Urban Bicycling

April 22, 2009 I rode my bike my place to downtown Edmonton and back.
A 45 minute ride of between 6 and 8 Km.

Red Deer Three Mile Bend and Discovery Canyon

April 20, 2009 I was fortunate to visit Red Deer with a friend of mine and walk some of the Three Mile Island Trail there. This was a leisurely 6 km walk along the bank on the Red Deer River that took about 2 hours. I have hiked this trail previously on September 22, 1998. At that time I used a Garman GPS (Government issue I think) to track my walk and I later sketched out the river and landmarks in my journal.

This is a paved trail. It is an off leash area for dogs. Judging from the number of walkers that were out on the trail in the midday I can assume that the trail is well used. Because the trail is along the Red Deer River it affords ample opportunity to observe waterfowl on the river. Mallards, Mergansers and Golden Eye were seen on this particular walk. Woodpeckers and song birds were also observed. I heard the first croaks, of the season, of the Wood Frog on this walk. There is a Canada Goose nesting on the top of a pole in the middle of a stagnant pond. I am recording these observations from memory which is generally my practice so that I can exercise my recall ability. There were also a number of butterflies out.

A perfect way to enjoy a warm spring day.

J. J. Collett Natural Area

I'm not sure that I would know that the J. J. Collett Natural Area even existed if I hadn't worked on a project there in June of 1974. I had just graduated from NAIT in Biological Sciences and I was employed as part of a team doing a biological assessment of the site. This Natural Area is located a couple of miles south of Morningside, Alberta.

I had only visited this Natural Area a couple of times since June of 1974 but on April 19, 2009 I had the opportunity to stop at the JJCNA and do a walk there. Unlike the maintained walking trails of the Urban Parks of Edmonton the trails in the JJCNA have minimal development. Apart from one or two wooden plank walkways you will find yourself walking on a well worn dirt path, for the most part. In the treed areas I took particular delight in walking on a carpet of leaf litter or moss or other vegetation. I could imagine myself on a fall walk there and scuffing my feet through the fallen dry leaves.

Whether it was just the day, or perhaps this Natural Area is always as peaceful and quiet as it was on this particular day. I no sooner commenced my walk and I heard the familiar, spring sound, of a nearby Rough Grouse drumming. I should add though that this area is still with in ear shot of the traffic on the QE II highway and there was a small aircraft droning over head for several minutes. So the quiet of the place is not a quiet that remoteness provides but it is a peaceful place nonetheless. I started my walk on trail 4. I no sooner started in and I met a couple on their way back to the parking area. The only other people that I saw on my walk were two ladies near the end of my walk.

It was a calm spring day and I observed a number of small light colored moths flying. I could also hear a Flicker tapping out it's territorial tap on a dead tree. Two swans flying over head served to add to the quiet and reverance that this place seemed to evoke from me. I hiked north up trail 4, then onto trail 7. I bush whacked my way east along the north boundary fence and got back onto trail 4 that way. There is still snow in the trees and the low areas are wet. Most of the puddles had a skim of ice on them and there was still frost on the ground in the sheltered areas when I started my walk. I left trail 4 and walked up trail 8 and back. then returned to the parking area on trail 4 and trail 1.

As far as I could determine there is just one outhouse provided. There are a few park benches also.

As I mentioned I spent June 0f 1974 working in this Natural Area. But On this visit I could not remember much of the land scape. I do recall sandy soils. Also the area seemed much more dry now than it was then.

This is a pleasant place to visit and evoked a certain quiet and reverance form me. This is a most pleasant place to visit.

Cross Country Ski Cameron Lake

On April 12, 2009 I drove up the Cameron Lake road in Waterton National park. I was hoping to find a cross country ski trail that I had visited last December 21. As I recall the trail then was well used and perhaps even groomed. The Cameron Lake road is kept plowed during the winter months up to a point about 1.4 Km before the Akamia Pass trail head. There is an area to park cars there and it is the staging area for skiers and snowshoers. On April 12, 2009 the trail was still in use but had not been maintained. It was apparent that there is already quite a bit of foot traffic into Cameron Lake. There was one cross country skier that had gone ahead of me so I followed his track most of the way. In my opinion the cross country ski was decent in spite of people walking on the ski trail. There were a number of places where it appeared that people had sunk into the snow for a couple of feet. But all in all it was a good ski and I was able to get a good stride going in a few places. Most of the way any view of the surrounding mountains is blocked by the trees. But when the mountain slopes around Cameron Lake come into view it is a awesome sight. The view took my breath away. This is a good place to pause and just take in the grandeur of the mountains. As I approached the place where the Marina is on the lake I could hear voices. It turned out that the skier ahead of me had met a snowshoer and they were sharing experiences. It is apparent that the snowshoer spends a lot of time at Cameron Lake in summer and winter. He told about paddleing his kayak on the lake with in the summer time. As he was telling about his hikes and paddles that he does a Whiskey Jack or Gray Jay flew down and landed on his hand. The snowshoer then took a little bit of a bar that he was eating and held it in his hand and the Gray Jays would alight on his hand and take the food. There was also a Steller's Jay there but it was not so bold. As we were visiting the three of us noticed some movement under the tall spruce trees. It was apparently someone who had slept there the night before. There were several ski tracks down Cameron Lake where as on my December ski there had been no tracks at all. So seeing tracks I was confident enough to follow them out onto the lake. I skied down the lake for about 1.42 Km to its west side but I stopped at the last trees. I dare not venture further as the area appeared to be prone to avalanches and I am not experienced in avalanches. On my way back I met the other cross country skier and the snowshoer coming down the lake together. I stopped and chatted for a minute. The skier pointed out that there was slush below the snow and I checked that out by thrusting my ski pole into the snow. Sure enough at about a foot down there was slush. The reassuring thing was that below the slush there seemed to be a solid layer of ice. When I reached the shore line I took a break and visited the person who had slept under the trees. I could not determine the gender of the person and I was not able to establish where he/she was from. Only that he/she had come by greyhound bus to Lethbridge and then hitch hiked out to Waterton Townsite. He/she had then hike up the Cameron Lake road to Cameron Lake. He/she had overnighted one night on the way up but I do not know how many nights had been spent at Cameron Lake. Nevertheless and interesting person. On departing he/she introduced his/herself as Kim and said that the next trip to Cameron Lake would likely be in the summer.

I then started my return to my vehicle. I met a few hikers and snowshoers coming in as I was going out. At the Akamia Pass trail head there is an alternate cross country ski trail through the trees that is adjacent to the Cameron Lake road. I took this trail back. It was not groomed either but was a good ski nonetheless.

The total distance was about 8 Km.
My time actually skiing was about 1hr. 45 minutes. Actually it might have been closer to 2 hours as my GPS shut down for some the way back.

Being in the mountains reminds me of just how beautiful our world is and how it is worth saving. And what a marvelous creature we humans are that we can enjoy and appreciate such grandeur.

Bicycling Lethbridge

On April 11, 2009 My grandson and I were planning to go for lunch in Lethbridge. His choice was to ride our bicycles there and what a beautiful day for a bicycle ride. We rode east to Mayor Magrath Drive and then South along the east side of Mayor Magrath Dr. from Henderson Park to the intersection of Mayor Magrath and Scenic Drive. There is what I consider an excellent bike trail adjacent to Mayor Magrath Dr. On the way back we went a different route. The route followed streets and avenues in a north westerly direction. It seems that Lethbridge has a good number of asphalt trails perfect for cycling. This is something to explore further on subsequent visits.
Total distance was about 11 km.
The time was about 1 hour.

Coal Banks Trail

April 10, 2009 I visited the Indian Battle Park and walked the Coalbanks Trail.
It was a warm spring evening. First I walked north. I observed a robin along the trail. The first one that I have seen this year. The trail is an easy walk but there are more difficult walks if a person chooses to climb the river breaks. The Coalbanks Trail is an asphalt trail and is shared by bicyclists, joggers and walkers. The Coalbanks Trail goes north as far as the Highway 3 bridge. Beyond that there is a sign saying 'Private Property'. Walking north I passed under the Highlevel Railway bridge. This bridge was built in the early 1900s. It is really big. Here is a link that tells about the bridge. http://www.lethbridge.ca/home/Enjoying+Lethbridge/Picture+Gallery/Landmarks/High+Level+Bridge/High+Level+Bridge.htm
I returned back south along the bank and gravel bars of the Oldman River. This part of the walk was reminiscent of when I lived in Medicine Hat and I would wander along the South Saskatchewan River. The walk took me trough Cottonwood trees and a Thorny Buffaloberry understory. Under the railway trestle I observed two large beaver repeatedly slapping the water with their tail. Also, of course, there are a number of Canada Geese.
I continued along the river to the Woopup Drive bridge where I returned to the Coalbanks trail. As I continued south on the trail it passed by the Lethbridge Police firing range. There are some sort of concrete water gates that the trail passes over. This is quite an interesting walk, in my view of it. I took the left fork in the trail and ascended the river breaks up to Scenic Drive. I ended my walk at my daughters place. This was a leisurely walk for me.

Just under 2 hours
About 6.5 Km

Beautiful Bicycling

I went for my first bicycle ride today. It wasn't very far just to the Canadian Tire on 118th Ave. and back. And it was a rather uninteresting ride but hey it is my first ride of the year. I took the north-south walking/cycling trail from 107 Ave. Apart from some wet spots on the trail it is ready for riding. So dust your bicycles off and check the air in the tires and get out and feel the exhilleration of being your own engine. Happy peddling everyone!

Urban Walk

I didn't do much walking yesterday as I was mostly driving. But I did walk from the Oliver Square area to City Hall. A distance of a little more than 5 km. It took me about an hour and 20 minutes to walk that distance. I walked because I do not want to ride my bicycle just yet and it is too much hassle to find parking if I drive. I have a sense that walking is generally viewed as a leisure time activity and not as a means to get some where.