(Very limited cellphone reception up here on the east end of Skinner’s Bluff. Pics will probably not be loaded until we get to Wiarton early in the afternoon tomorrow.)
We missed seeing Pumpkin’s place today. The closing in of the Spring canopy has turned the Bruce Trail into a green tunnel much of the way. Sorry, Pumpkin …

But shortly after that disappointment we met three intrepid fellow travelers — fakirs all!

Water is scarce here. It’s amazing to me how few people seem to be home in the few houses we pass during the day. We filled up this morning at a farmhouse near our start. And I’m glad we did. We saw one person at home the rest of the day — and didn’t ask for water … There were sloughs along the way, but they weren’t very appealing. Finally we decided we needed at least some safety water to carry in abeyance for the morning. A puddle in the middle of a dirt road represented the best — and last — hope before the long upland section in which we were planning on camping. Fortunately, we each got a litre before a car came and mixed the mud and the frogs up. I pulled out my chlorine dihydroxide drops and double-treated my litre — and then boiled it before rebuilding it as supper water for our evening soup. Hhmmhh … 

Lots of rock today. And towards the end, lots of large limestone cobble beds. Must have been quite the post glacial flooding and flies here! 

Some startling examples of overgrazing as well. (It’s become quite the theme, eh?)

We walked perhaps 10km of this stuff covered with perhaps 70-year-old ungrazed forests. And then this almost alvar-like barren and parched section, seemingly alike in every way except for overgrazing. Even the buttercup was dying of drought and only the tiny Sedum was succeeding. 

A half-kilometre on, as we turned the corner around this overgrazed area, we came on this similar area though with a better remnant of tree cover to somewhat protect the plants on the ground. Similar rock patterns, more greener (but equally useless) pasture.

Looking 90° to the right was this view, showing somewhat unclearly the contrasts cross a fence line between grazing patterns. 



Miscellaneous: