Hike Devil's Punch Bowl

The hike around the area of Devil's Punch Bowl near Hamilton was on Saturday, November 6, 2004. This was our biggest group yet of 10 hikers.
I think there is a quote: "even the best laid plans sometimes falter".
The hike to Devil's Punch Bowl turned out much differently than planned, but a success nonetheless. All ten hikers had fun, it was sunny, we saw wildlife and waterfalls, we didn't really get "lost", and there was a lot of laughter! Some of the highlights were: having navigators (people in the passenger seat, not to mention some in the back seat too) that couldn't follow directions; seeing four White-tailed Deer; seeing the two waterfalls that we hiked to; the sunshine; no fatalities; and we were even asked to stand in for a photo shoot by five photographers (all shooting pictures at the same time ... like we were models or something); oh, and a great workout too! The discouraging part was all the construction, and I mean a lot of construction! Construction on the roads, construction on the trails, construction everywhere! Because of that, the Bruce Trail had a very long detour that we decided not to take (it was along a road), so we doubled back to the car at that point. We saw the great Punch Bowl at the end of our trip, and the view from there was wonderful, even though there was no water. It's a dry time of year, I guess. Then, not to break tradition, we headed to Tim Horton's for hot soup, tea and ... there was even a surprise award given out.
Thanks, everyone, for your participation and good humor.
FOCUS has been a great success so far! :)

Hike Crawford Lake

The Hike to Crawford Lake was Saturday, October 23, 2004. Three of us hiked in and around this beautiful conservation area. There was a large lake with a boardwalk around it, and easy trails through the woods that connected to the Bruce Trail. Again, the colors were spectacular! Also in this area was a really cool old village of the Iroquios. Oh, and we went to Timmy's too!

Hike Hilton Falls

The Hike to Hilton Falls was Saturday, October 16, 2004. This time we hiked to see the blazing colors of fall, a beautiful 10 meter waterfall that cascades over the Niagara Escarpment, and a glacial pothole. A group of six hikers enjoyed the day walking, exploring, and seeing the sights. The colors of the leaves were spectacular this day and we even got to walk behind the falls. Lunch was in the area of the falls and we even had a visit from a horse wearing hiking boots!! No kidding! Since this is a well-kept conservation area, there was firewood and a place to build a fire. Someone else already started a fire, so we ate and kept warm. The pothole was a lot smaller than we anticipated, but was fun to see, nonetheless. It became worth seeing when one of the hikers decided to use it as an amphitheatre. We, of course, hit Tim's after the hike!!

Hike Mount Nemo

Mount Nemo was our first hike together as FOCUS. We went on October 2, 2004. While driving to this conservation area, it was rainy and we were doubting whether this was a good day to hike or not. We sat in the car for a few minutes waiting for another car to meet us and watched the rain come down. When the second car arrived, the rain disappeared and we had a wonderful hike in the woods and on the escarpment. We hiked for a total of 4.9 km which didn't take us too long. This trail follows the old quarry road to the Brock Harris Lookout (968 feet above sea level) before turning north through the forest along the edge of the escarpment cliffs. The trail follows the escarpment rim with spectacular lookouts along the way. The pathway passes crevice caves (which are really cool to explore), rock fissures and talus slopes. A group of six hikers showed up for this hike (one is behind the camera). After the hike, we headed to Tim Hortons for a few more laughs and some hot drinks.

Why "FOCUS"?

FOCUS (Followers Of Christ Under Submisson) is a title I chose for my group because I wanted to choose a word that expresses both what is in my heart and what I want to do on these hikes: focus on nature, focus on building relationships, focus on not getting lost, focus on having fun, and focus on adventure. The great thing is, you can focus on anything you want, and you can change your focus any time you want!

I developed this group at the end of September because I wanted to get out and discover Ontario (my new home) with friends and family.

The start of FOCUS

The trip to Rattlesnake Point in September '04 that sparked my desire to create FOCUS