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Other Links of Interest FOT NewsletterCastlegar [- fall05-1-] [- fall05-2-] [- fall05-3-] [- fall05-4-] [- fall05-5-] [- fall05-6-] [- fall05-7-] |
TRIP REPORTS
Saturday, April 23, 2005:
A total of 19 Nats went on the Mel DeAnna Trail hike to enjoy the scenery and tidy up any winter damage on the trail. The weather was sunny and warm, and all appreciated the first flowers of spring. The glacier lilies covered many sunny spots beside the trail, and in the shadier places we saw the beautiful white trillium blossoms just starting to open up. We did not have to do any trail cleanup, apart from removing a few broken green branches and snipping off some brush. We did see some ducks in the pond and heard a few birds singing in the trees - that told everybody that the spring is here. We had a short rest and lunch at the second shelter to replenish the energy, and then headed back to the trailhead and parking lot and home. On the loop back, we met three young women on trail bikes. They passed us, but then their energy levels, and consequently their speed, was considerably higher than ours. Altogether, we had a very enjoyable day.Tom Allis
May 7, 2005: It was a beautiful spring day and this was shared by four Nats and two guests, as they took the three km walk up an old mountain road, built by my Dad, Val Kosiancic, in 1928. As usual, we enjoyed the view from the hang gliders' ramp that is built on 'Kozy's Rock' at a 3,000 foot elevation. This has been a 'Year of the Dandelion', as fields have been golden yellow with billions of them - a lovely plant, and they are welcome in my lawn"The Poor Farmer" Ray (Kay) Kosiancic
Saturday, May 14, 2005: Only three Nats took the short but steep hike up the Loyd Groutage #61 Trail to Loyd's Meadow. There were lots of flowers, but we did not find the elusive Chocolate Lily. It would appear we were too late. A curious chipmunk checked us out very carefully. The rain started in earnest just as we arrived back at the car.SW (Webb) Webster
Saturday, May 21, 2005: Frank Fowler, Geology instructor from Selkirk College, led a group of seven Nats on a tour from Castlegar through Nelson, Salmo and back to Castlegar, explaining a portion of the geologic history of this area. Some of the main points included: that this area was the approximate west coast of North America during the early Jurassic (190 million years ago) as shown by deposits of limestone, volcanic pillow lavas, and marine fossils. It was also an area of plate collisions as North America ran into a smaller, formerly offshore, land mass. Evidence seen of this collision included banded gneiss and folded rocks from the crush zone, granitic intrusions, resulting from melting of crustal material, mineralization (Queen Victoria Mine) as the granitic masses cooled, and diverse volcanic rocks. Later (50 million years ago), extension produced the small intrusion of Pulaskite building stone seen near Ymir and the major Slocan-Champion Lake fault zone, seen at both the first and last stops of the tour.Frank Fowler
Saturday, May 28, 2005: Five people joined Bill and Marj Bennetts on a lovely walk along Sproule Creek Trail in the Taghum area. The day was sunny and hot, so it was a welcome relief to be in the shade near the icy flow of the water. The trail traversed the creek at least seven times over bridges ranging from newly constructed to rotting planks, but all are serviceable. At our lunch site, about four km along the trail, we observed remains of an old sawmill and received a history lesson. Apparently, a flume had been built from this point to the Kootenay River to transport the cut logs - quite a feat. Logging operations are again about to begin in the area, which will destroy the first part of the trail. All of us signed a petition at the trailhead to try to move the access road away from this accessible, easy, well-used trail. Only a few birds were heard over the sound of creek water - a couple of winter wrens and warblers. The yellow Canada violets were seen on the entire hike, as well as ginger, calypso, orchid, foamflower, a few late trilliums, and arrowhead.Sharon Lelliott
Saturday, June 11, 2005: Six Nats and one guest meandered up to Tulip Creek Falls and thence to Deer Creek Falls, two short hikes to spectacular waterfalls. The 'leader' had the good fortune to have with her people who know something about botany. A brief shower turned to rain on the second leg or as was quoted "variable with frequent intervals". After lunch at the second location, the group split up and wandered in the area north along the Rusty Creek road, which angles northwest (left) off the main road, to see if we could find the top of Deer Creek Falls. To top off a great day, we went to look at the Natural Arch, across Lower Arrow Lake from Deer Park. It was suggested that we have a work party day, with small chain saws, Swede saws, nippers, and clippers, along the Deer Creek and Loyd Groutage #61 trails. If we don't do it, no one else will, and we will quickly lose these Kootenay gems. Thanks to the group who made up the following list of fauna and flora seen: golden-crowned kinglet, orange-crowned warbler, redstart, junco, Lessin's Vireo, Hammond's flycatcher, white-throated swift, dipper, rufous hummingbird, Swainson's thrush, Townsend's warbler, winter wren, black-capped chickadee, robin, nuthatch, 3 ewes, 2 lambs, 1 whitetail deer, (no partridge, no pear tree), Alberta wild rose, dogwood, thimbleberry, many mushrooms (we don't have a mycologist in our group), yarrow, elderberry, blackberry, queen's cup, coneflower, bunchberry, tiger lily, purple vetch, large-leafed avens, salsify. Margo Saunders
Saturday, July 9, 2005: Seven Nats met at the Apex Ski Area parking lot for a hike along the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe rail trail toward Ymir. Rain showers alternated with sunny periods. The rail bed was bright with wildflowers and we ambled at first, identifying each new species. Vetch, oxeye daisy, orange hawkweed, and yellow hawkweed were abundant. Less plentiful were larkspur, tiger lily, and twinflower. The trail parallels the Salmo River and the wet river edges were home to profuse cow parsnip and some white bog orchids. Our most interesting find was black twinberry, a shrub growing at the river's edge at our lunch spot. After lunch, we hiked briskly back to the cars for an estimated ten km round trip.Julia M Roberts
Saturday, July 16, 2005: Eight WK Nats were joined by seven Boundary Nats for a hike at Christina Lake. We met at Texas Point Provincial Park. The car from Rossland was driving around in circles, so we had to track them down. We were all thankful that the weather was perfect for hiking, since we'd been experiencing extreme heat and had to cover 19 km for the round trip to the Deer Point viewpoint. Except for the last km, where the grasses came up to our waists, the rest of the trail had been cleared by Parks workers. Everyone agreed that the view was well worth the hike. We didn't see many birds, but Sharon's quick eye discovered a nice patch of "lovely" Clarkia. After the hike, a few of us braved the 'refreshing' water of Christina LakeVera Medved
Saturday, July 23, 2005: Four Nats and two guests went birding in the Nakusp area. We spend most of our time around Summit Lake, followed by a few stops in Brouse, concluding with a stop at Wylie's Pub in beautiful downtown Nakusp. We saw the fewest birds at the last stop. I went up to Summit Lake by myself earlier in the morning to see if I could find a Magnolia, but was unsuccessful. Our species list for the day was: Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Rufous Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Steller's Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Veery, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Varied Thrush, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, MacGillivray's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged blackbird, Red Crossbill and Pine Siskin. We also saw four mountain goats on the cliffs above Summit Lake. To add to the six raptor species seen by the group, I had a Merlin and an Osprey over my house in the afternoon, and also a few Black Swifts. Prior to the group's arrival, I had a Grouse, Wilson's Snipe, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, European Starling, Chipping Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, and Dark-eyed Junco. Total species for the group: 45. My total for the day was 55. A pretty good number for late July!Gary Davidson
Saturday, August 6, 2005: We had a glorious hot, sunny day this year for the Idaho Peak hike, in which 14 Nats and guest participated. The Forestry Road was, as usual, the hardest part of the trip, but we were rewarded with a spectacular display of alpine flowers, of which we identified 34 different kinds. The birds were few, but interesting, with a couple of very tame families of spruce grouse trying to share our lunches and a red-tailed hawk soaring over the summit. Quite a few people in our group were first-timers to Idaho Peak, and they were duly impressed with the flora and vistas of the surrounding mountain ranges.Sharon Lelliott [The Editor contacted Sharon, and found that she had made a list of these 34 species of flowers. Since, to our knowledge, there is no definitive list in our records, we prevailed upon her to supply it. Thank you!] Blue-Eyed Mary, Alpine Forget-Me-Not, Red Stemmed Saxifrage, Round-Leaved Alumroot, Fringed Grass of Parnassus, Stonecrop, Night-Flowering Catchfly, Thread Leaved Sandwort, Cow Parsnip, Fireweed, Western Pasqueflower (Anemone, Tow-Headed Babies, Hippie on a Stick), Upland Larkspur Sulphur Buckwheat, Showy Jacob's Ladder, Silky Phacelia, Common Harebell, Penstemmon, Sickletop Lousewort, Bracted Lousewort, Paintbrush (probably two sub-species), Lupine, Pearly Everlasting, Pussytoes, Arrow Leaved Groundsel (that yellow daisy-like flower with pointed leaves we looked at on our way back to the parking lot), Arnica, Subalpine Daisy, Yarrow, Scouler's Hawkweed, Orange Hawkweed, Valerian, Yellow Columbine, Rhododendron, Indian Hellebore, Wild Stawberry, Purple Heather, White Heather. Saturday, August 13, 2005: The gathering point for this hike was at the Rosebery bridge over Wilson Creek, and the original destination was the Dennis Basin. By 9 am, four of us, Michael, Kelly, Lloyd and Rod had met and started up Wilson Creek Road. 2.8 km up we turned right on a new road marked Dennis Basin. Wrong! The real road is fifty metres further along. So, after two kilometers of quite rough going we returned and quickly found the correct route. The road is spectacular, high above Wilson Creek valley, and affords panoramic
views of surrounding peaks. Two red tailed hawks thrilled us with their appearance. At the Dennis Basin trailhead, some 12 km from the highway, we had a pow-wow and decided we were all up for the Alps Alturas trail instead. After all, it is considered a premier hike in "Don't waste Your Time". Rod had done this hike a few years previous, and agreed with the book. Back onto the logging road again, which was in excellent shape considering there was no active logging, we drove another fifteen km to the parking lot high in a cutblock, where we joined several other vehicles. The first part of the hike is along an old mining road through the trees. It is possible to drive this with a high clearance 4X4, and sure enough, there was a truck parked about a k and a half up. This part of the hike was not the most entertaining, but once on the trail the views and walk improve dramatically. The flowers were magnificent, and lots of photo opportunities presented themselves. Higher up on the ridge vistas began to unfold - Dennis Basin, the Valhallas, Idaho Peak, and Whitewater Mountain. Even though the trail was quite steep in places, the temperature was cool enough to prevent heavy sweating, and the slight breeze kept many flies away. We contoured around Mount Dolly Varden into Marten Basin. The aspect of the trail is truly spectacular. The narrow trail gives a real sense of exposure, with a long drop down into a small turquoise lake. The traverse leads to the perfect lunch spot above the alpine lake at about 7600 feet. We were there in around two hours from the trailhead, and ate and looked around through the binoculars. There were other people there, including two men coming down the edge of the small glacier on Marten Mountain. One of them was hit by a boulder and may have broken ribs and/or a collar bone. They gingerly made their way down the trail and luckily they had driven the furthest up the old road. What a hike! Great vistas, fabulous flowers, old mines, spectacular trail and good hiking companions. (And Rod learned that Columbia Ground Squirrels are not pikas!) Ten kilometers round trip. Worth the long access.
Rod Dunnett
Saturday, August 20, 2005: A dozen Naturalists - including four from the Christina Lake area - walked down the Railgrade from Rossland to Warfield. This was a short leisurely hike, perfect for the summer, since we started early and had a lot of shade on the way. Margaret gave us some historical notes as we started. Trees had been cut and a new road was opened for the new development. In one of the switchbacks, close to the Golf Course, we saw quite a few Touch Me Nots. This was the first time I had seen this flower. I went back in the afternoon and took some pictures. I am enclosing one. When we arrived in Warfield we sat down in the park and had our lunch. Margaret had arranged to leave some cars in Warfield.Gloria Maigler
Wednesday - Friday, September 7 - 9: Backpacking to Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park Three Nats and one guest from Grand Forks hiked to the "New" Kokanee Glacier Cabin from Gibson Lake to Kaslo Lake. A beautiful sunny day. We stopped at Kokanee Lake and enjoyed our lunch and a short rest. The cabin was a welcome site at the end of our hike. The next day we took a hike over to Sapphire Lakes. Fall colours were starting to show on the shrubs. Many "hippy on a stick" seed heads) were seen--Anemone flowers. The weather cooled down some what for a comfortable hike back to our vehicles at Gibson Lake on the third day. The scenery is so beautiful up there and the air is so fresh & invigorating. Marmots & picas were seen and heard scurrying in and out of the rocks.Margaret Knudsgaard
Saturday, August 27, 2005: A group of approximately 12 Nats from Rossland, Castlegar, Trail, Robson, Christina Lake and Grand Forks met at 9:00 am at the Rossland Museum and hiked under the direction of Margaret Knudsgaard to the top of Deer Park Mountain (also known a Asshole Mountain by Rosslanders). We crossed the Lions' Park and walked across some weedy fields into very nice cool forest with quite a few large cedars that I was surprised to find so close to Rossland. We progressively moved uphill, finding quite a few ripe thimbleberries and taking several "breaks" on the ascent. We had no encounters with wildlife or any birds on the way up and enjoyed the incredible mountain view from the top. We spent some time at the top chatting and enjoying the breeze and decided to save our lunch for the picnic tables at the Lions' park/campground. It was a good way to start the day and had lots of fun.Vicente Loyola
Missing reports: March 5 (Plewman Ridge Cabin), April 30 (Violin Lake), June 18 (Little PdO lakes)
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