Monthly Archives: January 2024

Hiking – Stramberg Old Growth Grove – 12 Feb 2024

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Activity Hiking
Destination Stramberg Old Growth Grove
Date 12 Feb, Monday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 285-3710.  Please contact the trip coordinator prior to the trip.
Description This trail begins near Village Bay Lake and follows open meadows leading into and through the forest on old, unmaintained logging roads. The forest is varied with occasional old growth, creeks, and wetlands.  This is not an official trail.  Expect blow-down and brush. About 13 km; 5 hours or more.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot, to arrange carpools
Departure Time 09:30
Difficulty
 Moderate, due to unmaintained trail and quite long
Costs None
Trip limits None
Dogs?
Notes: Bring lunch and water and gear for the weather

Hiking – Elk Falls Loop – 5 Feb 2024

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Activity Hiking
Destination Elk Falls Loop
Date 5 Feb, Monday
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info lhquadra@gmail.com or 285-2029
Description The water flow is exceptionally high at Elk Falls. So thought we all should take a look. We will go to the Hydro Visitor’s centre and start from there. Besides going to the Falls we will do the loop in the park and hike down to the viewpoint above the new power station. Probably 2 to 3 hours with lunch.
Meeting Place Q Cove Ferry terminal
Departure Time 10:00 ferry
Difficulty
 Easy
Costs Ferry costs
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: The heavy rain is supposed to be over by then but dress for the weather. Be sure to be at the Ferry early enough to make the 10. I will try to arrange carpooling and I’m driving myself so I can take one. Bring a snack or lunch, and a good camera as it should be something great to see.

Hiking – Little Black Dress & Silk Stocking Loop – 2 Feb 2024

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Activity Hiking
Destination Little Black Dress and Silk Stocking Loop
Date 2 Feb 2024, Friday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info norris,weimer@ualberta.ca or 3710
Description We will start at the Copperhead logging road and hike this counter-clockwise.  We will use mountain bike trails to travel through a variety of terrain with open bluffs, a good forest (and recent logging), old mining and a forest lake.  Very roughly 7 km and 3 hours with lunch
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty Moderate, with some steep sections and lots of undulating parts
Costs None
Trip limits 12
Dogs? On leash
Notes Dress for the weather.  Bring lunch and poles if you use them.

Trip Report – Mt. Washington – 23 Jan 2024

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This snow shoe outing had been postponed due to road conditions.  We managed to reschedule to a day with great roads, sun with some cloud on the mountains, and spring snow conditions.  The trip was advertised as not being “ambitious” as it was the first trip of the season.  But we decided that it would be better to go uphill for slightly cooler conditions, so it was somewhat harder than planned.

We started up Great Big View, alternating between wide, track-set roads and very steep, brushy routes.  At the top of the rise, we turned onto Finger Glades, wandering through lovely mountain forests and open meadows (under snow).  It was quiet and beautiful.  We only saw four other snowshoers on the trip. This route gains more elevation than we had remembered and was steeper on the way down.  We were grateful that snow shoes are so accommodating to different snow conditions, making the transition from a bit icy to a bit above freezing without a problem. After finishing the Finger Glade Loop, we re-joined the Great Big View loop and headed very steeply down through brush.  The warmth of the snow made conditions very slippery, but soft.      (5.2 km, 3 hours, 243 m elevation gain)

Debbie

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Snow – Mt. Washington – 23 Jan 2024

Snow – Mt. Washington Area – 23 Jan 2024

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This trip was re-scheduled from January 17th.

Activity Snowshoeing
Destination Mt. Washington area
Date 23 Jan, Tuesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710.  Please contact the coordinator by Monday night.
Description We will likely go to Paradise Meadows. Participants without equipment can rent snowshoes from the resort. Ramparts Hill is the other possible option.
Meeting Place QI Ferry terminal
Departure Time 9:30 ferry; drivers need to be early enough to avoid overload.
Difficulty
 Easy to moderate. As the first trip of the season, we will not be hugely ambitious.
Costs Transportation costs and trail pass if we go to Paradise Meadows. Snow shoe passes are $14.  Ramparts Hill is free.
Trip limits 12
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring lunch as we may not eat at Raven lodge.  Have reliable equipment and winter gear.

Trip Report – Morte Lake Loop – 4 Jan 2024

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Six of us headed out from the first parking lot for Morte Lake off of Walcan Road. We were fortunate to experience sunshine and no wind for this time of year. The loop took us up Dead Fish trail inclining through a beautifully forested area and onto some brilliant green mossy bluffs to a bit of a lookout with a peekaboo view of the lake below. From there, we descended down Seven Sins trail to Ridge trail and onto the Tripod connector where we saw a beautiful wetland area on the way to the Morte Lake trail that circles Morte Lake. The sandy beach swimming area was covered in lake water and we followed signs to a lookout area which is a rocky beach just past the swimming beach on the south side of the lake. We surprised a flock of ducks enjoying the sun on the water and stopped for a bite to eat on the rocks in the sunshine near the shore. Heading east on the south side of Mort Lake undulating trail we hiked back to our vehicles. This hike was very beautiful overall and took us through varied forested terrain where we heard the sounds of rushing water from the swollen creek and a cascading water fall. The trail is well maintained and the hike took approximately 3.5 hours including lunch and was approximately 12 km’s.

Vikki

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Hiking – Morte Lake Loop – 4 Jan 2024

Trip Report – Haskin Farm – Golf Course Loop – 10 Jan 2024

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Moving the hike from Monday, which was heavy rain and high winds, to Wednesday turned out well. It was a cool 3° but a beautiful sunny day. We walked down Haskin Farm Trail to the beach. We did not see any whales, but the water was fairly flat. The snow covered mountains in the background were spectacular. Then we went down Fircrest Trail admiring the big old growth trees on the way. The trail is in excellent condition as someone has been grooming it. From the pond at the golf course we circled the new houses to the top of the golf course. As we walked the top of the Gulf course, we couldn’t help but admire what good shape the golf course is in this year. On the south side of the course we crossed over into the woodlot and hiked back to the vehicles. (6 km, 2 hours)

Les

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