Winter Wonderland Walks

Are you a beginning hiker?

Perhaps you're just entertaining the thought of starting to hike – it is Canadian winter after all.

Well, here's a gentle, pleasant fun event that may capture your interest…

Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club Hike Leader, Albert McMaster, is leading some special beginner level hikes on Saturday January 23 rd and Sunday January 24 th , departing from the Alton Mill, 1402 Queen St West , in the village of Alton .

The hikes will be about 1.5 hours long, slow pace and gradual ascent.

Note: Albert McMaster won the Bruce Trail Conservancy 2009 Volunteer of the Year award for his dedication to hike leading.

Albert is leading these hikes to introduce beginners to winter hiking, and, as part of the Alton Mill's Fire and Ice Event – a Family Festival of Flame, Food and Fine Art!

Hikes will depart from the Alton Mill Tower around 11 am, 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Hiking boots are suggested (keep those toes warm!) and icers (non-skid crampons that attach to the bottom of your footwear) are also recommended.

The views during the hike will be very scenic – the pinnacle, the waterfalls, the woods. It's a walk you won't regret, and before or after, you can browse (or munch!) at the Alton Mill galleries and café. There will also be hot cider and hot chocolate around the fire pit.

Our Bruce Trail side trail, the Alton Side Trail, connects to the Alton Mill. The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club has an excellent relationship with the mill owners and other landowners and proprietors in the village of Alton.

For further information on the Festival, go to www.altonmill.ca . The schedule of events provides information on both indoor and outdoor activities, some for a minimal charge and some at no charge, including Albert's hikes, storytelling for kids, open shinny and family skating on the pond.

The village of Alton is 8 minutes south of Orangeville and 20 minutes north of Brampton , west of Highway #10.

Our Club's Matching Donation Program

The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club has promised to match every dollar that Caledon members donate to the Bruce Trail Conservancy from November 2009 to the end of February 2010, to a maximum of $4,000. January and February tend to be the low months for donations, however it is a critical time to ensure that the Conservancy has enough money to purchase the Speyside Sanctuary (closing date is March 1st) and other appropriate properties along the Optimum Route as they come up for sale this Spring. If you haven't made a donation yet to be part of this matching program, we ask that you consider doing so in January or February. All donations of $10 or more will receive a charitable income tax receipt.* Help us to preserve a permanent conservation corridor that contains the Trail!

* Go to brucetrail.org and click on Donate for further information or make cheques payable to the Bruce Trail Conservancy and mail to The Bruce Trail Conservancy, PO Box 857 , Hamilton , ON . L8N 3N9.

Cal E-News is a periodic E-newsletter of the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, one of the nine clubs of the Bruce Trail Conservancy . Cal E-News is meant to cover major happenings between editions of the club's quarterly newsletter Caledon Comment . If you are not a member of the Bruce Trail , we hope you will be soon. To join, please call The Bruce Trail Conservancy at 1-800-665-HIKE (4453), or online at www.brucetrail.org