Peter Schrammel - Mountains

3. 5. 2025

Peter Schrammel

Weather

cloudless

Interest

***: Nice section of the Bruce Trail along vertical cliffs

Route

Walker Line Bruce Trail parking, 205m - Mount Nemo lookout, 298m - Walker Line Bruce Trail parking

Elevation gain

198m

Distance

8km

Timing

1 3/4h (3/4 + 1)

Stamina

B: rough, rocky terrain throughout

Difficulty

A, 0: a short wooden ladder to reach the plateau, and a chain to help down a slippery rock later

Danger

3: never directly exposed, but 30-50m drops in vicinity of the path and at the view points; sometimes the path passes over crevasse-like cracks that a few meters deep; be careful with children

Visitor frequency

c: not many cars at that parking, but there is a second one accessible from Guelph Line; lots of dog walkers and a couple of families

Comments

Entry fee $11.87

Report

I spent a week in Ontario for a conference. I had some time on the weekends that I planned to use to explore the area in walking boots. Since the weather forecast was not very inviting for Sunday, I decided to go for a little hike after I landed in Toronto on Saturday noon. Mount Nemo is a cliff on the Niagara Escarpment, which I was more or less on the way to my hotel in Hamilton. The navigation systems setup in the car was suboptimal, and so I got off the motorway too early and followed my nose through the endless chessboard of multi-lane highways. After some time I decided to check whether I had completely lost my way. I was actually not too far away from my destination and the roads getting narrower and more winding was a good sign that I was approaching the hills. Arrived at the Walker Line Bruce Trail parking, I learned that I was supposed to book a parking space in advance. Fortunately, the parking lot was almost empty and the payment was quickly made on the organisation’s website that takes care of the conservation area. I put on my hiking boots and headed up the forest trail. The skies were overcast and I quickly warmed up to the slightly chilly temperatures. I soon reached the crags where I was warned by a sign to expect difficult terrain. The trail led over an overgrown rockfall area and finally passed via a short wooden ladder through a breach in the sandstone cliff to reach the plateau. Now I got abundantly informed that I was on top of the cliff and should not approach its edge. I continued on the Bruce Trail, a long-distance path that follows the escarpment all the way from Niagara Falls to Tobermory. The path crosses several narrow cracks in the mountain, which are sometimes several meters deep. The whole mountain is covered in forest. There are only a few places where the path approaches the cliff and the view is unimpeded. After several ups and downs I reached a stonewalled balcony where I could see the skyline of Mississauga and Toronto as well as Lake Ontario at the horizon. I extended my circuit by another loop along the cliff. Another balcony-like lookout offered a better view into the vertical cliff, which even features climbing routes. The way back led across the plateau. I had already heard some rustling in the foliage before, but I couldn’t see the animal that caused it. Hopefully no rattlesnakes. Now, I spotted the well-camouflaged chipmunks that were hustling from cover to cover. After a section on a gravel road and passing by a mound, which everyone seems to climb although there is nothing to see, I rejoined Bruce Trail and hiked back down to the parking.