Day Twenty-Seven, July 31: "Gratitude". Devil's Glen to Lavender, 24.5 km., 7.5 hours.

There was nary a cloud in the sky.  The Trail started out running alongside fields of wheat, shining golden in the sun.  Once again I was reminded of how grateful I am to our farmers who allow access to the escarpment through their land, thereby helping to create a continuous trail.

I entered the forest, where the Trail hugged a rock crevice that sliced through the land. Ancient boulders of coral bordered the path. Listening to the wind rustle through the maple leaves high above me, I realized at that moment there was simply nowhere else in the world I'd rather be.  Even the bugs were co-operative, making themselves scarce.

The Trail turned rougher and rockier for a short time, more like the terrain I'd experienced in the Peninsula section, but it reverted quickly back into grassland.  Vast marshes and scrub topped the escarpment here, dipping into valleys between two rocky rises.  Quite often the Trail would take the form of rickery boardwalks choked with wildflowers.  It passed a beaver pond with numerous lodges; the residents were nowhere in sight.  A catbird called from a nearby shrub, her cries reminiscent of a kitten vying for attention.  I stopped to watch the antics of a pair of northern flickers in an abandoned orchard.  When I continued on my way, I startled a doe who had been resting in the tall grass.  

I think it was in these vast meadows high atop the escarpment that I first felt I could hike forever, one step after another in a hypnotic rhythm.  Not to have a goal of finishing, but to just hike in the wild and never stop.  Regretfully I had to leave Nottawasaga Bluffs when the Trail arrived at a dirt road heading south.  It soon swung back along farmland, though, and came to a beautiful overlook, meadow and pasture stretching for miles.  I don't often stop for lunch but I had to, here.  Someone had thoughtfully placed a picnic table at just the right angle, very near a plaque thanking the Richard Ivey Foundation for securing the site for the Bruce Trail Conservancy.  Ivey is a name well-known and highly regarded in my home locale, particularly for philanthropy.

Increasing cloud cover made for a shadow-filled walk through the Noisy River area. Boulders loomed ominously, and rocky crevices were dark and forbidding.  I was glad to get out in the open again, where I headed for the hamlet of Lavender and my rendezvous point with Martin, my British host.