Cathedral Park - Part 2

Cathedral Park - Part 2

Pictures to follow. Just got a new scanner which I hope will be up and running in a few weeks.

So far we’ve just handled the easy trails in the Cathedral Parks core area. The more challenging Rim Trail uses the Ladyslipper Trail and then heads up the scree to the rim that circles the lakes before dropping down at the western end to link up with the Diamond Trail and back to the lodge.

One can also cut the circuit short by dropping steeply down the Glacier Trail past Glacier Lake, or taking the trail down to Quiniscoe Lake. We took the Glacier Trail down and the ladies were very glad to get back to the cabin, some good wine and a great dinner.

Much of this terrain is over broken ground and boulders, particularly, it seemed, on the north-western end near Red Mountain and the Quiniscoe Trails. Good boots and hiking poles are highly recommended, especially for less experience hikers.

Turning left at the top of the Ladyslipper Trail takes one to Smokey The Bear, Giant Cleft, Grimface Mountain and Macabre Mountain, all good spots for mountain or rock climbing.

The Lakeview Mountain Trail is 12 km with a 600 metre elevation change to the top of Lakeview Mountain at 2628 metres. Past this point the hiking is more difficult and unmarked, but it is possible to hike past Boxcar Mountain and Haystack Mountain to the Haystack Lakes, where there is a wilderness walk in camp. How I long to do that one! I imagine the fishing would be fantastic.

Permits must be obtained in order to ride horses into the park, but it just might be the ticket in getting to spots like the Haystack Lakes. There is no charge, just written permission required(unless I‘m mistaken).

Check with the lodge for accommodation rates and fees and schedules for jeep rides up to the lodge. If you are planning on wilderness camping the fee for 2009 is $5.00 per day per person. You are also advised to take along a camp-stove as fire pits are not always available.

Serious backpackers might want to hike up from the valley bottom. The Ewart Creek trail is reached by crossing a bridge about 6 km up the Ashnola Forest Service road onto the Ewart Creek Road. There are a few private residences here, but carry on to the trail head about 3 km further along, where the Ewart Creek joins the Ashnola River. The trail to the lodge is 28 km and the elevation change is 1730 metres. The first part of this trail is used by those taking horses into the Snowy Mountain Protected area. While the trip could be completed to the lodge in a day, there is a wilderness campground at the Twin Buttes area.

The shortest route is up the Lakeview Trail at only 16 km and an elevation change of 1300 metres. The trailhead is 13 km up the Ashnola Forest Service Road and crosses the jeep road into the park.

Further up the Ashnola at km 38 on the Ashnola Forest Service road, is where the Wall Creek Trail to the park core can be found as a footbridge crosses the river near the camping area. I have not taken this route -- it is apparently over 40 km of scenic hiking, recommended time two days for a round trip.

Take your camera along as there is lots of wildlife to view, from ptarmigan to mountain goat, deer and bighorn sheep. Ptarmigan can be spotted particularly on Lakeview Mountain and the mountain sheep on the Rim Trail.

Hunting and discharge of guns in not permitted in the core area of the park, so check the hunting regulations closely if you are hunting the Ashnola area.

Happy hiking.

Cathedral Lakes Park

Cathedral Lakes Park - Part 1

Will add pictures when I get the printer/scanner working

Our first trip into the Cathedral Park was many years ago when our children were in elementary school. We thought we would walk up to the lodge and get a taste of the alpine scenery. We might have made it to the lodge if we started early enough, but time caused us to turn around before we reached the lodge or alpine scenery.

Lesson learned: if you plan on walking up, start very early in the day and if possible make it a back packing trip of a few days to really enjoy it. The alternative we took many years later with some friends: take the park transport to the lodge and spend a pleasant day or two hiking and generally enjoying the area. Main access is from the base camp about 24 km. up the Ashnola River Road,, different sources quote this trail between 15 km and 29 km. I think it is closer to 15 km.

If you are an avid fisherman, think about packing in a belly-boat. You will likely regret it if you don’t because the lake look so inviting. Also, do not forget your camera and make sure you either have tons of film, or have downloaded your digital before starting the trip.

The lodge and facilities are at Quiniscoe Lake and all trails branch out from here. A few hikes are short enough to enjoy before catching an evening ride back down to the valley floor or before retiring for the night at one of the lodge accommodations or one of the campgrounds. I highly recommend packing in a light backpacking fishing outfit to try one of the many lakes that are in relatively easy walking distance.

The Quiniscoe Lake Trail around the lake is about 2 km, so is easily completed in under an hour and passes a nice waterfall.

Lake of the Woods in a short 1 km walk, and has wilderness camping sites. The trail continues and does a loop, taking you by Pyramid Lake. Elevation change is a slight 30 metres and the trail has been improved with bridges and crowned walkways to stay drier. Allow about 30 minutes to either lake from the lodge or about an hour and a half for the circuit, which is just over 2 km.

The Glacier Lake Trial is roughly 3 km in length and reasonably steep in sections, with an elevation change of about 200 metres. The trail does also continue up onto the rim trail.

I would allow about 3 to 4 hours for a return trip hike to Ladyslipper Lake as it is approx 7 km. The trail winds through mostly spruce with some larch trees, and arriving at the lake you have some spectacular views. A few casts with a fly brought a nice trout rising out of the crystal clear water to strike.

The Diamond Trail, at only 10 km, can easily be hiked in the afternoon before supper. It circles Scout Mountain and the lake with a moderate elevation change of about 240 metres. I remember lots of beautiful flowers in our August trip as I tapered training for my first Ironman event.

The Scout Lake route is fairly short and easily accomplished in less than two hours. It is about 3 kilometres in length over easy terrain just bordering true alpine country. Again as in all the trails I loved the flowers and vegetation.

Goat Lake Trail at 10 km is the furthest lake that one should try for in a day hike. This trail branches off the Ladyslipper Lake Trail and follows the outlet creek from Goat Lake. Total elevation change is not too great, around 150 metres.

More on the Cathedrals and its trails next week.

Hiking Ok Falls to Vaseaux Lake

I’ve been trying to work out a hiking trail from Penticton to Osoyoos, with no luck so far … but I’ve had some good hikes. This route from the Provincial Campground at Okanagan Falls to the second lagoon south of Vaseaux lake takes four hours at a good steady walk for the round trip. A shorter walk is straight down the dyke to Vaseaux Lake.

Even in early March the river is full of lots of waterfowl: mallards, geese, swans and even a few loons. Others appeared to be bufflehead or some type of Goldeneye. I guess there must be some fish if the loons are there.

To start my hike I drove down the Green Lake Road just west of the bridge at OK Falls and took the second road to the left after the provincial campground. It is just a short distance to the parking lot and the dyke gate. Be sure to leave the private driveway clear.

There is a walkway over the channel here, but unfortunately it is blocked, as are the other ones down river, making them difficult to access for wheelchairs. It would be possible however to negotiate though and travel down the dyke.

About 340 metres along is the second walkway. This would make for a short circuit, crossing here and heading back up the other side. The third one is 550 metres further along; crossing here would make for a nice short walk, except that the other side is near the sewage treatment plant. The fourth and final one is not quite at a kilometre (967 metres). Just north of this last walkway there are a few boulders in the river, which might offer good resting spots for some nice trout. Might be worth checking out later in the season.

It’s just 210 metres to where the KVR used to cross the river, but between the walkway and this point there is a gate and I’m not too sure if a wheelchair would make it around through the rocks. At this point you can either keep to the dyke or veer to the right onto the old KVR right of way.

Let’s first look at the dyke track, which leads down to the head of Vaseaux Lake, a distance of about 2.35 kilometres. Unfortunately, the walkthrough will not accommodate a wheelchair. You leave behind the nearby hill and Oregon grape patches and have the river on one hand and swampy land on the other, with lots of bulrushes and marsh grasses. Right along the dike I also ran across some grass at least eight feet tall! Yes, I even found another likely looking blackberry patch. Might be an interesting day spent in the right season feasting on these and plying the water for some trout or bass.

The round trip for this hike is about 8.83 kilometres. If you want, you can take the old rail bed to where it used to cross at the south end of Vaseaux Lake. It is about a 13 km round trip from where it crosses the dyke. You could of course take the Green Lake Road to this point or the next access point.

The first 2.4 km on is mainly close to the bank under the Green Mountain Road and is fairly rough and overgrown. If you are traveling with a wheelchair companion you might be wiser to take the next access road down to the railway bed.

From this last access point to the KVR trail it is 4.3 km to where the bridge was removed at the head of the lake. Before reaching the lake there is swampy land on the left and some ranches on the right. It seems to me the southern end of the lake would be a great place for a wilderness camp if we were able to turn this into a hiking trail for tourists and were able to connect Penticton with the border.

This is lovely country around here with bunch grass and ponderosa pine. I love the absence of knap weed along this section. Just a little to the right of the end of the line there is a small old road that takes one around the first lagoon below Vaseaux Lake to the second lagoon, a distance of nearly a kilometre.

I would dearly like to see this all wheelchair accessible, with a few piers for fishing access for those in wheelchairs.

Enjoy your hiking and remember, what you carry in --- carry out!

Comments and suggestions always welcome

Fire

Fire

Walking through the sleet today, my mind turned to fire. Its conditions like this that can sneak up on us in the outdoors until we find ourselves at risk for hypothermia.

Like most aspects when it comes to survival, waiting until the last minute to prepare for the eventuality is a sure fire way to disaster. Those who know me would be a little surprised that I didn’t have the means for a fire and a knife on my person. No, I don’t throw my survival kit on in town, but if I am going any distance at all in the country its one of the first things I grab.

A survival fanatic might carry something like a steel and flint or a chord to make a fire with the bow method. I understand the methods and in some instances might even be tempted to try them. However, we are talking about survival here. Once the fingers reach a certain level of numbness and the body core temperature drops below the critical point is not the time to start regretting experimenting with these methods, or trying to use a magnifying grass.

I carry an expensive windproof lighter in my back and usually some waterproofed wooden matches. Most times these are fine for getting a fire going even if it is fairly damp. Careful searching usually can come up with the necessary tinder; dead needles sheltered for the rain, that black hair like moss, smaller dead branches under the dense over canopy of trees.

Usually, but not always. I also carry in my pack the stubs of candles. These little sources of flame although not all that hot, can be used to get a fire going under trying situations with some careful tending. Always start with the smallest and driest material and hand and once the fire gets going feed in larger pieces. If it is really damp you will also want to keep a nearby supply drying out.

Always plan on getting lost when you are out in the bush. I have been lost a few times in the past. Usually for only a few hours, but getting the fire going and roasting up a fool hen was a good way to calm the nerves and within minutes after setting out again we were soon on the right path.

Have fun and be safe.

Corn Snow

Corn Snow

It’s getting to be the time of the year when you can often run into “Corn Snow” on the slopes. I used to love this skiing right into May. In fact I have such fond memories of one May 24^th long weekend when I managed 65 runs per day (130,000 vertical feet for the weekend). George LaBounty, if you are still around give me a call. George was the lift operator who helped with this feat.

The lifts on the slopes no longer run that late into the season, but there is still a good run of spring skiing in the corn snow. Corn snow is granular and very watery, tremendous for carving turns with your edges. It can however freeze to a very hard icy sheet overnight before softening up later in the day, so if you want more relaxed skiing sleep in just a little longer and give the runs a chance to soften up. But, if you want to get the oh so good hard skiing in, get up and be prepared to use those steel edges.

If you have been thinking of trying your hand at alpine skiing, March and April are the ideal time of the year. Not only do you run into fabulous snow conditions, you are usually treated to relatively mild temperatures and lots of brilliant sunshine. Many times you can ski in shorts and T-shirts or even topless.(Although this could cause accidents) Take along some good sun-block, though, for the sun reflecting off the snow as well as from above can result in some serious sunburn. Do not forget the camera, either, the blue skies, white snow and the warm green of the trees make for some great pictures, and you just might run across an attractive ski bunny.

Lessons are likely the quickest way for a beginner to get comfortable and enjoy this sport, but it is possible to pick it up by watching and by trial and error. The new safety harnesses and shorter skies have helped reduce the risk of injury, but the warmer temperatures also mean the muscles are more relaxed.

I believe anyone who can dance can ski. The important things to remember are to keep most of the weight on the lower ski and not to sit back into the hill. Try to keep the shoulder at right angles to the fall line with most of the motion coming from the hips to the feet - all of which is much easier to show than to describe. Take a chance and hit the slopes if you can afford it.

For complete information on Apex log on to
 www.skibaldy.com
For complete information on Mount Baldy log onto
www.apexresort.com

Access issues

Access Issues

There is a notice to hunters in this years hunting regulations that caught my eye. Which I quote here. “ In order to protect sensitive alpine habitat, the Ministry of environment is considering restriction motorized vehicles (except snowmobiles) from travelling off established roads and trails in the alpine (above 1700m elevation0 in Region 8. Written comments on this proposed regulation can be sent to Brian Harris at the Ministry of Environment office in Penticton, 102 Industrial Place, B. C. V2A 7C8

Generally I agree with the intent of the proposed regulations and I do think you and I as the public using these areas do need to offer our input.

What concerns me is who then decides which roads and trails are established. While I can hike great distance and over tough terrain, what about those less able. We have all seen access roads and trails destroyed by logging, mining or other developments. Years ago there was a beautiful trail from the Kettle Valley Railway to Ratnip Lake, over a rickety bridge over a small streams and swamp and through fern lined sections of trail. This trail was obliterated by logging in the area and the next time I was in we had to search through a tangle of fallen trees to relocate the last section of the trail.

These old roads also provide access to the top of places like Apex mountain where one can enjoy snowball fights as late as July or just have a picnic lunch and enjoy the machinery. But these eco-systems are very fragile and I do agree that vehicles should keep to the old roads and trails as much as possible. There is nothing so disheartening as climbing to a beautiful mountain meadow only to find it torn up with Quads and four wheel drives.

I do use a four wheel drive vehicle and expect in another 40 years I will need a quad to get into my old haunts, however, we all must do our part to protect the unique experiences that draws us to the hills. If we all share these areas responsibly we will have them to use well into the future.

I am glad that most of the Kettle Valley Railway is still open to all modes of traffic. Each time I listen to a complain that it should be restricted to hikers, I look with sadness across the table at my wife. She did so enjoy the great outdoors and hiked into places like Brent Mountain, Little White Mountain and the Cathedrals. Just after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and now it is hard for her to even ride into the hills with me. Let us continue to think of those who are not as physically capable and do not deny them access to the beauty of our alpine areas and back country.

The Agur family and Agur Lake Society have the right idea with their project at Agur Lake, I whole heartedly endorse their efforts. For more information e-mail
agurlakecamp@shaw.ca or phone 250-8809-7130.

Fly Tying

Fly Tying Materials Canadian Tire



Fly Tying

So you’ve planned your fishing trips for next season, but it will be months before those lakes are accessible and free of ice. What to do in the long evenings as you look longingly at the fly rods on the wall? Have you ever tried your hand at fly tying?

There is something very special about bringing in a fat trout on one of your own creations. Flies generally work on one of two principles: imitating food sources or triggering their aggressive instincts. Keeping this in mind, don’t be afraid to experiment.

One of my early creations was a tiny mosquito, the body a very small hook with a thin grey body with thin black stripes. I then took some thin plastic, etched some tiny wings and attached them at the head of the fly. It worked great: as soon as it hit the water a nice trout took it. Unfortunately, when the fish struck the wings broke. Now if I could just manage to invent a system of clip on wings.

My late Uncle Howard had a tremendous fly tying set up, including a roll top desk with many small drawers to hold his equipment and was able to leave it set up. One can purchase inexpensive kits to get started. These include a fairly good selection of hooks, feather, tinsels, wool and thread as well as a fly tying vice. Most of these vices are soon discarded in favour of a better one once one gets more experience. The materials may also not be to your liking or the hooks of incorrect size for your desired flies. Still, they are usually fairly inexpensive and may be the way to experiment.

The fly tying vice is your most important tool. When choosing a vice, look for one that is fully adjustable, grips well and attached easily and firmly to your chosen work surface. Hackle pliers are perhaps the next important item: again I recommend getting quality.

Regardless of your decision to start with a kit or purchase individual items and supplies, pick up a book on fly tying to learn the intricacies. (I was delighted to see a good display of supplies at the Canadian Tire Store)
You will also need to decide on a work area that allows easy set up or preferably where you can leave things in place for those odd free moments. Unless you have this space and a good well organized storage system for your supplies you will spend more time setting up and putting supplies away than fly tying.

Remember you will want to have many different sizes and styles of hooks, colours of yarns and threads, and a multitude of types and colours of feathers. This is just for starters. Remember that roll top desk I mentioned earlier that Uncle Howard had? I’d love to have one like that. Once you get into fly tying you might also become so keen that you will have a portable kit to take along on your trips to tie flies right on the spot to match the hatch.

Once you start using flies you will constantly be studying your surroundings very closely, learning more and more about the cycles of nature. However, it is possible for a good fly fisherman to create an imitation hatch.
Another pleasant experience with a custom fly was a black wool caterpillar tied on a long shanked hook. A cast underneath the willow on the bank of Headwaters Lake produced a nice fat rainbow trout. All this talk about tying flies makes me long for more space and time to take it up again.