We decided that on this relaxing day we would drive around the island and see what we could. This meant time to study the road map. Finally we decided to head west for awhile, then northward. We had considered going to Meldrum Bay to see the historic lighthouse site, but that was going to take too much time. We would have spent the day driving again. So we modified that plan.
Mindemoya was the first town we stopped. We looked a the gas gauge and wondered if we needed to pick up gas while we could since we were not sure what would be possible later. And it gave us a chance to have a chat with a nice couple who suggested we stop by the local museum...which turned out to be closed. But we got a chance to grab a couple of pictures of some of the old houses.
We then continued traveling northward since all the good hiking trails seemed to be in the northeastern section. The first hike we found was a short one called Bridal Veil Falls in Kagawong.
Next we traveled to Mchigeeng to hike a trail that climbed up the escarpment and along above the cliffs. We got some great views of the North Bay. To get to the trail head, the description was to go into town and start behind the ball park off of the highway. Very little signage so it took determination on our part to locate the trail head, but what a nice hike it was.
Finally we went on to a hike called the Cup and Saucer Hike outside of Little Current. This hike is well marked and very popular which we noted as we drove into the parking lot to find very few spots left for parking. We did meet and chat with a lot of people on the trail, but it was all in good fun. This hike was a bit more difficult and had great views. The hike has several levels of options, from a 1 ½ hr short less strenuous hike to the 4 hour strenuous hike that covered about 12 km.
We did not have the time so we did the 2 hr hike in 1 ½ hrs. There is one part of the trail that drops down to a rock ledge for about 500 meters called the adventure hike. However, I was in sandals and we did not want to push ourselves too much so we opted to look at it, but not take that route.
By this time we had reached the end of our ‘free’ time on the island and had to make tracks to the ferry terminal at South Baymouth. All day we have had clouds, hot and humid weather that threatened to rain, but other than a few drops while walking the Cup and Saucer Trail, it has been good. On our way to the ferry it started to rain and the fog closed in. We are happy we did not get caught hiking in this, but had hoped to be able to enjoy some views of Lake Huron as we crossed over to Tobermory. No luck all was grey, the sky, the water and the fog. But I do have a picture of the ferry we traveled on from the internet.
We got off the ferry to discover that rain continued. Our agreement is if it is raining, we get a hotel room. Well that looked to be like fun, everyone else thinks the same. The hotels were all booked up in the immediate area so we just decided to start to drive up the Bruce Peninsula until we found a hotel. Fortunately we found a Best Western in Owen Sound. Considering we had been hiking and sweating, I think others were happy we found a place with a shower and a hot tub.
We both feel more relaxed today and miss not seeing the Bruce Trail but the forecast is for more rain tomorrow in that area, so no point in staying here to wait out the rain and we do not want to look at a 3 or 4 hour hike on the Bruce Trail in rain. It can wait for another time.
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