I stayed overnight in Hamilton, thinking I'd try some gravel trails around here. In particular, I was hoping to do an excerpt of the Grand Nith Ramble route (http://www.bt700.ca/gnr-bikepacking-route.html). "Ride deep into the thickly forested, waterfall-laden Dundas Conservation Area. It’s so vast some riders have yet to come out. Hands down one of the prettiest sections of the route." … they said. "It'll be fun!", they said. The first place where I joined the route was on a trail off Highway 8. The trail was so obscure, it didn't even exist in Garmin's route planner, nor did I see the entrance until I found something looking like a long path next to someone's house. I soon hit a spot with mucky mud and standing water, which I trudged through. Then I encountered another one — an even longer stretch. I noped out and turned around. My next attempt was to follow an officially signposted trail, thinking it might be better. This time, there were no sections with standing water, but still, there were plenty of spots with deep mud. After a couple of hours of such adventuring, I decided that I shouldn't be knowingly contributing to tearing up the trails, whatever waterfalls or views were promised. 'Tis not the season. So, after lunch, I went for the one trail that seemed to be rideable: the Hamilton–Brantford Rail Trail. After reaching Brantford, I switched to road cycling (OMG, Ontario roads have no shoulder much of the time!), going straight to Cambridge to catch the bus back to Toronto.