20th September 2017

Graham’s Hill = 379km
Beaver Valley

It rained again overnight and we woke up to another very misty morning over the whole Beaver Valley. Our Host Jean-Claude made us a fabulous breakfast of fruit salad then Ham and Cheese Omelette cooked to perfection, beautiful way to start our day. 

A short 15 minute drive to today’s start point at John Muir Lookout. We were greeted by an amazing sunrise over a very misty valley. At least the forecast was good and the mist had started to thin and clear. Now back on day packs we were looking forward to a fabulous hike. The first 5km was zigzagging around patchwork meadows or fallow fields, along windbreaks of mixed native trees, Hawthorn and wild Apple trees. The trail itself was nicely cut and clear in some parts yet in others narrow and overgrown. Needless to say our lower legs and shoes were soaking wet from the overnight rain and mist clinging to the vegetation. Despite all of this it was a fabulous start to our walking day.

The next 3km was through mixed hardwood forest along the top of the scarp but away from any rocky ground just beautiful open forest that is amazing to walk through. There were a few slippery spots where mud had collected but nothing too onerous. I wish I could say the same for the next 3km odd. The trail went down the scarp and was treacherously slippery with the addition of some very challenging rocky bits. The accumulated rain of the past couple of days having run off the scarp had turned the ground into a mud rink. The only way to negotiate the trail was to step off the beaten path and take our chances along either side of the trail. The purpose of going down the scarp was to take us past some pretty spectacular waterfalls/cascades. Bill’s creek came out the face of the scarp as full on stream well below the bluff line to then cascaded down the remainder of the scarp. Sadly with the very slippery terrain we could not get very close to them but admired them from a safe vantage point. Once past this the trail went back up the scarp the last 100m+ was up a steep section with steps, which I normally hate but on this occasion I praised the trail builders for them. There is no way we would have been able to complete today’s hike with full back packs, the terrain was treacherous enough with our lightweight day packs never mind the big heavy ones.

Finally back on top of the escarpment we were back on good walking terrain until we got to an old abandoned chairlift and ski slope. A little further along the trail came out at the Beaver valley Ski Club slopes, an amazing complex of chair lifts with many slopes running down into the beaver Valley. The entire escarpment above us was dotted with ski lodges and chalets.

Finally back up the scarp at the end of what can only be described as a brain sapping slip and slide, we were picked up by our host and off to Collingwood to pick up a rental car. As we are scheduled to stay here for 7 days we thought it smart to have wheels so we can get out and explore some of the local cuisine and also get some essentials supplies from MEC a huge cooperative hiking, camping, fishing store in Barrie, 77km from here.

Now that we had transport we navigated our way into Thornbury to the Mill Cafe on the river. The food was fantastic, the setting brilliant and right beside a huge weir with a Salmon ladder up one side into a huge Mill pond upstream. This adventure is not only a long distance hike but fabulous Gastronomic journey as well. This may well be the first time I go home heavier than I left it.