Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Old Baldy

I cancelled our photography group outing to Old Baldy when a heavy downpour came over an hour beforehand.  But once the rain had passed I told the group I'd be there in case anyone showed up, and one person did.  By then the rain had long gone, so we enjoyed a nice walk out to the cliff, and two more members of the group caught up to us a little later.  The view was spectacular!

I think this was the best fall colour I've ever seen from the cliffs of Old Baldy.  It was a bit hazy in the distance, but the bright Sugar Maples were everywhere.

We started in on the Bruce Trail, and initially when we stepped into the woods the atmosphere was all yellow.  The golden canopy filled the atmosphere with a gentle glow.

But as we proceeded down the trail, the woods turned green again.  The edges of the woods had turned mostly yellow, but the interior was still mostly green.

Lots of plants on the ground, including these now frosted Bracken Ferns as we got close to the cliff.
And then we emerged at the first viewpoint, and had a look over the valley.  The village of Kimberley is in the centre of the picture, the old slopes of Talisman on the upper right.

To get a view down to the south of the valley, you have to cross some jumbled rocks out to a 'flowerpot' of limestone, the most visible tall cliffs in the area.  You get a neat view through the big 'V' of rock, but I've had quite a few people who were too nervous to follow me here.

No problem today; we got out to the top of the open flowerpot and enjoyed the spectacular view south down the valley.  We live above the valley on the upper right of the horizon.  There is far more forest cover in the valley than there was 50 years ago, but a few bright green fields mark where farmers still harvest hay.

The sun was coming and going (mostly going), but we got a few pictures with the trees lit by the afternoon sun.

Then we headed back down the trail through the now very yellow woods.

With the crunching leaves underfoot.

From a downpour an hour earlier, it turned into a memorable view of the valley, well worth the walk.

19 comments:

  1. The view and the colours are spectacular!

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  2. Gorgeous! I like the shots under the canopy as much as above. Incredible nature.

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  3. Beautiful colors and a spectacular view...this is why fall is my favorite time of year!!

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  4. What gorgeous autumn color. I doubt that we are going to get anything this spectacular in the mountains of Tennessee this year.

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  5. Wow - your fall color is amazing right now!

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  6. Beautiful! The autumn colours are gorgeous.

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  7. Wow, what grand colors from the vistas!

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  8. Fabulous! Glad you were able to go, take pictures, and share them with me. :-)

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  9. What an amazing colour show, awesome photos.

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  10. Oh mercy---what beauty.
    we get some color here but our woods are mostly full of conifers with some big leaf maple and golden Larch. Not too many reds. I wish!
    Thanks for sharing.
    MB

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  11. Wow. These are spectacular photos and views. Gorgeous colours.

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  12. We had a mountain in Southern California called Mt. Baldy. It got its name because of the bald granite peak that was exposed after snow melted in the hot summer months. Its real name was Mt. San Antonio. - Margy

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  13. You do truly live in a very beautiful part of Ontario and I love those long sweeping colorful Autumn vistas. Know what you mean about that golden glow in the forests and for me that is an integral part of Autumn's majestic magic.

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  14. What a wonderful time of you!!!!! Oops. I mean year!!!!

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  15. Stunning views of your valley! I grew up along the escarpment in north Burlington/Milton. My family spent many happy days hiking along the Bruce Trail as it runs through Mt. Nemo and Rattlesnake Pt. with similar limestone cliffs.

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