The weather reports were dubious as we set out from the Kimberly Drive Side Trail for our hike to Tiffany Falls. But we are an optimistic group and were in high spirits.
Little did we realize that our idyllic hike would be threatened by a menacing, mythical creature. But I digress: more about that later…..
All was sunny as we began our initial climb up the Wentworth Steps – all 290 of them! We were wishing we had worn our anti-gravity shoes.
The ground was muddy from all the rain and the first cold trickle of fear came when we noticed an unusually large footprint in the mud. It was so huge… could it possibly be human? But what kind of creature has an enormous foot AND wears hiking boots? That’s when we realized we could be on the trail of the mythical Urban Sasquatch.
We tried to put aside our thoughts of what might be lurking on the trail and enjoyed the scenic urban landscape.
Although the weather was still sunny, dark clouds were building and the sky grew dark. Our sense of foreboding grew as we found more clues in a patch of mud.

If you look closely, you can see the coarse dark hairs embedded in the mud. It seemed we were on the verge of a close encounter…..
On previous hikes we had encountered the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Spring Wildflowers. Today we were in the Land of Never-ending Ugly Metal Staircases. Next on the agenda was another set of stairs: Fortunately, this time we got to go down.
At the bottom of the stairs was a detour which took us through some lovely neighbourhoods with gorgeous landscaping. In particular, there were many stunning Japanese maples. Just as we were getting dehydrated and hypoglycemic, a wondrous sight appeared: a sidewalk lemonade stand! We rushed over to purchase some lemonade. At that exact moment, the skies opened and deluged us with torrential rain. This sent the little lemonade maidens into a tizzy.
Back on the trail, we stopped for lunch at a log perfectly sized for 13 derrieres to sit comfortably. As we sat down to eat, I thought I saw a large dark shape moving in the undergrowth. It was standing upright on two legs, but… it had no head! When I looked again, it had vanished.
We had a brief moment of brilliant sunshine and were able to enjoy a wee waterfall that spilled across the trail.
Soon we had to cross Highway 403. The traffic is scenic when viewed from a pedestrian bridge, safely out of harm’s way. By this time, it was drizzling again.

If you look carefully at the navy car, you can see that it is driven by a large, dark headless creature.
From here, we descended yet another artistic and lovingly hand-crafted metal staircase.
As always, the urban hike is a study in contrasts. If we looked to the right of the trail, this was the view:
Look to the left, and this is what you get:
We re-entered the woods, at last away from the drone of traffic. This is when Deb heard something – a large beast, perhaps? – crashing and growling in the bush. We stopped to listen.

Deb senses danger.
We couldn’t see the creature, but we all sensed its presence, so we grouped together in threes for safety.
All at once, it appeared, springing out from behind a tree. The legendary headless Urban Sasquatch! We were in deadly peril.
Pat and Anne saved us by scaring it off with hiking poles and a water bottle.
We were safe from the beast, but we still had to risk a busy road crossing before arriving at the lovely Tiffany Falls.
Great day everyone! Who knows what we will encounter next time?
Pingback: Bruce Trail Beauties Report in from their End-to-End of the BT | Toronto Bruce Trail Club