It was a beautiful day for a hike as we set out from Rock Chapel parking lot for our 16 km hike to Signal Hill. Initially, hopes were high for a smooth uneventful hike…. we should have known better!
It turns out that a number of the Limestone Ladies suffer from Cinderella complex. First of all, Susan showed up wearing these beautiful, but egregiously inappropriate shoes. She could barely wobble along the trail in these sparkly beauties. How was she going to manage 16 km?
Lynn and Ellen seemed to have been reading the same hiking manual:
Despite the outrageous footwear, we proceeded on our hike. The first scenic vista was Borer’s Falls, once the centre of the thriving community of Rock Chapel
In the early morning, the dappled green sunlight filled the trail with enchanting shadows. A magical place to hike!
This section of the trail featured a lot of ups and downs. Hard on the knees!
Just to remind us where we were, we had a few scenic glimpses of Hamilton through the trees:
We soon approached the relentless high-speed traffic of Highway 6. Would this idyllic hike end in tragedy as the ladies tottered across lanes of traffic in their high heels? NO! There is a tunnel!

The Highway 6 tunnel is really a modern art gallery. Graffiti artists have been hard at work. Note the lighting.
Now, we had a little problem with Deb. She didn’t have a Cinderella complex like the others. It was more of a Rapunzel complex. She found a ruined tower (well, more of a hut) and sat there, waiting to let her hair down for Prince Charming.
Our Ladies are always graceful. Look at the smooth way they glide over this fallen log:
The trail was difficult and we started to hear more moaning and complaining from the Ladies, due to their sore feet:
For quite a long distance the trail winds beside the incredibly pretty and musical Grindstone Creek.
We were not done with the shoe delusions that defined our day. We had a couple of ballerinas who felt the Trail was their stage. They tried to put on a performance of Swan Lake.
We arrived in Waterdown with a spectacular view of the Burlington Skyway:
It was a hot day and we all needed to cool down. Everyone had their own unique way of staying cool

Yes, and some poor deluded soul even tried to climb a tree in high heels (did not end well for the tree).
The last comment of the day goes to the beautiful Shagbark Hickory, a rare native tree found abundantly on this section of the trail.
Great hike, ladies. See you all in September, when we will hike to Mount Nemo wearing ice skates.
I believe that the seed pod that we couldn’t identify may have been a nut from the shagbark hickory. See the first photo on this page http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/ClimateChange/2ColumnSubPage/267323.html
Yes, I looked up the shagbark hickory last night and found pictures of that green nut. Apparently, they are edible. Especially if you are a squirrel.
Mary discovered that the plant with the blue berries is Blue Cohosh. Good think we didn’t taste the berries. http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=341
Is Blue Cohosh deadly?
There are mixed reviews about the toxicity of the berries. http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-and-innovation/science-publications-and-resources/resources/canadian-medicinal-crops/medicinal-crops/caulophyllum-species-blue-cohosh/?id=1300902637835#a7
If black cohosh cures all of the symptoms of menopause, perhaps blue cohosh puts a blue rinse on the whole thing!