Saturday, August 19, 2006: Three Nats enjoyed a walk along the Cedar Grove Trail, which begins eleven kilometers up Kokanee Glacier Park Road from Highway 3A.  The trail was built by Ministry of Forests and features a pamphlet that explains the signs along the trail.  We followed the trail down into the valley of Kokanee Creek, passed between huge glacial erratics, and found ourselves in a park-like setting with tall cedars towering over ferns, devil's club and an assortment of flowers.  We saw lots of rattlesnake-plantain just coming into flower and spotted a few coralroots.  We also identified rosy twisted stalk, large-leafed avens, larkspur, and stinging nettle. Wildlife sightings included a varied thrush, a squirrel, many tiny birds twittering in the canopy, and deer tracks.  Evidence of past human activity included springboard notches in tree stumps and cables from a tramway that once brought ore down the valley from a mine somewhere up the mountain. The walk was very pleasant with lots of shade and moist air from the creek.  We went to Kokanee Creek Park for a picnic lunch and then headed home.

1.Common courtesy and common sense dictates that you call the contact person or, of course, your local representative to confirm your attendance at an event on the program. Lead time for the newsletter is as much as nine months between planning and execution. Nothing is written in stone and changes may have to be made from time to time, due to weather conditions or personal reasons. We would not want you to miss out on a singe chance to enjoy our environment! Don’t wait until the last minute to phone if you are interested in any of our events…..leader may have already left, especially if camping or long distances are involved.

2.New members: Do you have any suggestions for new areas to visit? Would you be willing to lead a hike? Please contact a Program Director with your great ideas. Thank you to all the contacts/leaders in all seasons. We learn so much from each of you.

3.The leader of an outing is responsible for: Finding a replacement contact/leader if you cannot be available for your planned outing. A replacement leader may choose to do the same outing, or they may suggest another,
Getting the waiver form signed by every person attending, and forwarding this form to Webb Webster immediately. Waiver forms are included in your newsletter (if you are getting hard copy), one for each hike you are leading. If you are getting your newsletter by email, please request the waiver as an attachment and the Publisher or the Treasurer will be happy to supply it,
Making sure that no one is left behind with car trouble at the parking area, especially in winter,
Arranging to have the trip report forwarded to the Publisher. It is not necessary to write it – you may delegate this, of course, but please advise the Publisher from whom to expect it. In a perfect world, we would have a different participant write each report, so we could have many different viewpoints. The writer also has the obligation to get the report submitted in time!

Deadline for submissions for the next newsletter is December 13, 2006 Material accepted by the Publisher any time up to this date. We reserve the right to edit for space, clarity, spelling and syntax. Major changes will be discussed with the contributor.

Nats playing in the snow – photos copyright Margo Saunders