Plantwatch

April 16, 2012, walk in West Lethbridge, solo.

I started around noon and after a minor backtrack I walked directly to the University of Lethbridge. My main goal was to find a Geocache.

I photographed a big spider and I found Prairie Crocus and Moss Flox just beginning to bloom. I made some notes on the Prairie Crocus for Plantwatch.

 http://www.naturewatch.ca/english/plantwatch/

I then found the Geocache.

 http://www.geocaching.com/guide/default.aspx

I signed the Geocache log and left a carabineer in it.

The area east of the U of L is coulees and river breaks. During this walk I ascended and descended several moderate to steep slopes. This was the first time I had walked significant slopes since my surgery and I seemed to do okay.

I finished this walk between 4 and 4:30 PM

Distance: 12.1 km

Time: 3 hr. 33 min. moving, 30 min stopped.

Total ascent is shown as 1093 ft which surprises me but then I did go up and down the coulees a bit. Max. Elev. 3134 ft.

Seeking Signs of Spring

The nurse in the Pincher Creek Hospital gave me instructions as to how to take care of myself while I healed. Her instructions included walking as much as I want so from April 1, to April 9 I did various short walks usually less than an hour in duration, 2 in Cardston. and 2 in Edmonton.

I went for my first walk of about 1 hour long on April 10, 2012, in Edmonton. I walked with Molly the dog and her master.
Started around 7:30 pm to and ended around 8:30 pm.
Distance: 3.5 km.
Time 1 hr. moving.

April 15, 2012, walked at Wally’s beach on the St. Mary’s Reservoir, solo.
I think it was in 2001 that the St. Mary reservoir all but dried up. Some time in the summer of 2001 I visited the reservoir with a group of my co-workers. We walked the bed of the reservoir and visited some archaeological sites there. I set some Waypoints for those sites but the following summer the reservoir filled up and I doubt I will ever get to sites again. I have walked the shore or reservoir several times since.
For this walk I started a little after 11:30 AM at the swing gate, which is closed and locked, so I walked the gravel road to the beach. During this walk I saw a flock of Robins and possibly Flickers. I walked the shore line generally to the south. There had been snow the day before and the melt made some areas very muddy. I was instructed, by the nurse, that I was not to lift more than 10 lbs for 6 to 8 weeks but I am sure that the mud sticking on my boots made them weighed, at least, 10 lbs. each.

Shore birds, Canada Geese, gulls and ducks rode the currents of a stiff wind and a gentile surf.

Heavy iron pieces of farm machinery and the concrete remains of an old foundation reminded me that this shoreline was once a farm and what is now a body of water was once cropland or pasture.

I walked as far as a barbed wire fence and then ascended the bank and took some photos. As I doubled back to my starting point I followed a fence line that bordered a field. In the dry weeds along the field there were lots of small bird tracks. This is clearly a favorite place for small birds to forage. Once I was back at the beach I took a break then continued north along the beach. I noticed one set of tracks that might have been a skunk or a raccoon.

I took a meandering route generally north alone the shoreline as far as the concrete shore stabilization placements. I then ascended the low bank and walked the field and the fence back to my truck. This walk ended at around 3:30 PM.

Distance: 8.77 km.
Time: 3 hr. 16 min moving, 30 min stopped.
Ascent 452 ft. max elev. 3678 ft.

At 4:30 PM I started a second walk at the visitor parking area at the St. Mary Spillway. I walked the upper spillway view point and then descended to the bottom of the spillway and the St. Mary River.

By this time the wind had died and the sun was out. The day was had returned to it's springtime temperament. I saw 2 yellow bellied Marmots and I found some of the first blooms of spring. They were Moss Flox. I Returned to the truck around 6 PM.

Distance: 4.46 km.
Time 1 hr. 30 min moving, 10 min stopped. Ascent 391 ft. Max. elev. 3668 ft.

In total I calculate I walked about 13 km. on these two walks. This is my first real hike since my surgery and all went well.

Morning Walk

March 27, 2012, walk in West Lethbridge, solo.

This was another morning walk. I started about 6:30 AM and ended about 7:30 AM

Distance; 4.8 km.

Time: 1 Hour.

Akamina Again, (When It Is This Good You Have To Go Back)

March 28, 2012, walk with my brother and his son to Akamina Pass and back.

I just had to do one more hike because on the following day I was getting a bit od surgery done I and I don't know how long it will be before I am back hiking again. This was an early spring hike that might have been better on snowshoes or skis but we had a good hike on snow.

My Blog on March 25, 2011 is about skiing to the Akamina Pass. The top photo here shows the snow on the roof of the Kiosk there. I now conclude that much of the accumulated snow had been knocked off or slid off because this year the weight of snow on the Kiosk was so great that it pulled the roof off and dumped all the snow on the east side.

Distance: 5.93 km.

Time: 2 hrs 5 min moving, 30 min stopped.

Oldman River Dam

March 25. 2012, walk the Oldman River Dam, solo.

I started out to hike the Drywood Creek trail as it is described in Joey Ambrosi's book Southern Rockies Trail Guide, but there was still a lot of snow on the roads there so I turned back. Since I was in the Pincher Creek area anyway I decided to go to the Oldman River Dam instead. I started walking along the river below the Spillway at around 12:30 pm and finished around 2:30 pm. There were a few fishermen coming and going throughout the day. I walked along the river then I walked the switchbacks up the dam. I descended along the paved road and then continued along he river to the bridge and back. There were plenty of Canada Geese on the pond and a few Richardson Ground Squirrels darting about. This was a rather leisurely walk.

http://www.uleth.ca/vft/Oldman_River/OldmanDam.html

Distance walked; 6.27 km.

Time: 2 hr 9 min moving, 40 min stopped.

Total ascent 421 ft. Max. elev. 3718.

Urban Walking

I often incorporate my walking into a daily routine or sometimes walking is a means of getting from place to place. The next entries are walks of a recreational or utilitarian nature that I logged. Not that exciting I know but I still want them on the record. If you have set a goal of a minimum number of kilometers a day that you want to walk I find that such a goal can often be met merely with a walk to the grocery store or the bank.

March 20, 2012, walked West Lethbridge to the bank and back, solo.
Started around 8:30 pm finished around 9:30 pm.
Distance: 5.02 km.
Moving time 1 hr 1 min., stopped time 13 min.

March 21, 2012, walk West Lethbridge, solo.
Started 6:40 am and ended about 7:20 am.
Distance: 4.16 km.
Time: 48 min moving.

March 22, 2012, Walk West Lethbridge solo.
Started at about 6:40 AM and ended at 720 AM.
Distance: 4.49 km.
Time: 55 min moving. 3151 max elev.

March 23, 2012, Walk W. Lethbridge, solo.
Distance: 4.8 km.
Time: 1 hr 7min. moving.

By filling in a bit of free time with a walk I was able to log about 18 km in a few days.

Next I have a friend who talks about walking a Half Marathon so it got me thinking about doing a longer walk like that. I was scheduled for some surgery that I knew might limit my walking for a few weeks to a month so I took this opportunity to try the longer walk.

March 24, 2012, walk W Lethbridge, the river valley, the University of Lethbridge and back through West Lethbridge, solo.
I started around 9:30 AM finished around 3 PM. I took a short break about half way to eat and drink. I want to mention the Richardson Ground Squirrel or what most people call the Gopher. Over the past week I have started to see a number of these critters. As they emerge from their burrows they are one of the signs that spring has arrived.

Distance: 21.2 km. (yellow line)
Time: 5 hr. 15 min moving, 35 min stopped.
I clocked an average moving speed of 4.0 km/hr., but my walking speed got as high as 4.2 km/hr. which seemed a nice easy pace for me.
Total ascent 789 ft. max elev. 3111

Medicine and Ritual

I had the pleasure of visiting friends in Redcliff and Medicine Hat. This visit allowed me to revisit places I used to go and hikes I used to take.

March 16, 2012, walked Echo Dale Farm and Park. Solo.

East of Medicine Hat on the south side of the South Saskatchewan River there is Echo Dale Park and Echo Dale Farm. I was involved in volunteering at the blacksmith shop in Echo Dale Farm so I decided to take a walk to see how things might have changed, if they change at all.
I started my walk around 1 pm and ended it around 3 pm. I walked directly to the Blacksmith shop. Since it is the off season the shop is closed but peering through the windows showed me that it is in use at times and it has not changed a whole lot. Next I walked down to the Bessemer engine which was dug into the bank of the South Saskatchewan River. The engine is a monstrous 2 cylinder stationary engine that was used to drive a pump for pumping water for irrigation. The remainder of my walk was east along the river mostly on a pathway of red cinders. Red cinder is plentiful in his area and is where the name Redcliff comes from. Then I returned on the asphalt paths along the river breaks, to the swimming area, now drained, and back to my vehicle. During my walk I saw a flicker but I know that on a summer walk it is not uncommon to see Prairie Rattle Snakes and Bull Snakes.

Find out more about Echo Dale Park at: http://www.medicinehat.ca/City%20Government/Departments/Parks%20and%20Outdoor%20Recreation/Parks%20System/Echo%20Dale%20Regional%20Park.asp

Total distance 6.22 km.
My time: 1 hr 43 min moving, 7 min stopped.
Max elevation 2562 ft., total ascent 510 ft.
March 17, 2012, walked NE Crescent Heights, Police Point Park, and Redcliff to River Valley Park and back, solo.

When I lived in Medicine Hat I would walk my son's dog so I managed to load an old Track File from one of those walks and I took a walk to find and follow that track. I started walking around 9:30 AM and finished around 10 AM. There has been considerable development in this area, since I walked it last, but the original asphalt path is still there and appears to be well used by people walking their dogs.

Total distance 2.7 km

Time: 34 min.

Then I met up with some friends and took a a walk in Police Point Park. We started around 10:30 AM and walked about 2 km in the park and then about another 3 km. back to their home. These friends have done a lot of photography in the Police Point Park so I liked hearing about their best sightings and their best photo shots. You might see some of these shots on their Website at: http://www.milnernaturescapes.ca/

Total distance: 5.07 km

Time: 1 hr 24 min moving, 8 min stopped.

That evening I had time to take a walk in Redcliff and to River Valley Park on the north side of the South Saskatchewan River and back, solo.

Total distance: 9.33 km,

Time: 2 hr 2 min moving, 7 min stopped.

Total ascent 431. Max elev. 2675ft

Total distance walked on this day 17.1

The total km. I walked, as shown on my GPS odometer, up to March 18, 2012 is 54.18 km.

On March 18, 2012 I drove to a couple of archeological features called Medicine Wheels. I drove to the first site but I decided to take a walk on the prairie again to get to the site of the Many Island Lake Medicine Wheel. There is no question why the indigenous people might have considered this a special or even a sacred place. I have no idea what rituals, if any, would have been preformed on these sites by the indigenous people of this area but I felt compelled to recognize the significance of this site, to those people, in my own way.

March 18, 2012, Walk to Many Islands Lake Medicine Wheel, solo.

Distance walked: 3.71 km

Walking time: 1 hour 4 min moving. 17 min stopped.

Total ascent 436 ft., max elev. 3199 ft.

Medicine does not insure good health and good health does not depend on medicine.