Saturday, July 8, 2006:
Eight Nats hiked the Sproule Creek Trail (alternatively known as the Wagon Road to Taghum). The leaders were Bill and Marj Bennetts. Although the weather was quite warm, most of this trail is well shaded, so it made for a pleasant hike. The new logging road that was constructed during the past year has had some impact on this trail, but not as much as was initially feared. There is only one point where the road crosses the trail. Three members of our group chose to terminate their hike at the old millsite, about 4 km along the trail. The rest of us continued another 2 km to an overgrown meadow, where the trail peters out. We had lunch there before heading back down the trail. There wasn't much to observe in the way of wildlife, but we did check out the huckleberry crop. Although we found some ripe berries, it seems we were a little too early for decent picking. All in all, it was quite a satisfying hike.
Saturday, July 15, 2006:
Eleven of us rendezvoused at the Hoder turn-off on the Little Slocan, then drove up to the Drinnon Lake trailhead, arriving there at 10:30 am for a ramble/grunt up to Gwillim Lakes. The sky held great promise for perfect hiking weather -- clear, with little puffy clouds that provided sun relief and background features for the photographers amongst us. Part way up to the parking lot, our raptor magnet spotted a golden eagle circling high above a waterfall. On the trail and across the rockslide we were delighted by the flowers including chalice and avalanche lily. After a snack at Drinnon Lake and being entertained by the frolicking trout, we were all eager to continue up to Drinnon Pass. Amazingly enough, a weirdly gesturing hiker on the eastern shore of Drinnon turned out to be a bald eagle feeding –- a life changing moment for Michael! The scenery? Incomparable! One of our group chose to snooze at the pass, and the rest, some with trepidation, chose to lose 400 feet of elevation, knowing we had to gain double that to get to Gwillim Lakes. And was it worth the blood, sweat and tears? (Slight exaggeration). You bet it was! No wonder it is named as one of the halls in the heavenly home of the gods. Our time by Gwillim Lakes was all too short, but our tramp down was punctuated by glimpses of warblers, pika, and marmots. I think we all agreed that the feng shui of that place is masterful! We were all back to the parking lot by 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July22nd, 2006:
Dennis Creek Basin
Eight Nats and six guests drove to the Rosebery area north of New Denver. We then turned east onto an increasingly rough and dusty old logging road for 11-12 km, this later becoming quite overgrown with alders. After parking our vehicles, we hiked the trail approx 4 km to an alpine area. Our group broke into 3 parties. As we had a choice of hikes from this point, I chose (high) Number 1 -- the short, steep climb (approx 300ft.) with a profuse showing of beautiful alpine flowers. We then went along a short ridge & had lunch and admiring the panoramic views of Kokanee Glacier, the Valhallas, Idaho Peak and Alps Alturas. Number 2 (lower) hike was a gentler slope in a meadow area. The two who took this option eventually climbed higher than the ‘mid’ group! Number 3 (mid) hike went over to another short ridge. Same views were seen on these hikes. Pikas were seen & heard in the area. There was evidence also of a grizzly bear having dug at the Pika burrows. We met up again at a designated time and chatted about our respective hikes. We made our way back down to our cars and took the bumpy road back to the main highway -- south. This was a beautiful day--hot & sunny.
Saturday, July 22, 2006:
Dennis Ridge
Fourteen keen Nats and friends threaded their way through the off and on preparations for this trip, even though it was originally scheduled to be into Blue Grouse Basin. On the Friday before the trip my partner got a report from one of her colleagues, who had just tried to get into Blue Grouse Basin, that there was a grizzly showing aggressive tendencies on the trail! Mark Adams, our trip leader and local New Denver resident, quickly rerouted us to Dennis Ridge. With most of the trail on a north face, the route up proved to be in shade and on a day with 38C temps forecast we were grateful. At a saddle in the circular ridge we spit up into three groups and agreed to meet back at 3 pm. Rod Dunnett took the majority of people up to a small unnamed summit about 500' higher. Five of us went across a steep slope to another point in the ridge and two explored a plateau not far from the meeting point. When we all converged again everyone seemed pleased with their time in the alpine meadows. Flowers were in peak bloom and the views of Alps Alturas and Idaho Peak were unique. We didn't notice the heat until we descended into New Denver. Someone said that every 1000' higher = -3C so we were spared the heat until returning to the Valley.
Saturday, August 5, 2006:
This was a nice sunny summer day, with some high stratus clouds, as nine Nats and guests waited in the New Denver RV park. When the organizer, Ray, drove in with another member a tad bit tardy, he blamed his John Deere 4x4 for being a slow rig on the highway. We regrouped in Sandon, then drove the 12 km to Idaho Peak. The road has seen some improvements, with more passing spots and a better high parking lot with cement barriers. The flowers were mostly of purple hues, and many others were past their prime, due to a very early growth and maturing season this year. Well, we nearly got more than we bargained for today, with Webb going off the Idaho Peak Road. Websters had gone down ahead in their newer red Volvo station wagon, and had pulled over too far meeting an upcoming vehicle from Quebec. His car slid down a steep embankment, turning turtle into a couple of big fir trees. Luckily, none of the three occupants were injured, so other than the accident, a good hike was had by all.