Hockley Valley Eastern Trails

This is our first official hike after deciding that we are going to hike the entire Bruce Trail. Cue Applause. We hiked this on November 15, 2025. This was a great start to our hiking journey. I picked a place somewhat close to home because this was also our first time to try truck camping. So I wanted to be able to drive home if it didn't work out. Hockley Valley is a part of the Caledon Club Section of the Bruce trail. We started the hike at 11 am and finished by 4pm.

Our route we took

Weather

At 11 am the weather was feeling like -1 which is pretty enjoyable hiking weather. However there were chances (90%) of thunderstorms and lots of rain. So I wore my waterproof pants and jacket. Well, well, well ... surprisingly the weather forecast was wrong. haha It did spit a little but definitely didn't need the gear I had. However, when going for long hikes always over prepare/overdress because you can always take things off. I had my jacket off for most of the hike and still ended up sweating. But I'd rather be too hot than too cold.

Hockley Valley Hike

Hockley Valley is a pretty busy little park. It is stunning with great trails but definitely more people than I like to see while hiking. It has so many boardwalk bridges to cross which is so lovely, who doesn't love a nice boardwalk? Oliver, thats who! I did discover that he no longer enjoys walking on boardwalks. He will walk beside it through the water (and sludge) if necessary. These boardwalks were covered in some ice and it had previously rained so they were wet aka slippery. This was the first time that he refused to go on them though.

Obstacle

We came across two logs that were down over the trail. This happens often enough that it's not really a big deal however these two trees were very long and were on a steep hill preventing us from going around them in either direction. So we had to either go over or under. Typically, Oliver and Mia will always go over however this time they couldn't. The trees were close enough together that they could not jump one tree at a time BUT they trees were far enough apart that they couldn't clear both of them in a jump. So the option was to go underneath. I had zero concerns of whether Mia could do it or not. As I was assessing the situation, she was already on her way crawling underneath them. Oliver, on the other hand, I wasn't sure if he could manage it. The top of the trees came to about my knee so the bottoms of them would be half way down my calf. All that's to say is that there isn't a lot of crawl space between the ground and the trees and Oliver is a big boy that can be unsure of new things. Mia led the way and showed Oliver exactly what needed to be done, so he just needed to copy her. Oliver hesitated at first but then did his little army crawl through. I was so proud of him considering there wasn't that much encouragement needed from me. He has gained so much confidence over the years.

Friendly Hikers

As much as I like the solitude while hiking, I do enjoy my little encounters with fellow hikers. Everyone is always so friendly while hiking. We met three ladies on this hike who stopped to chat with us. They told me that they have almost completed the entire Bruce Trail. This is very inspiring since I only just recently decided to tackle this big journey. They told me they have less than 100kms to go. They originally started about 4 years ago and they all get together usually once a month to hike. They started out as a group of 4 however their one friend had passed away so the three of them are continuing this journey in memory of that friend. They usually book an Airbnb once a month in a local location to the trail and get as much hiking in as possible. I had mentioned that I was attempting to truck camp and upon hearing this they offered their phone number in case something happened and they offered me to stay in their AirBnB if truck camping fell through. This was so generous and kind, although I declined their offer since I was confident that truck camping would be successful. To these three ladies, I know you will accomplish your goal! You've got this! Thank you for being an inspiration that it doesn't matter what your age, get out there in nature and just hike!

"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betides us; Let us journey to a lonely land I know" Robert Service, The Call of the Wild

Goals

This is the longest hike that we have done to date. We hiked for 4 hrs and 30 min and travelled 18.7kms. Of this 18.7kms, 14.12km are a part of the main bruce trail. I now hike using the Bruce Trail App and also the AllTrails App.

Truck Camping

With the hike now complete, our biggest new adventure was about to begin: truck camping. I had spent a lot of time and energy figuring out exactly what we would need in order to truck camp. I was keeping it as simple as possible. I would sleep in the passenger seat and the dogs would sleep in the back like normal. Upon setting everything up in order to sleep I realized that the dogs had zero space! Mia was able to curl up and Oliver barely had enough space to lay down. He would not be able to comfortably have a good sleep.

Unfortunately, this idea for truck camping wouldn't work. I decided to call the night and drive home instead. Back to the drawing board for this one!

Thanks for reading,

Kendal

Get Out There and Start YOUR Adventure!