Once in Tobermory, we headed directly to the trailer we’d reserved at Trout Mountain Camp. Good thing we had enough food for a make shift dinner as it’s a half hour drive from everything and grocery stores close early. The trailer was nice and clean and had a FURNACE. Definitely a step up from our tent, considering the weather hadn’t improved much. After settling in we went for a walk around the park and just missed seeing a BEAR. Again! Apparently there’s a bear and her cub that have been visiting the camp regularly so we looked for her every day. We saw the resident fox but never did get to the see the bear. Bummer.

September 20-24, 2021
Our search for a restaurant for breakfast was difficult as there’s not much in Lion’s Head. Many restaurants hadn’t opened due to the pandemic. A local told us about Bear Tracks, back on the highway and we headed there. It was excellent and we came out of there fully stuffed and ready to get groceries. We drove around a bit, got the “lay of the land”, considered a few hikes but the rain didn’t stop and again, we’re fair weather hikers so we headed back to the trailer. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon playing cards and just walking around the camp. There were lots of nice folks camping and some great puddles after all the rain.

The next day we had reservations for a glass bottomed boat cruise to Flower Pot Island, home of Fathom Five national marine park. Lucky for us the weather cleared and we enjoyed a great day! Not only was the island beautiful, but the hikes were great too. That was a surprise. Considering how popular and well visited it is, there’s still a good section that’s wild and the trail is technical in spots. The trail to the major attractions like the flower pots, lighthouse, caves etc is easy and well trod but the interior trail is great fun. On the way back we saw a couple of sunken wrecks easily in the incredibly clear water.

Monday we’d booked a 4 hour time slot at the Grotto in Bruce Peninsula National park. Click on this link to book yours.

One day we’ll have to go back when we can spend more time. This pandemic is really annoying. We did the accessible trail (Georgian Bay trail) and connected with the Marr Lake but if I were to do it again I’d skip that one and do the Horse trail, continue along the lake shore and do the Marr Lake trail. Of course if you’ve got all day you can do them all but when time is limited that’s the way to go. Horse Lake is not at all difficult but Marr Lake has several areas that are “technical”. Apparently that’s what you call climbing over rocks and big tree roots as well as up and down steep hills.

After such a good hike we decided we deserved fish tacos in Tobermory. We’d seen a place that claimed to have the best so headed over there. There’s still no dining in allowed so we sat on the patio. It was chilly and while the tacos filled us up, they weren’t that great. It was also more like a burrito, not a taco. So, if you go to the Fish and Chip place in Tobermory, try something else.

Back at Mountain Trout Camp we enjoyed the sunset and walked around some more, looking for the bear. Nope. She was elusive.

The next morning we packed up, looked for the bear once more and headed to Lion’s Head to hike that portion of the Bruce trail. Again, we’d booked a 4 hour time slot at the parking lot. Lion’s Head is another trail that needs more than 4 hours. It was “technical” in spots and the trail was sometimes hard to follow. It’s well marked but the trail isn’t obvious as there’s so much rock. We missed the lookout and went a little further on the trail which turned out to be a good thing as there are a few beautiful views further on.