Prelude
Tobermory is one of the most popular vacation destinations of Ontario, located at the Northern tip of Bruce Penninsula. It's considered to be the "fresh water SCUBA diving capital of the world". It was named in 1882 by Scottish fishermen, in contrast with the port of Tobermory, Mull of Scotland. The rugged cliffs & overhangs on Georgian Bay , along with the beautiful Bruce trail make the place paradise for hikers. People usually go there for doing several kind of activities like hiking, camping, kayaking, scuba diving, sailing, etc.
The best time to go Tobermory is during sunny days of summer or early fall. You can witness the spectacular view of crystal clear greenish-blue water of Georgian bay & can swim, take sunbath. We planned to go in the month of November 2014. I expected the weather to be sunny, with little bit of coldness. However, due to snow squall & early winter, it became purely a snow-hiking trip. Nature has so many varieties to offer! It's been an amazing experience to stay 2 days in the snowy world in Tobermory...
We were a big group consisting of 35 people from the University. For the ease of organizing everything, we were split into car groups, food groups & tent groups. I was with Rallis, 2 french guys (Loic, Eloi), a German guy (Oliver) & Majed (originally from Dubai). It was about 300 Km drive from our city (London, Ontario) to Bruce Penninsula national park area.
November 14th: It was a snowy day in London. According to the weather report, it's already a few inches of snow layer in Tobermory area, & there is a possible snow squall in next 2 days. We started around 2.30 PM from London. It was not so easy to drive in snow condition, especially when the visibility is not so good. You can't drive in usual speed & you have to be very careful. We entered in Bruce conservation area around 7 PM, where we had to search for our camp sites first. It was totally dark & due to extreme snow condition, we were having problems in driving to the interior of the park area. After struggling for about half an hour, we located the camp area. It was around 8 PM & some other groups have already reached there. They had set up a camp fire & were partying by that time. The temperature was about -5 degrees along with the wind-chill.
The first job was to set up the tent. I & Rallis struggled a lot to set up a 'complicated & weird' tent. Due to the wind-chill, it was so painful to take off the gloves in order to set up the tent. Finally we managed to do it, although the cover was not sufficient to protect the wind (& we really suffered the whole night for this!). After having packed dinner & warming up near the camp fire, went inside the sleeping bag.
November 15th: I woke up early. Just after coming out of the tent, I was in the snowy world. All the other tents were covered with overnight snowfall, & the whole area was under thick layer of snow. It reminded me of the last snowshoe expedition in February...
After an hour, other people woke up & everyone became very busy with making breakfast. We had to hike for the whole day & having a solid breakfast was very important. We prepared scrambled eggs & bacon to have a heavy breakfast along with burger, oatmeal & apple. (Let me tell you something. I'm not a big fan of bacon, but many people are just crazy about it. I heard from some source, "bacon is like woman... it looks good, smells good, tests good... but slowly kills men :P)
One good thing about November (compared to January/February weather) is that the lake water still didn't freeze. We filled our bottles & added purification tablets. In a few hours we packed our backpacks & got ready for the hike.
It was snowing constantly & we started walking following the trail.
The hiking route was very nice, we were traversing through the forest & the coastal area interchangeably. The path was rocky & we had to remain very careful for each footstep. Due to the fresh snow, you can hardly see where you are stepping & with a wrong footstep, you might end up with twisted ankle.
Gradually the snowfall stopped & we had to take off our layers due to the workout & sweat. Our aim was to hike about 13 Km to reach 'High Dump'.
The beauty of the landscape from different viewpoints were spectacular, especially the huge cliffs.
We stopped at some point to have our packed lunch with burger, cheese, salad, etc. I wish if I could eat lunch in this ambiance everyday! :)
The area was full of pine trees. We were wondering how come so many trees are grown up in this rocky soil!
It was almost 2.30 PM, & we realized that it's impossible to reach our intended camp area at 'high dump' before getting dark. Moreover, the snow condition has worsened the situation & it would be risky (well, I really wanted to go ahead. But when you are in a group, you have to follow the majority). So we decided to set up our camps near the coast. Actually this area is marked for camping by the park authorities.
The camp site was a picturesque beauty, in the midst of snowy forest. Our tent had a capacity of 3 people, & like last night, Danning joined us. We set up the tent as soon as possible, & as still it was daylight, we went to hike in nearby area.
We couldn't enjoy camp fire in the evening because this area is prohibited for making any fire (Canadian people are really nice... although nobody is going to check in the snowy evening whether you are making a camp fire, but people never violate the rule). We had total 9 camps sites for the whole group, which were not close to each other. That's why the evening was kind of boring to pass time. Every group was chatting/playing cards in their own tent. Three of us (with Rallis & Danning) initiated a philosophical discussion which lasted for an hour. But then it was time to have dinner & we wanted to stay in the tent. We invited Eric to our tent to play card till night. I learned how to play 'asshole' :P. It's really a fun game, I became both 'president' & 'asshole' quite a few times. We were really having enjoyable times till going to bed. Inside the warmth of tent, lighting with a flash light, half covered with sleeping bag... it was so relaxing!
The night was extremely cold. We tried to make a kind of "snow wall" beside our tent to protect the wind, but still it didn't help that much. After day's hiking, went to the world of sleep in no time...
Next day: As usual I woke up early. The best time to feel the calmness of the place is early morning. I grabbed my camera to go to the beach area. It was the definition of solitude!!! Nobody was around, I was standing on the harbor in the mystic morning environment... the lake water was continuously splashing on the shore... the pebbles & boulders were under a thick layer of fresh snow...
The icicles were hanging around from the rocks & boulders...
I was standing on a rock for a long time... the fresh morning air & ultimate solitude relaxed my mind, body & soul...
After sometimes I noticed Eloi to stand on the beach facing the lake... probably he was also feeling the atmosphere.
It was time to make some breakfast. We filled a bowl with lake water for boiling. Had breakfast with instant oatmeal. By the time I reached the tent, Rallis & Danning had woken up.
We went to the beach again for some photo session & fun (no matter what kind of fun is around, is always incomplete without Rallis). By that time it started snowing heavily, we were covered by the whitewash...
As usual we did lot of crazy activities all around: hanging from the icicles, doing yoga on top of boulder, some climbing practice, etc :P
After everyone had their breakfast, we got ready for returning back. It was snowing constantly, thus making the hike memorable forever...
One of our team-mate had a Husky dog, named "Lulu". She cheered up everyone with her funny activities.
I wish if I had a dog like this... :(
We were hiking through the snowy trail where the pine trees were leaned over the path by the snow... it was looking like the pathway to heaven...
The snowfall didn't even stop for a moment. Sometimes we were stopping by the amazing scenery around...
"Lulu" was continuously following us & was playing with the snow...
We returned at the campsite in a few hours. Many people started preparing to go back home. However, few of us decided to hike till the famous "Grotto" of Tobermoty area. It was about half an hour hike to reach there, which was worth to witness the scenic beauty around!
The snowy world always mesmerizes me...
The Indian head cove was looking amazing with the greenish blue crystal clear water...
The Grotto was a super amazing place. We climbed down through a narrow chimney (was a bit risky for the snow covered rocks... there were chances of slipping off to get a big injury). It was indeed a fantastic cave system!
I went inside the cave, it was dark. People refer this area as a "natural swimming pool". I wish it was summer so that I could dive into the water! It's a paradise for the swimmers. I didn't have a good camera for night mode photography & that's why couldn't capture the inside of the cave. In the blurred picture below notice a blue portion in the water...
Actually it's an underwater cave system having a tunnel out to lake Huron (reminded me about the movie Sanctum). Some people do scuba diving here too. If I had the chance, I would have definitely tried that! After some photo sessions, we again climbed up through the chimney. Came back to camp area in half an hour.
It was again a continuous drive of 4-5 hours... reached London by 8.30 PM. Bid adieu to all, it was really nice meeting so many people from all over the world & an amazing experience of Tobermory hiking!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(I will share the video link here sometimes)
The best time to go Tobermory is during sunny days of summer or early fall. You can witness the spectacular view of crystal clear greenish-blue water of Georgian bay & can swim, take sunbath. We planned to go in the month of November 2014. I expected the weather to be sunny, with little bit of coldness. However, due to snow squall & early winter, it became purely a snow-hiking trip. Nature has so many varieties to offer! It's been an amazing experience to stay 2 days in the snowy world in Tobermory...
 |
| On our way of hiking through Bruce trail... a picturesque beauty... |
We were a big group consisting of 35 people from the University. For the ease of organizing everything, we were split into car groups, food groups & tent groups. I was with Rallis, 2 french guys (Loic, Eloi), a German guy (Oliver) & Majed (originally from Dubai). It was about 300 Km drive from our city (London, Ontario) to Bruce Penninsula national park area.
November 14th: It was a snowy day in London. According to the weather report, it's already a few inches of snow layer in Tobermory area, & there is a possible snow squall in next 2 days. We started around 2.30 PM from London. It was not so easy to drive in snow condition, especially when the visibility is not so good. You can't drive in usual speed & you have to be very careful. We entered in Bruce conservation area around 7 PM, where we had to search for our camp sites first. It was totally dark & due to extreme snow condition, we were having problems in driving to the interior of the park area. After struggling for about half an hour, we located the camp area. It was around 8 PM & some other groups have already reached there. They had set up a camp fire & were partying by that time. The temperature was about -5 degrees along with the wind-chill.
The first job was to set up the tent. I & Rallis struggled a lot to set up a 'complicated & weird' tent. Due to the wind-chill, it was so painful to take off the gloves in order to set up the tent. Finally we managed to do it, although the cover was not sufficient to protect the wind (& we really suffered the whole night for this!). After having packed dinner & warming up near the camp fire, went inside the sleeping bag.
November 15th: I woke up early. Just after coming out of the tent, I was in the snowy world. All the other tents were covered with overnight snowfall, & the whole area was under thick layer of snow. It reminded me of the last snowshoe expedition in February...
 |
| Tents in the morning... |
After an hour, other people woke up & everyone became very busy with making breakfast. We had to hike for the whole day & having a solid breakfast was very important. We prepared scrambled eggs & bacon to have a heavy breakfast along with burger, oatmeal & apple. (Let me tell you something. I'm not a big fan of bacon, but many people are just crazy about it. I heard from some source, "bacon is like woman... it looks good, smells good, tests good... but slowly kills men :P)
 |
| Breakfast time... Loic, Eloi & Majed |
 |
| The group before leaving... |
It was snowing constantly & we started walking following the trail.
 |
| hiking trail beside the lake... |
The hiking route was very nice, we were traversing through the forest & the coastal area interchangeably. The path was rocky & we had to remain very careful for each footstep. Due to the fresh snow, you can hardly see where you are stepping & with a wrong footstep, you might end up with twisted ankle.
Gradually the snowfall stopped & we had to take off our layers due to the workout & sweat. Our aim was to hike about 13 Km to reach 'High Dump'.
The beauty of the landscape from different viewpoints were spectacular, especially the huge cliffs.
 |
| One of the tallest cliffs... |
The area was full of pine trees. We were wondering how come so many trees are grown up in this rocky soil!
 |
| Moments... with Rallis |
It was almost 2.30 PM, & we realized that it's impossible to reach our intended camp area at 'high dump' before getting dark. Moreover, the snow condition has worsened the situation & it would be risky (well, I really wanted to go ahead. But when you are in a group, you have to follow the majority). So we decided to set up our camps near the coast. Actually this area is marked for camping by the park authorities.
The camp site was a picturesque beauty, in the midst of snowy forest. Our tent had a capacity of 3 people, & like last night, Danning joined us. We set up the tent as soon as possible, & as still it was daylight, we went to hike in nearby area.
We couldn't enjoy camp fire in the evening because this area is prohibited for making any fire (Canadian people are really nice... although nobody is going to check in the snowy evening whether you are making a camp fire, but people never violate the rule). We had total 9 camps sites for the whole group, which were not close to each other. That's why the evening was kind of boring to pass time. Every group was chatting/playing cards in their own tent. Three of us (with Rallis & Danning) initiated a philosophical discussion which lasted for an hour. But then it was time to have dinner & we wanted to stay in the tent. We invited Eric to our tent to play card till night. I learned how to play 'asshole' :P. It's really a fun game, I became both 'president' & 'asshole' quite a few times. We were really having enjoyable times till going to bed. Inside the warmth of tent, lighting with a flash light, half covered with sleeping bag... it was so relaxing!
The night was extremely cold. We tried to make a kind of "snow wall" beside our tent to protect the wind, but still it didn't help that much. After day's hiking, went to the world of sleep in no time...
Next day: As usual I woke up early. The best time to feel the calmness of the place is early morning. I grabbed my camera to go to the beach area. It was the definition of solitude!!! Nobody was around, I was standing on the harbor in the mystic morning environment... the lake water was continuously splashing on the shore... the pebbles & boulders were under a thick layer of fresh snow...
 |
| Absolute solitude of the morning... |
The icicles were hanging around from the rocks & boulders...
 |
| icicles... |
I was standing on a rock for a long time... the fresh morning air & ultimate solitude relaxed my mind, body & soul...
After sometimes I noticed Eloi to stand on the beach facing the lake... probably he was also feeling the atmosphere.
It was time to make some breakfast. We filled a bowl with lake water for boiling. Had breakfast with instant oatmeal. By the time I reached the tent, Rallis & Danning had woken up.
 |
| Peeping from the tent... :P |
We went to the beach again for some photo session & fun (no matter what kind of fun is around, is always incomplete without Rallis). By that time it started snowing heavily, we were covered by the whitewash...
 |
| Photo credit: Rallis |
After everyone had their breakfast, we got ready for returning back. It was snowing constantly, thus making the hike memorable forever...
 |
| Mystic coastal area... |
One of our team-mate had a Husky dog, named "Lulu". She cheered up everyone with her funny activities.
 |
| "Lulu", pretty big at the age of 1.5 years... :) |
I wish if I had a dog like this... :(
We were hiking through the snowy trail where the pine trees were leaned over the path by the snow... it was looking like the pathway to heaven...
 |
| The trail... pathway to heaven... |
The snowfall didn't even stop for a moment. Sometimes we were stopping by the amazing scenery around...
"Lulu" was continuously following us & was playing with the snow...
 |
| Lulu was always following us... |
We returned at the campsite in a few hours. Many people started preparing to go back home. However, few of us decided to hike till the famous "Grotto" of Tobermoty area. It was about half an hour hike to reach there, which was worth to witness the scenic beauty around!
The snowy world always mesmerizes me...
 |
| Solitude... |
The Indian head cove was looking amazing with the greenish blue crystal clear water...
 |
| Indian head cove |
 |
| The "Grotto" |
I went inside the cave, it was dark. People refer this area as a "natural swimming pool". I wish it was summer so that I could dive into the water! It's a paradise for the swimmers. I didn't have a good camera for night mode photography & that's why couldn't capture the inside of the cave. In the blurred picture below notice a blue portion in the water...
Actually it's an underwater cave system having a tunnel out to lake Huron (reminded me about the movie Sanctum). Some people do scuba diving here too. If I had the chance, I would have definitely tried that! After some photo sessions, we again climbed up through the chimney. Came back to camp area in half an hour.
It was again a continuous drive of 4-5 hours... reached London by 8.30 PM. Bid adieu to all, it was really nice meeting so many people from all over the world & an amazing experience of Tobermory hiking!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(I will share the video link here sometimes)
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