and easy but a little boring

Finally I walked into the trail and boy it was a hard trail to follow. At times I could not find it and was unsure of where to go

In the end it was a half day of easy roads and a half day of hard trails

I finished the day at Woodfort community Center and did a lot of Km’s. I think almost 32.

I checked into the KOA campsite and spa and set up my tent for the next five days. Nice place again, it will suit me just fine.

Reminents of an old house.

And then I come across this sign!

It was dark and a little scary that early in the morning. I did not want to disturb a critter.

At about the 10 km mark it turned to road and I walked them for 20 km today.

During the last couple km I was back in the forest and came across the tree that was carved during WW2 by a polish solder!

Today I hiked a total of 33.14 km another long day. Time to sit by the fire and have a Bobby Margarita!

After that, today featured lots of cliffs and a beautiful falls that was not much less than Niagara. The first km’s were hard hiking, very Rocky and I had again had to walk through narrow caves!

I think the hiking even got harder and rockier as I walked on the bottom of a cliff.

How can a tree grow like that?

I eventually found my way to Inglis falls where I met a couple older guys sharing the day,visiting the falls. They were nice enough to take my photo.

Onward I hiked. The last 10 km’s or so I had to step over very deep trenches that were are least 100 ft deep and about 2 feet across.

A taxi ride back to my camp and now I pack up for tomorrow again,Todays hike is 30.66 km. Instead of saying how far I have hiked in total, I am now looking at the remaining distance which by my app is 230 km’s.

Finally by about 9 am on my way starting the day with urban walking that turned into a road allowance!

I found an old homestead that I’m sure a family lived in years ago.

After about 10 km’s, I started in the forest and saw some nice views.

I decided to call this day me and my shadow as I never saw another hiker the entire day.

The day ended with my trail Angel Brian and his wife Karen inviting me for supper. It was a nice gesture and they have really helped me along with some rides and pickups! \240Nice people!

They have a dog named Paige and get wood delivered each night by Sonny from the K O A campground, Thanks for your help!

Shortly after that, I started up the road and found a hugh marsh about 4 km’s \240in.

Then I climbed up the mountain. It started \240slow and was fairly gentle but a long slow climb. It started through farmland and then upper fields.

I came \240across a slightly scary sign, at least it sounded like only one bear the way it reads ? \240 \240 \240( I hope)

Next up was a long series of narrow walled trails.

Finally up at the top I got some nice views.

Todays hike was a total of 22.05 km’s, That’s leaves about 178 km to the finish line!

On top of the bluff, I got my first look at Colpoy bay in Wiarton.

I walked \240right along the edge of the escarpment for quite a while.

After some road walking, I ended up at the Wiarton airport.

One last dramatic climb and I was in Wiraton.

Todays hike was over 14 km’s. In the last nine days I hiked 251 km’s.Today, I drove home to rest and enjoy the summer and family for a couple weeks and rest my feet. \240I plan to finish the hike starting and July 6 when I continue the adventure from Wiarton to Tobermorry!

I had my car parked by the pier in Wiarton and I was met by Wiarton Wille the ground hog!

Easy walking first couple km’s.

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240First water view

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240Wow. Nice water colours

\240 \240 \240

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 Looks pretty remote to me !

After a short hike I checked into the mile Inn Motel and Spa for the first night. I hope to have to have a good sleep as tomorrow will be 24 km plus.

Couple of Km’s along Colpoys Bay along a beautiful road until turning up the escarpment.

On top, I saw an old homestead. Can you imagine living here?

Lots of beautiful views along the waterline today. Most of the day, I walked along the top of the escarpment looking at it!

Great place for lunch.

The afternoon was all forest hiking with lots of rocks to step over. It was tiring.

Nice to get to my motel in Lionshead for the next couple of days. My backyard view great \240as I hear kids swimming in the bay. Just over 128 km’s to go!

Todays hike started at Cape Crocker Indian park and ended rush Cabe Rd. for a total of 24.91 km’s.

The day started fast and furious as I had to climb the bluff immediately.

However once up top the morning views, were worth it.

Once up however the trail decided to go back down. It was very steep.

And finally after hiking a couple hours, I saw Hope Bay, well worth the wait.

What a quite beautiful bay.

Around the town and back up the bluff. Once up, I had the best lunch spot ever!

Spent about 20 minutes here resting and \240having lunch! Great Day To Be Alive! I had to do a panoramic shot!

Lots of interior hiking in the afternoon \240to my finish spot for the day.

Just over 100 km left! \240Tony is coming tonight so I have a guest hiker for a couple days! \240Looks like good weather tomorrow as well so that’s great!

We stopped for lunch not at any lookout but we were choosey and only picked the best.

But the day got hard after that. With several trips up and down the bluff.

We were both sore and tired but the beer and bbq at the end of the hike was worth it, back at the Lionshead beach motel ,Under 75 km to go! Thanks for the great day Tony!

This was our lunch spot.

We found our Rattlesnake friend in front of us on a side road today.

Later, lots of views of very clear green coloured waters.

Along the trail we came across Devils monument, it looks like the flower pots in New Brunswick.

The last and hardest part in the day was at the end.

I have less than 50 km to go!

Finally reaching the Bruce peninsula National park boundary by about 11.00 AM.

After that we moved my car to the end point and Tony took me back to the mid point and we said goodbye. It was nice to have him hiking with me.

On my own again!

The afternoon walk featured about 10 km’s down a snowmobile trail.

Then I reached the corner at the top of the peninsula and was back to the rocky paths and views.

The rocks were slippery today as it rained last night.

This was my lunch spot.

I’m excited that tomorrow could be my last day. At this point I’m all arranged for the finish but the weather looks bad. I hope the forecast improves as it would be nice to finish on a nicer day!

I have talked about this trip a long time and I have many memories coming to me from different days on the hike as I look at the photos.

This is my cabin tonight at trout Mountain camp! If the weather holds, it will be one night. If it’s pouring tomorrow,then it’s two nights I guess.

Is it the last perfect night or the calm before the storm?

The trail started out nice for a couple km’s.

Interesting rock to walk under.

A couple nice views followed.

A bit further walking and the trail had me walk on the beach!

It was actually hard hiking.

More dramatic views followed.

This was the Grotto which had lots of day hikers coming down to look at the water. It actually felt better when I passed the area and had the trail to myself again.

Unfortunately, it started to rain hard. The trails got wet and it was becoming dangerous slippery rocks that lead to the falls.

I decided to stop the hike at the car leaving about 7 km’s to go. I will go back to my cabin for one more night and look at my trip photos. Tomorrow, I will finish rain or shine! Today I did manage to walk over 17 km’s in threatening rain and still enjoyed it. Tomorrow, I’m done!

I just packing up my cabin again and this time I know it’s the last time

Todays \240hike will start out wilderness but end up at the ferry dock and the Northern Terminus ! \240It feels like a long time ago that Linda dropped me off at the southern Terminus shaking her head as I started the hike!

The Southern Terminus on May 5. 914 km’s,33 hiking days and \240one eye surgery later, I hope to be standing at \240the Northern Terminus in a couple hours!

John my camp buddy dropped me off for the last leg. I’m ready !

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 The trail started easy

Are these my last views of the Bay from the trail?

If they are, they look beautiful.

I think this was my last harder section on the trail.

I made it to the welcome Center and they had an observation tower I climbed.

My last trail marker.

\240 \240 \240

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 \240 I made it!

I started by calling the hike 1,200,000 steps south of sixty but it turned out 1,000,000 steps south of sixty and 200,000. Steps north of 60 as I am now over 60!

Thank you to all my drivers and friends I made along the trail. Thank you to the hikers that joined me for sections. Including Tony,Brent, Jason and Kelly.

Special thanks my family for all the positive support.

Lastly. Most special thanks to my trail Angel who picked me up and dropped me off when I needed it. Never complained when I was gone, came up to visit me in what ever motel spa resort I was staying at \240and welcomed me home.