Hiked up to the Smallwood/Bigwood lookout last week! Beautiful views and clouds of mosquitoes at the top. Trail is snow-free with just a handful of deadfall along the route.
Cedar Creek to Loon Lake
Spent a great day wandering with the Kootenay Mountaineering Club last weekend on a hike from Cedar Creek to Loon Lake. Our route took us high above Ainsworth Hot Springs, following old mining roads and ATV trails.
Hiking season is back!
The snow line is creeping up over 1300m and that means that the shoulder-season hikes are opening up again!
Top Places to Cross-Country Ski Near Nelson, BC
Most skiers come to the Koots for the powder, but we also have some excellent cross-country trails. XC skiing is my main winter activity, because it is awesome exercise, relatively affordable, and involves the great outdoors. So where can you go to cross-country ski around Nelson? Read on…
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Shoulder Season Survival
People warned me about November.
“It’s the worst month,” they said. “Nelson gets completely socked in.”
And yes, November was a dark, cold month of endless rain and low clouds. We went weeks without feeling the sun and the snow line shifted teasingly up and down the mountains. The fall colours were gone and the time change brought the sunset creeping earlier into the afternoon. Bleh.
Golden Larches at Svoboda Road
We returned to the bike trails at Svoboda Road today to do some more fall hiking. It was a cool, damp day, but the clouds slowly lifted off the mountains and patches of blue sky appeared when we reached the clearing at the top. Lots of golden larches, and shrieking Stellar and Grey Jays darting along the trail.
Fall Colours at Morning Mountain
After a week of rain, the clouds lifted to reveal snow-capped peaks and golden larches. We spend a day hiking at Morning Mountain and enjoyed the interplay of sunlight and fall colours.
Fall Hiking
Well, it’s mid-October and the snow level is at 1500 meters. We’ve had cold, rainy days with low grey clouds, and that means it’s back to shoulder-season hiking. I’ve returned to many of our spring hikes to see how the trails look in fall colours.
Kokanee Spawning
Every year in late summer, the mature kokanee salmon begin the struggle of their lives. They face a literal uphill battle- fighting their way upstream to their original spawning grounds to find mates and lay eggs. It’s exhausting work and once their eggs are fertilized and buried, the kokanee die and wash away to feed forests and bears.
Clouds at Monica Meadows
I spent a rainy day at Monica Meadows this past weekend. It’s a beautiful place and I hope to return in better weather to do a proper trail review.
Here are a couple panorama taken up on the meadows among the clouds:
