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.