The Track of The Wolf

December 24, 2011, Solo Walk Blackfoot Rec. Area.

I arrived at the Blackfoot Staging Area after 10 AM. There were a couple of vehicles parked there and I heard two people talking. Then one of the vehicles left and a lady walked over to me to ask if I was going skiing. I had not brought my skis as I thought there would be not enough snow for skiing. It turns out I had met this lady and her husband after a walk in the same area several months earlier. I did not recognize her but she remembered me. Apparently it was her neighbor that she had just been talking to, and her neighbor had just walked up on the Springs and North trails and she/he had seen some large tracks. She thought they were cougar tracks. So this lady, Irene, was concerned about the possibility of a cougar being in the area and she wanted someone to ski with her. I assured her that there is a greater chance of her dieing in her own bathtub than being attacked by a cougar. I speculated that the tracks might be of a wolf rather than a cougar. That gave her little comfort, nevertheless, she decided to do a short ski on the Gas Line Trail and I finished making preparations for my hike. I decided to visit the heron colony but then I wanted to check out the “cougar” tracks too so I started out on Whitetail Trail. I was on the Springs trail when I noticed large ungulate tracks going into the bush. They looked like Bison tracks and all the Bison are supposed to be in the National Park so I decided to follow the tracks. I lost the tracks I was following and so I made my way through the bush back onto the Springs Trail. I was going north on the Springs Trail when I saw the large tracks. These were, no doubt, the tracks causing the concern. I was certain that they were tracks of a wolf and I later confirmed that.

An advantage of hiking in winter is that when watercourses and water bodies are frozen then I can walk them. I noticed human tracks on the trail and then they went into the bush so I was compelled to follow them and see where the person might be going. I wound up on the watercourse that drains into Norris Lakes. When the human tracks doubled back I continued along the water course and that is where I found more wolf tracks. There were tracks of two wolves and the tracks did not meander as most dogs would so if I had doubts about the origins of these tracks before I was now certain that they were wolf tracks.

I walked to the north edge of Norris Lake and made a hot drink and had a snack. This was a beautiful day. It was warm and the sun shone. I then started back south on the lake until I ended up on the Norris Ridge Trail but the Norris Ridge Trail drifts to the east and I decided to go more west toward the park boundary and the heron colony. More bush walking. I found a 'game trail' to to follow that had the tracks of a large cloven hoofed animal. While I was in the bush following the 'game trail' I came across a recent bedding area and a pile of moose poop which confirmed I was finding and following the tracks of a moose and not a bison.

I made my way to the junction of Heron Hollow trail and the park boundary. I hiked the park boundary to Blackfoot Lake and then proceeded across the lake to the heron colony. I had traversed the north side of the island last winter so this time I went around the south side of the island. I then wandered to the south east end of the lake. There I picked up on the Blackfoot trail near the same place where an aggressive grouse pecked me on a previous hike. I then hiked on to the Buck Run Trail. There is a shelter there so I made a hot drink and had a snack and then started up the Buck run Trail to Gas Line Tail and took that trail back to the staging area.

This was pretty much a perfect day and a perfect hike!

Distance 12 km (rounded)
Moving time 4 hours 9 min., Stopped time 1 hr. 10 min.
Total ascent 894 ft. Max elev. 2366.

Trekking Poles Tryout

Dec. 19, 2011, Trekking Pole Try Out. Walked solo from William Hawrelak Park east along the south river breaks to the Whitemud Freeway bridge and back.

While hiking to Raven Lake and Grizzly Den back in October, and on previous hikes as well, my brother brought Trekking Poles. Before he got the trekking poles this he often used a walking stick or staff. I have usually resisted using a walking stick. Some of my reasons why I have resisted are because I am forgetful and so often leave my walking stick somewhere or I forget to bring it, I have also found that a walking stick can be a great asset on some terrain but in other situations it can quickly become a liability. On a few hikes now I have borrowed one of my brother’s trekking poles, usually to descend steep and difficult sections of the trail and I have to recognize that a trekking pole clearly gives any hiker greater stability. A staff or a walking stick also aids whit stability but what I came to realize is that the retractable trekking poles can be collapsed and put away in a backpack when they are not needed thus eliminating the nuisance of having to carry them when you are not needing to use them. This one feature alone convinced me to make trekking poles a part of my hiking equipment.
Today I bought trekking poles at MEC. I bought Komperdell poles because they were marked down to $66. That seemed like a bargain so how could I resist. This afternoon I went on a hike to try them out. I started at William Hawrelak Park and I hiked the east and south river breaks to the Whitemud Freeway bridge where I crossed to the north river breaks and returned from west along the river. As I there is variety in the terrain on this walk it was a good choice. I met a guy carrying a camera and with an impressive telephoto lens. I stopped to chat with him and in the course of our conversation I learned about the types of woodpeckers that frequent these areas and I heard the word leucism, reduced pigmentation particularly in birds, for the first time, or not that I recall at least.
I noted many signs or portions of this route warning of dangers and to stay off the trail but there were lots of foot prints going where the signs said not too so I followed the people tracks on through these posted areas. On my return walk I ended up in the off leash area so I encountered many dogs. One or two dogs seemed mildly intimidated by the trekking poles.
For the most part the trekking poles worked out well.

Distance walked about 10 km.
Moving time 2 hr. 35 min. stopped time 18 min.
total acsent 536. max elev 2338

Ice Walking

Dec. 17, 2011, I walked on Islet Lake with my nephew Dave.

We started out for the Central Staging in the Cooking Lake Recreation Area, but I missed a turn and we ended up at Islet Lake anyway. The first place we walked was over to the lake to check it out and we decided to walk over to the main island. We explored the large island some of the smaller islands. We observed one interesting ice heave between an Island and a point of land. The ice on the lake appeared to be 1 foot thick. There were areas with no snow cover and areas with no snow cover. Walking on the snow covered areas was quite easy but the clear areas were slippery so we barely averaged 2 km/hr. I fell down once.

Distance walked was 4 km
Moving time 1 hour 45 min.


Dec. 18, 2011, Walked Mill Creek in Edmonton with a friend.

We started out at 93 st. and 69 ave. Walked around the south side of the residence in the ravine bottom (89th Ave.) at about N53 30 46.8 W113 28 18.1. Along the trail there was a tree that had been chopped down. On our return we took a little different route and missed the tree so we back tracked to it so we could salvage some twigs off of it. On the way back we found Christmas ball ornaments hung in the trees and took photos.

Total distance 9.3 km
Total time about 2 to 2.5 hours

Back at Kakamina

Dec. 10, 2011, Cross country ski with my Grandson. Waterton National Park.

This was my grandson's first time on Cross-country skis. Fortunately our feet are close to the same size so I let him put on my boots and skis and I put on a pair of snowshoes and we started up the Cameron Lake Road toward Cameron Lake. We got as far as the Akamina Pass Trail Head and then we switched. I put on the skis and he put on the snowshoes. I skied back and he snowshoed and walked back. He did pretty well and we will return and do this again.

When I am on an outing like this I like to use my light weight stove as much as possible. I feel that if I use this piece of equipment often then I am able to ensure it is in good working order. When we were finished the activity I fired up my stove and melted snow and made Hot Chocolate and heated up a package of dried chicken soup. This turned out to be a good way to warm up at the end of a very successful outing.

Total distance covered, 4.5 km

Cold Lake Provincial Park North

December 7, 2011, Solo Walk in Cold Lake Provincial Park, North side of Cold Lake.

This is not new territory to me but it seems like new territory since most of my memories of this area are from the summer of 1974. I had a summer job with Alberta Fish and Wildlife and I traveled this area. Back then the area was vacant land and not part of a provincial park. I am not sure when it was made a provincial park but I believe that this could be my first visit to the area since it was made a park. I was not expecting to be walking in a park. The approach where I turned off the Primrose Highway, where I started my walk, was pretty much as I remembered it. The first 700 m was on a limited use road which apparently has a lot of 4 wheel drive, ATV, and snowmobile traffic but then there is a vehicle barricade and I continued my walk in the park on and old vehicle trail. I walked for about for 600 m and then I left the trail. I had a notion to walk as far as I could toward the Martineau River and through the bush was the most direct route. I found it still fairly easy walking. In 1.5 km at around 2 pm I intersected another old vehicle track. I decided to take a break and that this was a good place to turn back. There was a very light dusting of new snow so conditions were good for identifying tracks. There were the usual tracks of Red Squirrel and small rodents. There were a number of fresh deer tracks and coyotes. I also found 2 or 3 sets of grouse tracks. After I turned back I saw a Pine Grosbeak. After I turned back I followed the trail and found that this trail is maintained by the park personnel, nevertheless there were a few new blow down trees on the trail. The trees posed no obstacle to me on foot but they might to a cyclist or skier. I stayed on this trail to walking west for 2.3 km. This trail appears to be the main route through this part of the park. My GPS map showed another trail going generally north and I had chosen this as my route back to my vehicle. This trail is entirely over grown with trees. There are the distinct marks where vehicle ruts were worn into ground but there are now what appear to me to be 30 year old spruce trees growing in the ruts. The trail is not discernible at all in the area of an old beaver dam. If I had not been following a feature outlined on my GPS map then I would have likely lost it altogether, but with the aid of my GPS I was able to stay on the old track and there were the occasional discernible vehicle ruts to verify that there had indeed been a trail there at one time. It was curious to me that in one place there were mostly spruce trees growing in the old trail while aspen was the predominate cover every where else. Clearly the old trail had been seeded to spruce trees or there was some aspect of the vehicle travel on the trail which promoted the germination of White Spruce trees. I followed this over grown trail 1.7 km. back to my vehicle. It was about -10 C with a stiff wind but once I got into the shelter of the trees and as long as I was walking the temperatures were quite tolerable.

7.2 km

2 hours 30 min moving.

43 min stopped.

Max elevation 1968 feet.

October 17, to 21, 2011, hiked to Raven Lake Cabin and Grizzly Den Cabin.

I did this hike with my brother. The cabins were originally built and maintained by the Son's Of Norway but they are now maintained by BC Parks. The cabins can not be reserved so it is first come first serve and share and share a like. Both cabins are equipped with a stove and fire wood is provided. There are not many other amenities so bring mattresses and camp cooking equipment. Even without a tent my backpack weighted close to 50 pounds.

To get to the cabins turn south off highway 16 onto the Hungary Creek forestry road. At the start Jim made a good decision by parking at the Grizzly Den trail head and we started our hike by walking on the forestry road back to the Raven Lake trail head. The weather was unsettled and there was a threat of showers but when we hiked out 5 days later it was a steady rain and it was nice not to have to hike the extra 2.6 km to the vehicle.

The hike to the Raven Lake cabin is 5.5 km. with an elevation gain of about 1500 ft. At about 5000 ft there was a complete snow cover. It rained some as well so by the time we got to the cabin we were wet from precipitation and perspiration. the snow also made the rocks on the trail very slippery. I found the hike to be rather taxing.

That evening we were having supper and Jim noticed a couple of mice running across the floor of the cabin. He had brought snap traps to the cabin earlier that summer but had taken them on to the Grizzly Den cabin so there were no traps. He then built a figure 4 trap but he couldn't get it to work right. I suggested using a bucket with a baited stick. We caught one mouse that night and another one the next day in the bucket. The next day Jim got the figure 4 trap working and we caught one mouse that evening and another one in the night. That took care of the mouse problem.

October 18 we hiked up on Raven Peak. This day was the sunniest day of all and a good day to hike to the peak even though it was a bit windy. That hike was about 4.6 km. On the way down we noticed another peak to the northwest and we planned to hike that one the next day.

October 19 the day started with a steady rain but around noon the rain let up and so we set out. As we started up the slope to the peak a fog set in. When we got to the peak it was so foggy that we weren't sure where we were but there was a stone cairn so we guessed it marked the peak. We saw 2 ptarmigan at the peak. They were in pure white plumage. We wanted to go down a different route but it was hard to pick a route in the fog then the fog cleared some and we were able to easily make our way down. This was about a 4 km hike.

October 20, we hiked from Raven Lake cabin to Grizzly Den cabin. There was a bit of fresh snow so it was interesting to see fresh animal and bird tracks in the snow. Fresh snow really shows what has been in the area that day. Most of the tracks were red squirrel's but we also saw weasel and possibly marten tracks. The snow on the trail was mostly ankle deep but out on the open slope it had drifted a little deeper. Jim broke trail most of the way so when we were ascending up Pat's Pass I offered to break trail for awhile. I started out in the lead but I soon sopped for a rest. Then I found I had to rest again. I was finding breaking trail was not so easy. Finally Jim said, "let me take it to the top of the pass" and away he went. When he was breaking trail I could just about keep up. At the top of Pat's Pass we dropped our packs and hiked up the the peak. The weather cleared enough for us to see the Raven Lake Peak and the surrounding area. It was a very grand view and well worth the hike up. We made it to Grizzly Den cabin in good time that day. It was about a 5.4 km. hike.

Oct. 21, 2011, we hiked back out to the vehicle from Grizzly Den Cabin.
6.5 km out
2 hr 19 min moving
36 min stopped
Max elev. 5731
As I mentioned earlier it was raining steady by the time we got out and I was rather wet. We did take time to check out some Caribou tracks that we noticed on the way out.

By my calculations we hiked 25.25 km. in total on this trip.

Oct. 22, 2011, Hiked with Jim in Forests For The World Park.
This is a park within the city of Prince George, BC and it has a lot of variety with uplands and low lands and some scenic water bodies. Pack a lunch and take your time if you go there.
About a 9 km hike.
Total ascent 972
Max elev. 2952
3hr moving
52 min stopped
2245 ft max elev.

October 30, 2011, Walked solo in the JJ Collette Natural Area.
Observed spruce trees gnawed by a porcupine and a porcupine burrow. I was surprised to see trees gnawed by a porcupine as the bark has so much resin.

7.24 km.
2 hr 15 min. moving.
21 min stopped
Total ascent 528 ft.
Max. Elev. 2955
Later in the day I met a friend in Red Deer and went for another short walk in Three Mile Island Park.
4 km.
My daily total walking was 11 km.

November 16, 2011, I walked with my sister around Campbells Lake in NE Alberta.
8.5 km.

November 24, 2011, Walked solo in Hawreluk Park
3 km

November 27, 2011, I went for a walk with a Meetup Group.
We started at Terwilligar Park and walked to the Anthony Henday Bridge and a little beyond. 9.5 km.

December 1, 2011, I went for a walk with a Meetup group in the Edmonton River Valley. We started at the Royal Glenora Club and walked to the Legislature Building to look at the Christmas lights. We then walked on the north side of the river to the foot bridge and then back on the south side of the river and across the LRT bridge.
This was a fairly brisk walk of about 8 km.
1 hour 48 min moving.

December 5, 2011, I walked with a friend in Mill Creek.
About 7 km and we walked about 2 hours.

Fall Walks

Oct. 5, 2011, Walk Demarias to Wabasca;Not every walk has to be an adventure. I would call this a utilitarian walk. I was dropped off at the grocery store and I walked most of the way back. The 4.5 km/hr pace I kept might be slightly faster than usual because of the dogs nipping at my heels.
5.8 km, 1 hr 17 min. Level walking on sidewalk averaged 4.5 km/hour.

Oct. 6, 2011 Somewhere West of Demarias.
Bill is a fellow I met in Demarias through a mutual friend. He is a hunter so he was hunting and was kind enough to let me tag along. This walk was along cut-lines and access roads.
6.8 km.

October 7, 2011, Canoe North Wabasca Lake.
I was hoping for clear sky and gentle breezes. I got a stiff breeze and a failed attempt to canoe to the Willow River on N. Wabasca Lake. I started out in what seemed to be calm but when I got to the point the wind picked up. I started to paddle across across the bay anyway but the breeze stiffened. I made it to the shelter of the point where the old channel of Willow River is and decided the wind was too strong and so it is in my best interest to get started back toward the point where I had launched. Fortunately I was going with the wind, generally. Paddling a canoe solo into a wind like that makes the canoe difficult if not impossible to control. The canoe rode the waves well but it took steady exertion to work against the wind and keep the canoe off the rocky shore. I did notice a lone swan flying over the lake and there are always eagles to be seen by this lake.
4 km, 1 hr.

Oct. 9, 2011, Walk In the Downtown Edmonton river valley.
I took this walk in the afternoon with a friend. It was a clear and warm day. There were still fall colors and even a few boats on the river.

11.3 km,

2 hours 56 min moving.

20 minute stopped.

526 total ascent.

2384 ft. Max. elev.

Oct. 10, 2011, An urban bicycle ride.

I rode one way from West Edmonton to South Edmonton.

14.9 km,

1 hour 8 min moving.

5 min stopped.

Total ascent 372 ft.

Max elevation 2386 ft.

Oct. 16, 2011, hike Mount Robson View Point trail.

While walking in the shadow of the majesty of Mount Robson how could I not be moved to write something.

"The streets of heaven are paved with gold - this is what I'm told. If it is so, then I have walked them this very day. I followed a path where a golden cloak of freshly fallen autumn leaves were lain chivalrously for me. I much preferred the path I trod today to one of shimmering gold. For leaves lain with hue and pattern in sun beam's shimmer seem so much more than gold."

Solo. 6.69 km,

1 hr 43 min moving. 58 min stopped.

Total ascent 1328 ft. Max . Elev. 4069. Left at 7:20 am returned at 10:00 am.

Later the same day I stopped and walked to Rear Guard Falls.

Solo 782 m,

17 min moving, 3 min stopped.

Total ascent 139 ft.

Then I did a contemplative and reflective walk in the Ancient Forest. Several trees have fallen on the pathway. Seem to be rather recently.

Solo 2.66 km,
1 hr. 9 min. moving, 14 min stopped.
Total ascent 427 ft.
Max elev. 2999.

Fall Hikes and Walks

I haven't made an entry here since September 1, 2011. This year it was my intent to keep a log of how far I have traveled under my own power, meaning walking, skating, skiing and paddling. I have done pretty well. I think I had a notion that I wanted to go about 500 miles this year but I am not going to make that. I am very close to having logged 500 km this year. Not an amazing distance by any stretch but still not so bad. In fact this total doesn't include every walk or bike ride that I have taken this year. I have even done some paddling that didn't get noted, but this Blog is not about statistics. What I really want to do here is guide the reader to take a walk, or paddle, or bicycle as often as possible.

I have now hiked many if not all of the trails in Elk Island Park. In August I was camping in Elk Island National Park and as I was driving north from the Sandy Lake Campsite toward Lamont I noticed the sign for the Beaver Pond Trail. I had not hiked that trail before so on August 23, I hiked the 3.68 km trail with a friend of mine. August is a time when plants are maturing and fruits are forming. The insect population had subsided a bit making walks a lot more tolerable. There were many interesting types of mushrooms along the trail.

On August 30 I did a short but interesting walk in the Blackfoot Recreational area. I only walked about 2.2 km but a lot of the way was through bush and not on the trail. I came upon some bones. By the size and length of the bones I guess they were moose but they could have also been elk. If I had found the skull then I would have known for sure but there was no skull.

On Sept. 2, I did a short walk in the Wagner Natural Area.

2.17 km

On Sept. 4, Walked with a friend in the Clifford E. Lee Wildlife Preserve.

2 km.

33 min.

Waterfowl were in their fall plumage so they are impossible to identify. Well almost so, the Shoveler's bill is very distinctive. It was good to see standing water in many more areas this year although the water is still a long way from the board walk and judging by the size of the trees encroaching onto the boardwalk it has been this low for many years.

While fishing at Mink Lake with my daughter and her partner on Sept. 7, 2011 I paddled around

Mink Lake solo in my canoe.

4.6 km.

Elevation 2460'

On and around the lake there was a Bald Eagle, many ducks in fall plumage, Killdeer, terns flying over head, Great Blue Heron, beaver, and sand pipers. I caught a fish.

In the afternoon and evening I went fishing and paddled another 7.3 km.

September 13, 2011, My brothers and I did a hike to a small cabin near Ozilinka Mountain called the Ozilinka Hut. The hut is maintained by some folks who live just outside of McBride, BC and it can be reserved and rented. The hut has a wood burning heater, a 3 burner propane cook-stove, pots and pans and foam mattresses so there is no need to carry a tent, a camp mattress or a camp stove and dishes. The hike to the cabin is just over 6 km and it took us about 5 hours to get there. The total ascent is 1489 ft. and the maximum elevation is 5757 ft. We arrived at the Hut at about 3:53 pm. We noticed some bear poop on trail and 1 bear track in trail further along. It was a calm evening and fair weather.

On Sept. 14, the three of us did a day hike to Phalarope Lake and Ozilinka Lake.
We hiked 9.9 km, 4 hrs 47 min moving and 2 hrs 55 min. stopped, our total ascent was 3276 ft. and our maximum elevation was 7138 ft.

There are entries in the log book of people hiking to the summit so we looked for a route to the summit but it all looked too rugged for us to try. I think this is the highest elevation I have obtained this year so far. Many flowers. Marmot tracks. 1 dead lemming.

That evening we checked the maps in the Hut and found another lake. So the next day, September 15, 2011 we hiked to Fan Lake. We hiked about 10 km, our total ascent was 2435 ft., and the maximum elev. was 6891 ft. We found fur and a jaw bone of a lemming which appeared to have been preyed on by a falcon. the fur was removed in small pieces. There is lots of Lemming poop in piles. We found a nice waterfall on the way back. A thunder shower caught us on the way back so we got wet and it was nice to have a warm and dry place to go to.

On September 16, 2011 we did a day hike to Clyde Pass.

7.8 km, and we were gone about 5 hrs. Total ascent 2082 ft. Max elev. 6447 ft. We observed several Lemmings dead and decayed. The trail to the pass had been cleared and flagged just the day before we went so it was easy to find and follow. After Clyde Pass we did a side trip to where Jim, Doran and I thought the pass was last year. We left just after noon and arrived back by 5 pm. A very pleasant day.

September, 17, 2011, Hiked out. Started at 8;30 AM and arrive at the vehicle at 11:57 just over 3 hours out.

Great Beaver Lake, BC

I urged a my brother Jim to rent me a kayak and take me on a trip so on September 18, 2011, he took me to Kayak on the Great Beaver Lake. We left from the Forestry Campsite on Great Beaver Lake, BC at about 3:45 pm. Our departure was delayed somewhat because as I was entering the kayak I tipped it and I got rather wet. Fortunately it was a reasonably warm afternoon and paddling kept me warm until I was able to dry out. We paddled 8.54 km, in about 2 hrs 3 min. We saw an Eagle , and fish jumping like porpoises. We arrived at camp at 6:10 pm.

September, 19, 2011. We stayed in camp all morning. I whittled a walking stick out of Aspen. After lunch we went for a paddle across the lake to a place where Jim had camped twice before. We saw an Eagle, waterfowl, we heard a heard moose ( Jim saw the moose and said there were 2). We also may have seen an osprey. We paddled 9.8 km. in less than 3 hours. We were back at camp about 5 pm.

September 21, 2011 we paddled back 8.62 km in about 2 hours.

August 20, 2011 Blackfoot Reccreational Area

I haven't walked as much this summer as I have other summers and I have missed it. I have been out doors a fair amount because I have tented more this summer than that I usually do. I have a vehicle, a backpack and a tent.
If you can ignore the mosquitoes then this would be a good hike. As it turned out I arrived at the staging area sans mosquito repellent. I survived 2 hours but it was a relief when I arrived back at the parking lot and ducked into the cab of my vehicle. Nevertheless for me even a walk in a swarm of mosquitoes is better than no walk at all. The evening was still. The bounty of the advancing summer was all around me. In many places the, almost florescent orange, Bunch Berries were plentiful along the trail. I picked and ate ripe low bush cranberries. Sour but I believe these berries have some medicinal value. My mother says that when the golden rod is in bloom then it is 6 weeks until frost. The golden rod is in bloom. Many plants are now already in seed. I walked to where I could view the Heron colony but I had too many sucking mouth parts seeking my blood for me to stay long. Also my binoculars were in the same back pacjk the insect repellent was. So no Herons were observed but I certainly but count some frogs. And I did see a dozen or so teal, already in fall plumage.

In all I observed 25 to 30 Northern Wood Frogs and on Boreal Chorus Frog as I hiked from the Blackfoot Lake Staging area on the Whitetail trail to the Springs trail. Took the Springs trail to Heron Hollow. Hiked Heron Hollow to the park fence and then hiked south along the fence to Blackfoot Lake. 2.8 km. (5.6 km total).

Frog Walk At Islet Lake

July 9, 2011
When I walk during the spring, summer and even the fall I listen and watch for Amphibians. I record any sightings and I then report my observations to the Amphibian Volunteer Monitoring Program, (http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/default/index.cfm/programs/wildlife/wildlife-projects/avamp/overview/Amphibian). This walk was to be just a walk in one of my favorite places. I had the willing company of two of my nephews. The walk turned out to be a frog counting expedition.
The Cooking Lake Recreational Area with its wetlands is a haven for amphibians but in past years low precipitation rates have drastically reduced suitable habitat for amphibians. Last winter's snow fall and this summer's rains has not been for the best summer for us humans, we like sunshine, but the amphibians are having a great summer. The frogs in particular seem to be having a great year and I can imagine their happiness this summer. That is assuming frogs can feel happy, but back to the walk.
The three of us started our walk from the Islet Lake Staging Area and hiked the Highline trail first and then hiked back on the Middle trail and returned to the staging area on the Lost Lake trail. This was an evening hike and during this walk we counted well over a 100 Northern Wood Frogs and 6 Boreal Chorus Frogs.

Here is the distance and times for the hike.

5.21 km

1 hr 29 min moving

10 min stopped

Max elevation 2669

Bertha Lake, Waterton National Park

July 4, 2011
This hike started out as a few of us planning to do a day hike up to Bertha Lake but it grew into a family get together. People aged in their 70,s and young Issac who was 5 and who walked just about every step of the way himself.

A perfect day for a hike in the mountains. The Bear Grass was in bloom along the trail at the lower elevations this is quite a contrast to when Ken and I hiked to Bertha Falls on February 15, 2011. I am not sure if this is when the notion of hiking to Bertha Lake was conceived. I think the hike to Bertha Falls was a test to see how feasible it would be for some older folks to hike to Bertha Lake.

It was a little above Bertha Falls that I encountered the first bit of snow. As it turned out there was quite a lot of snow still on the trail. In fact I think the snow was knee deep if not hip deep in some places. Hip deep for at least some of the shorter hikers. When I drained my water bottle I just filled it with snow and eventually, as the snow melted, I had more water. Some individuals hiked on to the out houses at Bertha Lake and reported quite a bit of snow on that trail. It appeared to me that continuing the hike around Bertha Lake would be very difficult because of snow. There was also one patch of ice still on the lake.

I just took a few nuts and a a granola bar with me to eat on the hike, which I did not touch. I found ample offers of food when I got to the lake and curiously enough I returned with more food than I had left with.

But I digress. This trail to Bertha Lake is well traveled and there were many hikers on it on this day. I even noted on person hiking it without shoes.

The total distance hiked was about 12 km.
I think we hiked a total of about4.5 hrs to a maximum elevation of 5918 ft.

Whitehorn Campsite to Trail Head/ Day 6

July 2, 2011
This would be one of the busiest days in the park. We encountered many day hikers on the trail. I would catch the gentle fragrances of scented soaps as the people approached and I wonder to myself just what my fragrance was. After camping for 5 days I would certainly have acquired my own unique bouquet.

On June 27, 2001 my notes tell about observing large boulders that had recently fallen onto the alluvial flat. During their fall the boulders had taken out Douglas Fur over a foot in diameter and left craters where they struck the ground. Sometimes the boulders then bounced about 40 feet. By the size of the craters the energy released would have been equivalent to that of an artillery round.

On the hike back Jim and I found the trail across the flood plain so we didn't hike the high bank this time.

Once we were at the north end of Kinney Lake we were encountering lots of day hikers and bicyclists. Cycling is permitted on the trail up to a place just past Kinney Lake where there are racks for locking bikes.

It was a pleasant day and a pleasant hike out.

This concludes my Robson Park Blog entries.

Berg Lake to Whitehorn Campsite

July 1, 2011. Day 5

We got an early start again today. We left the Berg Lake campsite at 7:30 AM. The weather was fair. Where the trail traverses the talus slope I noticed chunks of ice strewn about. The chunks were fist sized and were scattered. I called Jim's attention to this but be could not conclude where the ice would have come from. Our best guess was that it fell from higher up, but what is higher up is not visible from the trail. I think a person would not want to be on the trail while the ice was falling.

I first learned about the Rock Rabbit or Pika when I was studying Biological Sciences at the Northern Albert Institute of Technology (NAIT). For me to learn of such an animal that was familiar to the mountains of Alberta and BC but to have never seen one was intriguing. Hence I have always enjoyed seeing these some what secretive creatures. I have recently learned that Pika put up hay for the winter, possibly the only other species besides man that does, and it does not hibernate. Wikipedia says "They show their peak activity before the winter season. Pikas do not hibernate, so they rely on collected hay for warm bedding and food. Pikas gather fresh grasses and lay them in stacks to dry. Once the grasses dry out, the Pikas take this hay back to the burrows for storage. It is not uncommon for Pikas to steal hay from each other.

Not far beyond the end of the talus is the Emperor Falls Campground and a little further along is the Emperor Falls trail. I think it was at the Emperor Falls trail that we met our first hikers of the day. Two ladies on their way to Berg Lake. This time Jim and I took the time to hike into the falls. Photos and words won't do the falls justice. My notes say "spectacular!" but really You just have to go see them. To visit these falls will certainly validate why you did the hike and make every step worth it.

We arrived at the Whitehorn Campsite at noon. Had lunch and set up camp and then took a rest. We met quite a few hikers on their way up the trail. This time we actually met hikers who were closer to our age. Our tent was near the trail and during my rest I could hear hikers passing by regularly.

That afternoon the park ranger, Anne, showed some people where water welds up. She says this water is pure and is not part of the river flow so it does not need to be filtered. The evening was warmer than the ones at Berg Lake and there was no precipitation so it was a much more pleasant time here. A good opportunity to look around and explore. Jim and I went for a bit of a walk that evening. We crossed the suspension bridge and hiked the horse trail on the other side of the river. We found White Ladyslippers.Jim showed me a plant with a Larkspur like flower that had sticky leaves. The stick leaves will capture insects and the plant then consumes the insect.
It felt good to be back into a little warmer air and to be dry.

Hargrave Lake/ the Cave/Mum Basin

June 30, 2011, Day 4 of Mount Robson Park, Berg Lake Hike.

To get to the Hargrave Lake trail head requires hiking back along the Berg Lake trail for about 1.6 km. The weather was a little better on this day and I think we made our breakfast under the Tyvek Fly. Even though we had some clear sky and sunshine the top of Mount Robson was still shrouded in clouds. Jim and I started our hike at 8:30 AM.

As Jim and I hiked back along the Berg Lake trail I happened to notice 5 Harlequin Ducks loafing on a rock. We stopped to observe them and I was even able to take a photo and a video of them. Then we noticed a few more loafing on a rock near the first one. There were 10 ducks in total.

I had hiked the Mum Basin and Toboggan Falls in June 2001 with Jim and Ken but we did not get to Hargrave Lake on that hike.

Once we started on the Hargrave Lake trail it was a steady climb. The Berg Glacier is a calving glacier meaning that chucks of ice break off and fall into the lake to form Icebergs on the lake. On the way up there was a loud rumble of a Berg breaking. I immediately looked and saw broken chunks of ice tumbling down the edge of the glacier and seconds later I heard a secondary rumble. I kept wondering why I hadn't seen larger chucks breaking off. Later in the day while at the Mum Basin I heard a loud rumble of breaking ice and when I looked at the lake I noticed new icebergs in the lake and waves radiating outward from the toe of the glacier. This confirmed what I had been thinking, which was simply that light travels faster than sound. By the time I heard the sound of the rumble of the breaking ice the event was already over as it would have taken several seconds for the sound to reach me. The waves on the water validated that a calving event had occurred within those seconds of time.

Much of the hike to Hargrave Lake is along the Lateral Moraine left as the glacier shrank in size. I speculate that when the distance between the two lateral moraines were filled with ice the Hargrave Glacier would have been as large in width and length as the Athabasca glacier is now. Walking along the moraine gives one a commanding view of Berg Lake, Hargrave Lake, and the glaciers all framed in rocky slopes and craggy mountains. As Jim and I reached the view point for Hargrave Lake we were over taken two younger hikers. One was a student of geology at the U of A. The other was an engineering student at Bristol University.
We then decided to continue on up to the cave. This is a steady ascent. We saw 2 eagles soaring over the ridge high above us. There were more people at the cave and they went into the cave. Jim and I stayed outside as their description of the interior of the cave was sufficient for us. We had a few snacks here and a bit of a rest. It was very enjoyable visiting with other hikers. The trail from the cave to the Mum Basin is not well defined but it was sufficiently clear for us to follow, however this might not be so had there been any snow or perhaps even on a day with low contrast light. The alpine flowers were out in abundance. A white crocus like flower was just one of many. A person could easily spend many pleasant hours with reference book in hand identifying flowers. There was a significant amount of 'old' snow on the trail but not enough to impede our progress in any way. Where signs of the trail were masked by the snow then there were tracks of the hikers who had been there before us to guide the way.

As we descended from the Mum Basin we saw a Clark's Nutcracker. Seeing it served to refresh my memory about the differences between the Clark's Nutcracker and the Gray Jay or Whiskey Jack.

At some point during our descent to the Robson Pass Campground Jim loaned me one of his walking poles. I found it to be a help went descending steeper trails.

We were back at camp by 3:30 pm.

Total distance hiked: 12.1 km

moving 4 hr.s 20 min

sopped 2 hr 34 min

total ascent 3355 ft.

Max. elevation 7037 ft.

My notes for June 25, 2001 record that we did the Mum Basin hike in fog and snow. During lunch we observed 2 marmots playing and also an eagle soaring above us. I also mentioned the abundance of flowers including the white crocus.

Robson Glacier, Adolphus Lake Day 3

June 29, 2011Day 3

Day 3 was a day of trying to stay dry and getting warmed up. there was a lot of contemplation and some discussion about suitable apparel in wet conditions.

We left the Berg Lake Campsite early in the morning and hiked to the Robson Pass Campsite. There are a couple of routes to the Robson Glacier. One follows the river and the other starts at the Robson Pass Campsite. There is a sign on the first trail showing where the Glacier was in 1911. The glacier has receded a couple of kilometers since then. There was even a noticeable difference in the position of the glacier now and where it was when hiked to it 10 years ago. The two photos taken from the Mum Basin do not show a significant difference but when you hike there it is noticeable. The trail to the glacier is well defined for the most part except where it gets into some rock and talus. It is then marked with cairns. We did manage to lose the trail for a short way but a quick check of our Track File had us quickly back on it. Jim found his walking poles of great advantage on this terrain particularly since a constant rain made the rocks wet.

Ten years ago while walking the glacial moraine we found a log partially buried in the moraine. I concluded that the tree must have be trapped in the glacier as it was advancing and then released from the ice as the glacier receded. At that time we quizzed the Park Ranger about this and he said that indeed some scientist had studied the tree wood and determined that it had be trapped in the ice for 3000 years. I studied this wood more carefully this time and it is still quite solid but I could detect no odder of spruce or pine and the heart of the wood has a faded hue to it.

I also noticed numerous small flowering plants establishing themselves on the glacial moraine.

Another curiosity was the milky look of the water in the river and to me it took on a rather unique greenish hue.

In spite of the rain this was a worthwhile hike.

This hike was 8.2 km. and about 3 hours 45 min. long.

Total ascent was 902 ft.

Maximum elevation 5639 ft.

We stopped for lunch at about 1 pm at the campsite where there is a shelter and fire wood, though we did not light a fire, and a tarp fly over the picnic tables. It was comfortable enough place to rest and eat. We then hiked on to the boundary between BC and Alberta and then on to Adolphus Lake. The rain was upon us then and we made our way back to camp. Jim and I pondered what makes the difference between a general rain and rain showers. By the time I got back my cotton T-shirt and long sleeved shirt were wet. I rested in the tent in hopes of drying out some but I didn't really get dry and warm until I started moving around again. I think Jim and I put up a Tyvek fly.

The day before we had visited with a young fellow from Munich. He gave us some good advice about apparel for rain conditions. When he saw Jim and I dip water straight from the river into our drinking water containers he was perhaps a bit puzzled that we were not filtering our water. He said "you guys crack me up".

Total distance 4.5 km

Total time 2 hrs. 10 min.

Total distance hiked on this day was 12.7 km.

It was June 24, 2001 that Ken, Jim and I hiked to the Robson Glacier. We talked to the Park Ranger Chris and he invited us to the cabin and showed us a photo of the Robson Glacier taken in 1908. Also we stopped at the Robson Pass Campground. I noted a Clark's Nutcracker came near by and rooted around in the litter beside a tree root.

PS: I neglected to mention: while preparing oatmeal for my breakfast on the porch of the cabin a Meadow Vole appeared along the wall. It became so bold that it ventured right to my feet and picked up a few pieces of oatmeal.

Found the trail head to the Snowbird Pass but this trail does not open until July 1st.