For these older Canadians, the Bruce Trail is both a playground and a pilgrimage

For these older Canadians, the Bruce Trail is both a playground and a pilgrimage

Men and women in their late 50s to mid-80s come together every week to hike a stretch of Canada’s oldest and longest marked footpath Gayle MacDonald and Photographs by Nic Hotchkiss The Globe and Mail Published 25 seconds ago

Rita Hotchkiss, 84, begins crying as she runs beneath the poles of her fellow hikers, commemorating the end of her two-and-a-half year journey of completing the Bruce Trail. Rita Hotchkiss, 84, begins crying as she runs beneath the poles of her fellow hikers, commemorating the end of her two-and-a-half year journey of completing the Bruce Trail.

The forest was quiet except for the crunch of boots on fallen leaves and the soft click of hiking poles. Morning light filtered thro