Jones Bluff and Dangerous Rock Fissures

On January 7, the pups and I started our next adventure hiking in the Bruce Peninsula. This Jones Bluff trail was a continuation of a trail I did back in November 2025 Coveney's Loop to the Rock Formations. We had woken up pretty early to get a head start on this day which was likely to be long. We had a two hour drive to this trail head, which we were able to arrive at by 10am. The last time I was in this area, at the end of November, there was a bit of snow but nothing too concerning. Since then it had snowed much more!

Start of the Hike

There is normally a small parking lot on the side of the road however at this point in time, the snowplows had buried it in snow banks. No big deal. I just parked further down the road and then the pups and I hopped over the bank and started our hike. From the get go I could see that no one had been on this trail for quite some time. There was no foot path to follow which makes walking in snow more challenging. The Bruce Trail closer to my home is so well travelled that even if we received a ton of snow, it is generally well packed down. This isn't the case in the Peninsula section. I assume because it is less populated, people that do use the Bruce Trail likely go to the "hot spots" and ignore the rest of the beauty that this trail has to offer. From the beginning, I could see we had our work cut out for us as we broke trail through the snow.

Mia checking out the rock fissure that she just crossed.

Rock Fissures

The scariest thing about this hike was the rock fissures/crevices/chasms that we kept encountering in the beginning stages of our journey. A rock fissure is essentially a gap in the rock that can be anywhere from a narrow crack to large chasms. These fissures present potential risk for both myself and the pups, as there is a higher chance of injury. Given the recent heavy snowfall and the fact that there had been zero traffic on this particular trail, it was concerning that these gaps between the rocks were completely concealed beneath a thick layer of snow. This obscured visibility increases the likelihood of an accident, as there is a real danger of my foot inadvertently slipping through one of these fissures and becoming wedged or twisted. Such an injury could have severe consequences, greatly affecting our ability to safely return to the truck after our hike.

 It was after the first fissure that Mia discovered the danger firsthand, when her front paw unexpectedly fell through the snow, revealing the hidden gap below. Alarmed, I quickly uncovered the snow to gauge the depth and width of the fissure, assessing how far we would all need to jump in order to cross safely. This initial encounter heightened my awareness of the terrain, and I soon learned to observe the subtle differences in how the snow settled on the ground. I began to predict where the fissures and crevices might be lurking. Notably, the snow tends to sit slightly lower on top of a gap than on the surrounding rock edges, which became a crucial observation for our safety. This required a heightened level of vigilance on my part, along with a considerable amount of patience from the dogs as we navigated through the uncertain conditions.

At one point Mia came up to a fissure and "fell in." She was still held up by either the rock or snow on each edge but wasn't able to use her legs to remove herself from the situation. I quickly grabbed the handle that is on the back of her harness, realizing how grateful I was for it. Every time we approached a fissure, I would command them to stay back, allowing me to carefully use my foot to uncover the gap, ensuring that we could pass safely without mishap. While I was insistent on them listening to my commands, not going to lie, they didn't always. At one point as I'm trying to uncover a crevice they spent the time jumping back and forth over top of it, as if it were a game. The game being trying to stress me out as much as possible.

Reflecting on our journey, I realized that the first kilometer was particularly fraught with rock crevices that demanded our utmost attention. There were moments when I seriously considered turning back and seeking out a well worn trail, as I did not want to be reckless or jeopardize the safety of myself or the pups. After all, the goal of our hike was to enjoy the beauty of nature, not to put ourselves in harm's way. Nevertheless, despite my fears and doubts, I chose to press on.

Continuing On

This day was somewhat mild, it felt like -5 degrees celsius which meant that any warmer gear I had been wearing was soon torn off so that I didn't overheat. The foggy day prevented us from having a grand view at the lookouts, yet it still enhanced its beauty. This reminded me of our hike Mono Mills Winter Hikes. That day, too, was mild and had foggy lookouts. As much as I would have loved for a well trodden trail, it was really peaceful to have a forest to ourselves.

The first part of the trail presented a significant challenge, as the snow reached depths ranging from shin to knee level. This considerable accumulation made navigation quite difficult, requiring us to exert extra effort with each step. As we continued along the path, we noticed that the last segment of the trail transitioned into a wooded forest area. This shift in terrain was a welcome change, as the trees provided a natural barrier against the harsh winter conditions. The foliage overhead and the surrounding bushes helped to reduce the depth of the snow. Here, the snow was much less formidable however because we had exhausted so much energy at the start, even with less snow it was still extremely hard work trekking through. By the time we reached the forest, Oliver was so exhausted that he decided to follow in my footpath. Mia, being a tough little cookie, still led the way for all of us. This actually had me thinking that we were walking like a little wolf pack, since they put their strong young out front, the old in the middle (yep - thats me!) and the alpha is in the back.

Rock Fissure Continued

I know, aren't we done with these rock fissures yet? Apparently not. Since this was a loop and the start of the hike had quite a few rock fissures then that means ... you got it ... the end also has some rock fissures. The majority of this hike we didn't have to deal with rock crevices or being cautious of where we put our foot so my guards were definitely down and of course thats when it happened. Yep! My foot went through two rocks. It did get wedged a little and I had to reposition in order to get it out. I was completely ok and nothing was injured but it is amazing how easily your foot has the potential to get wedged/injured while winter hiking, especially in the peninsula section.

Conclusion

This was one of the hardest hikes we’ve done based on all the breaking trail through snow.  Since, this hike was a loop, that means we were breaking trail the entire time. My calves were on fire for the last bit of the hike and for the rest of the night. The next morning I woke up and they took a while in order to loosen up, they were so stiff, as I hobbled around in the cabin.

For this hike, having snowshoes would have been beneficial. They would have assisted with the deep snow and reduced the chances of my foot slipping into a rock crevice. Deciding whether to bring them is difficult because the Bruce Trail includes road walking, and as I mentioned earlier, the snow in my area is compacted. Walking on roads and packed snow would mean carrying the snowshoes, which would add to the burden rather than being useful. Additionally, due to the deep snow we were trekking through, my socks ended up completely soaked by the end of the hike as snow got over my boots and inside. Snowshoes would have also helped alleviate this problem.

Jones Bluff is in the Peninsula section of the Bruce Trail and we hiked just over 7kms. Since this was a loop the majority of those kilometers count towards the main trail, 6kms count! Yay! Only 1 km was done on a side trail. This hike took us 4 hours which shows how challenging this hike was. On January 1 we were able to hike 13 kms (almost double!) in the same amount of time!

As always,

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Kendal

Safety First on Your Adventures!