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escarpment
excursions
IMPORTANT EVENT!!
Whether
it’s gravity or magnetism or something else entirely,
when Aaron Garner catches a glimpse of the Niagara Escarpment
after one of his frequent road trips, it just feels like home.
The veteran Collingwood musician grew up with the Escarpment in
his backyard. He’s skied it, fished it, biked it and hiked it. Now he’s
teaming up with a group of other Georgian Bay artists to help cel-
ebrate and protect it.
Garner will lace up his hiking boots and strap on his familiar
acoustic guitar at the Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge hike-a-
thon, a fundraiser hosted by the Clearview Community Coalition,
which fought a legal battle last year against quarrying near the
highest point on the Escarpment. The May 12, event also includes
a silent auction of Niagara Escarpment-themed art donated by the
Georgian Bay Association for Creative Arts, and live music by Gar-
ner, Tom Barlow, and Collingwood singer-songwriter Romney
Getty.
“The Niagara Escarpment means so much to Collingwood,” says
Garner, who lives in town with his wife Heather. “It’s what makes
this area unique. People come from all over the world to see it be-
cause it’s an ecosystem you can’t find anywhere else. Once we
over-develop it, that’s something we can’t get back.”
“Andover-development is a real danger on theNiagara Escarpment.”
says hike-a-thon organizer, Janet Gillham, “One thing we learned in
our fight to stop quarrying is that a lot of people who live around
the Escarpment feel a real affinity for it but think it’s more protected
than it really is,” says Gillham. “They’re usually surprised to learn
that we are blowing holes in it to make gravel.”
“Toronto might need gravel, but we’re saying, around here we
need the Niagara Escarpment even more. Once we destroy the
balance that makes this place aWorld Biosphere Reserve it’s gone
forever.”
The Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge is an all-ages event organ-
ized as a chance to entice hikers of all abilities to explore, celebrate
and help protect the Niagara Escarpment.
It takes place Saturday, May 12, starting
at a farm across the road fromHighlands
Nordic on Nottawasaga Conc. 10 S.
near Duntroon.
“The Niagara Escarpment represents a challenge to all of us,” says
Gillham, “to ski it, to climb it, to hike it or snowshoe it. It’s been a
tough challenge over these last three years trying to protect the Es-
carpment and we wanted to focus on the fun and give people a
chance to get out in the spring flowers and simply explore it --
maybe, for some people, discover it for the first time.”
The full Escarpment Challenge route runs 26 km, from belowOsler
Bluff through Pretty River Valley Provincial Park to the Duntroon
highlands. The hike-a-thon also offers a bus shuttle to shorter routes,
from 20 km down to 6 km, with hikes suitable for kids, and a Chil-
dren’s Program.
“Choose your challenge!” says Gillham, “We have refreshment
stations along the trail and in the Caves section near the Not-
tawasaga Lookout we’ll have several naturalists who can answer
questions about plants and wildlife, how the Escarpment was
formed, or about its early inhabitants, the Petun Indians.”
(Ed. Note: Read In Conversation - pgs. 108 -110)
The hikes are designed so that hikers arrive back at a century farm
on the Escarpment overlooking Georgian Bay for an afterparty. It
includes a buffet, barbeque, a silent auction of Niagara Escarpment
-themed art, fundraising prizes (including Leafs tickets) and live
music by Collingwood’s hardest working musician, Aaron Garner.
Hikers are asked to pre-register at
d
raise a minimum of $200 ($50 for children 6-12) in tax deductible
donations. They will qualify for bigger prizes with every $100 they
raise. The grand prize draw is for a getaway for two, all expenses
paid, to the stunning 5 star Fogo Island Inn, donated by Newfound-
land and Labrador’s Shorefast Foundation.
“If you can’t join us, you can still show your support by sponsoring
a hiker,” says Gillham.
Along with early supporter Aaron Garner, the hike-a-thon immedi-
ately captured the imagination of the Georgian Bay Association
for Creative Arts (GBACA). As the trilliums slowly awake artists
are creating works inspired by the local landscape, and hikers
will have a chance to bid on them on May 12.
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For more information about the Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge
hike-a-thon, please visi
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PEAK TO PEAK HIKE-A-THON INVITES HIKERS:
CHOOSE YOUR CHALLENGE!
Escarpment Magaz ine Spr ing 2012
over-development is
a real danger on the
Niagara Escarpment.