hiking – OldPlaidCamper

Tall trees and complete quiet (more or less)

Muffled by snow, helped by being a good distance from the main highway and train line, Emerald Lake is a bowl of quiet, tree lined and surrounded by mountains.

Until last week, we hadn’t visited in almost ten years, but little has changed, and it still delights. Ten years is a considerable chunk of a human span, but nothing in mountain measured time. I like mountain terrain, because it keeps you small, and encourages perspective.

Speaking only for myself, lately it’s been a challenge sometimes to go about my business – the business of enjoying almost retirement and having a pleasant time living in western Canada – when it’s the case that there are utter morons (invariably but not exclusively of the right wing nut bar brigade) doing their level best to make bad situations far, far worse. I won’t go into details, you read the news. I generally (and genuinely) do try to keep things chipper on here, but, bloody hell, it’s a mess out there, isn’t it? Ok, stopping there, more or less.

Fanciful I know, but maybe the mountains shake their heads in bemusement, and perhaps even disappointment, at the grasping antics of certain tiny humans. Do mountains concern themselves with small people, particularly those fuelled by ego or narcissism? Probably not. Ok, time to stop.

Petty people, deluded by their own “grandeur” – grandeur, ha! – as if! Oh, come on, the word isn’t grandeur – let’s try greed! I have to laugh at their smallness, their lack of awareness, of what they really signify in the grand scheme. Ok, stopping here, for sure, more or less.

Thank goodness for vast landscapes and quiet places, locations that might remind us nothing lasts forever, and of exactly how big or small we really are…

Thanks for reading – what passes for normal service will resume next week – and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Spring forward!

Longer daylight hours, the soft warmth of springlike days, and the promise of a cold drink on a sunny patio – sure, let’s spring forward!

Might have to wait a little longer for some of those springing forward benefits around here?

In the meantime, we don’t have to dream of the beach to visit the beach, not here!

Oh well! Glass half full, it’s almost spring, or soon will be, and in the meantime, we’re off to the mountains for a few days, to enjoy the rain, and maybe even the snow, if our cabin is at a high enough elevation…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

On the edge…

…of the city, there is a small wilderness area squeezed between the southwest city limits and the boundary of the Tsuu t’ina Nation. It’s mostly a wooded wetland, located on the north side of the Elbow River, with pathways weaving along and between narrow waterways and tiny ponds.

We were there this week on a bright March morning, enjoying blue skies and temperatures that quickly climbed above freezing. There were hardly any other park users – a few other dog walkers and a jogger who jingled past laden with bear bells. I imagine the bears appreciated the heads up, delighted to hear lunch was approaching? We didn’t see bears or any other big creatures, but there were many geese overhead, and chickadees were our almost constant companions in the sunnier spots. Every now and then we heard the distant tapping of a busy woodpecker.

There was some snow on the ground from a heavy fall a few days earlier, but it was melting away in the strong sun, and, in these bright March days, it feels far more like early spring than late winter, so I guess we’re headed in the right direction!

The park isn’t huge, but it’s more than pleasant enough to be in the almost wild for a couple of hours on a midweek morning. We’ll revisit again when it is spring proper, check out the new greenery, smell the sap, and give the mosquitoes something to feed on.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

“Bling, bling, baby!”

“And the same to you, sir!”

We decided to take a wander along the Bow the other day, encouraged by the bright blue skies and warm – for February – temperatures. It certainly felt more like spring than winter, to the point we were in woolly sweaters instead of the more usual coats.

Birds were singing, perhaps as confused as us about the warmth, and squirrels scampered left, right and centre, and who could blame them?

There were far more than the normal number of walkers enjoying the pathways, as well as cyclists and even a scooter or two. As we approached one underpass, a colourful chap emerged from the shadows, and he was clearly having a fine day. Dressed in a leopard print jacket and orange and black trousers, he was absolutely beaming. And gleaming. He had several bright gold chains around his neck, and lots of shiny rings on his fingers.

There’s a colourful character under the next bridge…

I nodded and smiled, not being the chatty sort – you’ll sometimes get a “good morning” or perhaps a “hi, how’s it going?” from me, but I like to keep moving, and a smile and nod does the trick. Anyway, instead of a smile and nod, this dazzling character waved his hands about, did a little dance as he passed and said – you’ve already guessed it – “bling, bling, baby!” then continued on his merry way.

Almost impossible to disagree, so I didn’t – it really was a bling bling sort of a day, not that I’d thought of it that way before…

It might not be proper winter or anywhere close, but if we encounter more sunny natured people along the river banks, then all will be well.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Bling, bling, baby!

Striding out…

…and staggering back? Maybe…

Blue skies with a few gathering white clouds – it did snow later in the day – combined with cold, but not too cold temperatures, made for great snowshoe conditions the other day. It had been more than a year since we last found ourselves in properly deep snow, so this was a great chance to see how our legs would hold up!

Being in a river valley, we opted to stay low and follow the river rather than go for steep slopes and sore muscles. I got those later anyway, but not snowshoeing. More on that another time.

Helpfully, there was a trail to assist us, and we followed whoever had been out the days before, their tracks leading over the tracks and down to the river.

We could see a single set of footprints that occasionally stepped out of the tracks, leaving deep holes on the side. Fair play to the person – we said hi when we met them retracing their steps a little later, the only person we saw all morning – but it must have been hard going without snowshoes.

As I mentioned last week, it was so quiet – we weren’t huffing and puffing too much after the first few minutes – and when we eventually stopped to sit and take it all in (and enjoy an all important caffeine and chocolate boost, ‘cos how else would we have made it back?) the silence was wonderful.

By the time we returned to the cabin, we’d probably been actually walking for a couple of hours, and I’ll admit it felt quite the workout. Still, I was ready for more, and, later that day, I set off to find a nearby trailhead, convinced I had enough left in me to tackle an “easy” there and back again ski trail. I wonder how that went?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Winter mountain hush

What a relief it was to arrive at Baker Creek, check into our little cabin, and smile when we were told internet was spotty at best due to limited satellite uplink capacity (or something) and cell phone service was basically zero. Imagine our disappointment…

No cell service?! Oh our disappointment, teehee…

It was hard to see who was more gleeful to be out in the mountains, and to be running helter skelter through the deep snow, but I think Scout edged it. She was able to make slightly faster progress with four leg drive than we did on two. And yes, instead of dumping bags and heading straight out the door to explore the immediate surroundings, a short pause to don snow pants and snowshoes would have been sensible. Sensible? Nope, no time for that!

We stumbled and postholed around the perimeter, trying to stay in the middle of snowmobile tracks, but with Scout leading and pulling, we weren’t able to keep from drifting into drifts. Mother had mentioned, before we left, not to fall into any deep drifts. Good advice! (We saw, from the road on the way home a few days later, an elk caught in a deep drift and bulldozing – elk-dozing? – it’s way out. Hope it made it…)

Poorly equipped for even a short walk as we were, we still enjoyed how silent and still (our mad stumbling aside) everything was. The blanket of snow was so pretty, muffling most noise. Winter mountain hush! Blessed quiet! We could just about hear the tinkling chuckle-gurgle of the creek, and, luckily, see it in a few places where it hadn’t been snowed over. Scout desperately wanted to get closer, odd for her, given she doesn’t enjoy the water, but we resisted her efforts. Sorry, Scout – wet feet and minus fifteen don’t mix!

Eventually, slightly wet legged due to snowmelt on lower jeans, and ready to admit we should have put on snowshoes, we returned to our cabin to unpack, find dry pants, and get warmed up by the fire. Oh, and crack open a red ale we’d been saving as a fireside sipper. It was just the thing as we planned a proper snowshoe adventure for the following day!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Two bridges and a slice of cake

Another year older, another year wider, and that’s how it goes! So said a friend the other day, wishing me a happy birthday. Wider? I think it was a typo?

Exiting mince pie season, in need of a longer walk, and with a couple of library books due, I decided to return them to my favourite library located over the river and down in Memorial Park. There are two closer libraries, but being a year wider was on my mind.

Approaching the Wobbly Bridge (you won’t find that name on the maps)

I like the walk down to Memorial Park as it includes two bridges over the Bow, one each end of Prince’s Island Park, making for a pleasant circular stroll.

The recent mists had finally lifted, and what a sight they left behind! The mist, snowy drizzle and frost (snizzle? smozzle? frizzle? I think these are meteorological words?) had combined to cover everything in a layer of brilliant white.

It seemed like the world had turned silver and blue, with ice extending from the river banks, some piled up in floes, and the lagoon perfectly frozen for skating.

I can see the attraction, but avoided temptation – I still have bruises from that time on Canmore pond…

What a splendid winter walk! I returned the books – no overdue notices – enjoyed a moment watching the skaters, and then bounced home over the wobbly bridge.

Sun’s dropping, and so is the temperature – time to head home!

Once home, being a year older and wiser, I did the sensible thing and warmed up with a cup of strong black coffee and the last slice of Basque cheesecake. Older and wider takes commitment.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

PS Barely more than a week into the new year, and, news wise, it’s dreadful, hard to ignore, and shouldn’t be ignored. I’m not going to comment any more than that on that – you’ve seen what’s happening, it’s quite clear – and I’ll stick with trying to keep this little corner a pleasant place to be. Stay safe, wherever you are.

December! Winter! Phew!

Phew! We got through the somewhat dull days of November, helped enormously by the very much appreciated end of month snowfall – for us, everything looks better with a light (or heavy) dusting of snow! Once the last leaves drop, it might as well snow, and, for now, it has!

Happy dog dance and an odd gnomish-looking fellow. (Photo: Mrs. PC)

So it’s goodbye November and welcome to winter!

Did someone say winter? Woof! (Photo: Mrs. PC)

I’ll keep it brief for this post and limit things to a few photos taken out and about the past week or so.

We have our fingers crossed that the temperature dip to more seasonal numbers is consistent, and that the promised snowy winter predicted by forecasters this season comes to pass…

Cool temperatures and a layer of ice beginning to creep out from the shore

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Fall flavours

I’ll start at the end this week, with a short piece on a day out last week, spent visiting a nearby park under bright blue skies. We’ve been able to enjoy so many blue sky days this fall, we feel most fortunate. The day last week ended with this little beauty:

I like the big Belgian style beers this time of year, particularly the doubles and triples made by monks, so this one above, a different take, intrigued. A single? A tiny monastery? A baby Belgian? A lot of questions? Why not?! A suitable saison for a splendid season, very good, not too strong, and probably perfect with a picnic lunch if you weren’t going to drive shortly after. We did drive to the park, so this was enjoyed at the end of the day back at home. A suitable saison for a splendid season enjoyed at supper time with soup. Super.

The day started with this big beauty – ranch land park in the the Bow River valley – perfect fall flavours!

No idea what I’m on about in that last paragraph. Let’s get back to the park visit – we were after mountain views without driving all the way to the mountains, so into the foothills and a nearby park it was! We got there mid-morning, parking in an almost empty lot. Scout could not get out of the truck fast enough, likely because she’d remembered this place, a favourite of hers when she was a pup. We did what we could to keep up…

We wandered the trails through tree lined hills, stopping to listen to the last of the leaves rattling and rustling in light winds.

As we climbed to the top of the valley, the trees were almost totally leafless, their tough and twisted trunks and branches quite the arresting sight.

We didn’t spot any of the bald eagles that can sometimes be seen from the top of the valley, but we did enjoy sweeping views across to the Rockies.

What a day of brilliant big sky Alberta-style fall flavours! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Can you hear the wind sighing through the grass? A contented sigh?

Silly

Silly? Silly?! Oh no, dull, dull, and dull… What’s going on? Have you had a vocabulary breakdown, OldPlaidCamper? Silly? Ugh… is silly the new dreary? It’s not a word I use very often – most likely because I’m distantly acquainted with one or two people I’m not overly fond of who do use it (they’d probably say I’m silly if they were being kind, although kindness isn’t really one of their strengths…) Anyway, why silly? What prompted this silliness? Why, because I couldn’t resist this beer:

We’ve certainly found the weather a bit silly throughout September, in that it was way above seasonal almost every day. Trips along the river and to nearby parks have been pleasant enough, and the planted gardens have certainly held on longer – perhaps due to the silly weather?

In just the last few days we’ve seen more of a fall arrival, and most definitely on our quick trip earlier this week to see friends in Canmore. The cool fall temperatures were a relief, and the dashes of colourful larches on the slopes were very pretty. A deciduous conifer? Is that a bit silly? Not at all!

Very sensible (taken a different day, west of Canmore)

We’re off to K country for a few days of quiet camping – no cell coverage or wifi, some beer, some short hikes, a few good books, and maybe spotting a bear or two in the distance. Not too silly…

Thanks for reading – I’ll aim for a wider vocabulary next time – and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

	Jane Lurie on Tall trees and complete quiet…
	Pepper on Tall trees and complete quiet…
	plaidcamper on Tall trees and complete quiet…
	Pepper on Tall trees and complete quiet…
	plaidcamper on Spring forward!