Author chronicles 40 days on Bruce Trail
‘‘ It was hugely enlightening for me and, hopefully, other people will find it interesting, too NICOLA ROSS AUTHOR
A 900-kilometre journey began with one step in Niagara for Nicola Ross.
In her new book, “40 Days & 40 Hikes,” the author and environmentalist chronicles her journey along the Bruce Trail from Niagara to Tobermory.
Her trek started at Queenston and included stops at Woodend Conservation Area, the Welland Canal at Bert Lowe side trail and Short Hills Provincial Park.
The book details 40 “day-loop” routes she traversed during her 900-km hike along Canada’s longest marked trail.
“It is such an incredible gem that we have right here, and not just Bruce Trail itself, but the 450-km of side trails make it so accessible,” Ross said of the Bruce Trail.
“We are so blessed.” Each loop route includes a history of the area.
“One of the things I love about travelogues and adventure travel books is that it’s a way of getting across really interesting information,” she said.
“It’s not just droll history.” In Niagara, for example, she recounts her surprise at coming across a monument to Laura Secord at Queenston Heights.
“The statue had a silhouette of a wrinkled, bonneted woman,” she said.
“I had a hard time reconciling this image with the Laura Secord from the boxes of chocolate I was familiar with.”
Through research, she learned of the pivotal role Secord played during the War of 1812.
On the evening of June 21, 1813, Secord overheard American officers at her home in Queenston discuss plans to capture a British outpost.
She left early the next morning and walked more than 30 kilometres to Decew House to warn the British and their Indigenous allies of the impending attack.
Two days later, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Beaverdams.
Ross followed a section of Secord’s historic route during her hike.
“It was hugely enlightening for me and, hopefully, other people will find it interesting, too,” she said.
The Caledon resident is the author of six “Loops & Lattes” travelogues, with a seventh guidebook in the series to be released soon.
She is working on a book on the Alpe-Aria Trail, based on the 720-km hike she made last year through Austria, Slovenia and Italy.
Her “40 Days & 40 Hikes” is available at book stores and can be ordered online through various platforms including loopsandlattes.ca.