Featured walk #4
Norrish Creek
I think! Not entirely sure yet as I haven't been able to pinpoint the name for the river we have started walking along, but I know that it drains into Nicomen slough (pr. "Slew"). I'll make sure - no doubt there is a correction on the horizon!
The river (whatever it's called) is accessed from the delightfully named Hawkins Pickle Road in the parish of Dewdney and approximately fifteen minutes drive Eastwards from our doorstep. Interestingly, this whole area is on the flood plain of the currently brooding Fraser River (it's still rising) and within living memory has been completely inundated to the point where size-able communities have been totally cut off for protracted periods. It's our most likely disaster scenario out here in Mission, although thankfully there now exist genuine emergency plans and strategies at the local, provincial and federal level.
Walking up to the point where the picture above was taken (not the best of days but you can't pick your weather), we follow H.P. Road a hundred metres up to an old steel and wood road bridge - the dykes bordering the river (actually Nicomen Slough, which runs into the Fraser) are evident across the fields to our right. Once across the road bridge (this portion of H.P. Road is currently gated and closed), we turn immediately right, onto and along the eastern river bank.
I think! Not entirely sure yet as I haven't been able to pinpoint the name for the river we have started walking along, but I know that it drains into Nicomen slough (pr. "Slew"). I'll make sure - no doubt there is a correction on the horizon!
The river (whatever it's called) is accessed from the delightfully named Hawkins Pickle Road in the parish of Dewdney and approximately fifteen minutes drive Eastwards from our doorstep. Interestingly, this whole area is on the flood plain of the currently brooding Fraser River (it's still rising) and within living memory has been completely inundated to the point where size-able communities have been totally cut off for protracted periods. It's our most likely disaster scenario out here in Mission, although thankfully there now exist genuine emergency plans and strategies at the local, provincial and federal level.
Walking up to the point where the picture above was taken (not the best of days but you can't pick your weather), we follow H.P. Road a hundred metres up to an old steel and wood road bridge - the dykes bordering the river (actually Nicomen Slough, which runs into the Fraser) are evident across the fields to our right. Once across the road bridge (this portion of H.P. Road is currently gated and closed), we turn immediately right, onto and along the eastern river bank.
The dogs wasted no time getting right in there! Check out the excited tails...
The water is crystal clear (I feel like writing 'of course'), cold and reasonably fast flowing - it's a little quicker than walking pace at this point, but gets a lot faster further along the walk. As you can see the banks are mostly pebble...signs that this may be a salmon - breeding river (the gravel beds would be perfect) - I'll be here during the salmon runs to make sure!
The water is crystal clear (I feel like writing 'of course'), cold and reasonably fast flowing - it's a little quicker than walking pace at this point, but gets a lot faster further along the walk. As you can see the banks are mostly pebble...signs that this may be a salmon - breeding river (the gravel beds would be perfect) - I'll be here during the salmon runs to make sure!
Within a short distance we meet Reg who is out for a...slime. Reg has done a little too much cinnamon in his past, and is still paying the price for his error of judgement. Currently he holds down a part time job as river warden for the area. He is well known for his easy-going approach and ability to cling to smooth flat surfaces. Reg loves dogs - as long as they stay at least twenty metres away. Reg's dislikes include broken eggshells, salt and big boots.
The path widens out onto a rocky and sandy patch - as you can see, there are a lot of saplings (all the same species but I'm not sure what they are - possibly beech) of about the same age have taken root. I'll take a guess that they are all around two years old, so the further assumption is that the river bank has not been inundated in that period of time. To the left is thick woodland, mostly deciduous trees (Yay! Go deciduous!) and a dark, flat leaf-litter floor. It looks mysterious and as yet the dogs haven't explored it...
Two very straight and very dead trees...there should be mountains in the background but the rain clouds beat me to them...This part looks like classic bear territory (you know the kind where Grizzlies sit in the water and chow down on the helpless Salmon?) but thankfully we don't have grizzly bears this far south in BC, but plenty of Black bears - and they'll do quite enough damage to a person if you come across a bad one. The other day I found a bear print down here, but we've not seen anything else in the last two weeks so we assume it's not a problem. To folks in my old home country of GB the idea of bears is strange and a little scary, but out here they are just a fact of life.
Sand...quite a lot of sand. Obviously laid down during high water events going by the wave pattern (the sort of thing we see in miniature on the forest trails in the rain) and really very fine sand in places. The dogs LOVE this stuff and it speaks volumes that Bosco will do a real 'puppy' daft run about on the sand but pretty much nowhere else. It's really quite funny to see a 50kg dog running around like a silly puppy...
The other thing about the sand is that they (particularly Buckley) seem to adore digging in it...more of that in a subsequent blog post...
The other thing about the sand is that they (particularly Buckley) seem to adore digging in it...more of that in a subsequent blog post...
A little over-exposed I'm sorry but the look on Bosco's face is a treat. we try very hard not to anthropomorphize but sometimes it's too much fun. Bosco's the swimmer of the pair - here we see Buckley performing his usual trick of greeting Bosco halfway in/out of the water in order to try to steal the stick...crafty. Check out the river in the background - clear water getting deeper over at the far bank - where's my fly fishing rod?
Bosco doing one of his best ever "I'm ready for my close up" poses next to his favourite throwing stick of the day...He's a handsome dog isn't he?
You can't keep a good dog out of the picture, and here Buckley pulls out all the stops...he has the knack of grabbing the camera with his eyes.
Almost before we realize it, more than an hour has passed, the dogs are tired from running and splashing, wrestling and swimming almost non stop for all that time, and it's time to head back to the truck. what typically awaits these guys these days is time to chill out in their outdoor pen which is luxuriantly floored with hay right now...it looks fantastically comfortable. Add to that a nice chewy beef bone with plenty of meat and fat to gnaw at, and the day is complete. It's a dog's life!
Featured Walk #3
The boardwalk at the western marsh.
Rolley Lake Provincial Park
Just a few minutes away from Hayward Lake, this is one of our most frequent walks and one which the dogs absolutely get the most from. Rolley Lake is beautiful and compact, a full circuit of the lake (mostly flat with a few small elevation changes and rather unkempt trail surface) can be a one hour stroll or a ninety minute stop-and-take- photos kind of amble. Pets are required to be on a leash but in the winter months there are only dog walkers around because the park is closed to all but foot traffic. This translates into everyone (by everyone I am talking about maybe one or two people per hour) walking their dogs off leash. It is very rare to see any signs of dogs in the park and overall it is a very peaceful and picturesque place. The park has just re-opened for the spring and summer, so with the weather not yet at its best things are very quiet - it was just us there today for example.
Just a few minutes away from Hayward Lake, this is one of our most frequent walks and one which the dogs absolutely get the most from. Rolley Lake is beautiful and compact, a full circuit of the lake (mostly flat with a few small elevation changes and rather unkempt trail surface) can be a one hour stroll or a ninety minute stop-and-take- photos kind of amble. Pets are required to be on a leash but in the winter months there are only dog walkers around because the park is closed to all but foot traffic. This translates into everyone (by everyone I am talking about maybe one or two people per hour) walking their dogs off leash. It is very rare to see any signs of dogs in the park and overall it is a very peaceful and picturesque place. The park has just re-opened for the spring and summer, so with the weather not yet at its best things are very quiet - it was just us there today for example.
View of the lake from the boardwalk
The loons are a fixture here and today they were beginning to test their lungs - occasional haunting calls drifting across the water to us all the way around the lake. It was quite still after a very windy night, although we weren't lucky enough to have the mirror surface that so often is found here. Very often we will be priveleged to see an Osprey fishing with phenomenal grace and efficiency, but today was a day just for the ducks and loons...and of course a pair of rather excited puppies. The lake offers a pleasing selection of surrounding through which to walk. Starting from one of the three parking lots we walked clockwisde around the lake and so the boardwalk was at the beginning of our trip. This passes over a small section of marsh or bog which supports a wide variety of wildlife, the most obvious of which is the bird life. At the end of the boardwalk (no more than a couple of hundred metres and it makes a great noise under foot), we step into the forest that surrounds the lake.
Almost immediately we come across the main stream into the lake (there are a number of much smaller contributors) which is a very handy watering hole for the dogs and in summer is a great place to paddle in your sandals or flip flops (although flip flops on this walk may be a mistake you won't repeat). The point at which this stream enters the lake is a popular spot with anglers who go after the small trout which populate the lake with the help of some stocking measures. Mostly too small for a decent meal, there are some worthy of the pan...As we step onto the forest trail there a number of 'nursery stumps' in evidence. The forest is 'second growth' - the original forest was cut down between 80 and 60 years ago and what remains has grown since then.
The old stumps - or rather their pale shadows - are still in place. What remains now are the cores of the trees - the majority of the stumps have rotted and weathered away to reveal the old centre of the trunk. As they rot down, they become 'nursery stumps', which in a very balanced kind of way (you just have to stand in awe of nature sometimes dontcha?) support some of the second growth trees - such as you can see here, with a number of young trees competing for the nutrients being released by the rotting stump. These piggy - back riders can reach full size, slowly digesting and enfolding the old stump as they do so.
The north west shore lakeside trail
Walking along the north western shore, the views across the lake become increasingly obscured as the path gently turns away from the shoreline. In the summer this is a welcome shaded pathway however right now the trees and bushes have yet to come into leaf, and the sunlight still makes its way through the branches just enough to keep the air temperature comfortable. To our left the forest climbs a steep hillside. At intervals in between the second growth trees lurk the somehow menacing and rather curmudgeonly (look up 'curmudgeon' in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of me) old stumps. The combination of mixed light conditions, misleading shadows and the strange indentations in the stumps creates the impression that old, ugly faces are glaring down at you from the depths of the forest - not always a comfortable feeling!
These odd - looking marks are in themselves artifacts of a kind. The holes are the remnants of cuts made by the old lumberjacks, into which they rammed long steel - tipped wooden boards. They then climbed up on these unsteady platforms and with access to a workable area of the tree trunk, they set to work with axes or hand saws...incredible hard work and toughness. You can see here the difference in diameter between these old stripped - down cores with the newer, 60 - 80 year old trees. I wonder just how old were some of those old giants? Very few pockets of unlogged forest now remain within populated areas of the province, but at Cathedral Grove on Vancouver island, a stand of old growth mega - trees remains - and what a stunning experience the park is. If you come to BC, go there!
Colourful slugs!
The dogs are having a wonderful time of course, and this walk is one of those that leaves man and beast thoroughly satisfied. Constant changes of scenery help to foster that feeling of continued involvement with our surroundings. Even the slimy things are interesting!
Another change of character - this one quite ethereal. For some reason this area of the forest is always extremely still and very quiet. I am guessing that the sheer number of trees has a dampening effect upon any external noise. As you can see, the trees are very tall, very straight and devoid of vegetation on their trunks - they're all about canopy baby! Because, I think, of all the vertical lines and the quality of the light, this feels to me something like an ancient English cathedral (check out Chester Cathedral - in my old home city - through this link) as I walk through it...it's one of those places that can interrupt a conversation with the silence it seems to protect. As you can hopefully see, it's also a great obstacle course for commando puppies...the guys just love nothing more than chasing each other through the fallen logs, although they are very good at returning to us on command.
Across the 'top' of the lake
We're more than half way around the lake now, and as we cross the eastern end of the lake we're pointing towards the campsite which is situated on the southern side, although it does not form part of the trail in the winter it's an alternative route to walk the dogs instead of the eastern shore trail. A typical provincial park site, the campsite boasts huge pitches (by European standards) in the forest, but with fairly rustic amenities.
Yes, a bridge but the guys have been hurtling around for some time now and so the excitement factor has lost it's punch...the bridge crosses the only outflow stream from the lake. It's possible to find a trail (from the campsite) which takes you further along the stream to a small set of waterfalls known as Stave Falls, after which the nearest small hamlet is named. We've taken that trail before and in winter especially, it's like being in a Harry Potter movie - clouds among the trees etc.
Walking westward now along the southern shore, this is the 'busy' side of the lake. In this photo the campsite is up the hill and about a hundred metres from the lake shore. In the season it can be relatively busy (so we won't be using the lake for walks most likely) with family vacationers, some of whom will have made the easy 90 minute trip from Vancouver's suburbs to be in the countryside. During the quiter months it's the fishing folks who are the lake's most frequent users, and there are a number of spots on the shore from which people drop their lines. The second most popular way to get at the fish is something called a float tube - basically an adult sized inflatable ring designed for the angler to sit in and paddle themselves around using their feet. They're very popular here, and very effective especially when trying to get onto the water at the less accessible lakes, or wherever it's not possible to launch a boat.
A typical view of the lake from the southern shore
This side of the lake tends to be the cooler side, since the sunlight is more heavily filtered through the forest by the time it reaches the trail - a good reason to take this walk in the clockwise direction, especially in the warmer months of the year (we frequently have temperatures into the mid to high eighties during summer). As we head back towards the parking lot it's good for man and beast to be able to cool down and be comfortable getting back into the vehicle.
Looking back towards the boardwalk from the start of our walk in this photo...the skies were clearing as we made our way towards the end of our walk and met our first co - users of the park on their way to a fishing spot. Of course the puppies tend to get a little excited because they still have that conviction that everyone is their friend. Foolish moogs (does anyone out there recognise that phrase I wonder?).
The trail is now quite flat although narrow as we pass very close to the actual shoreline before taking an oblique turn away from it. Nearing the picnic area and beach which is the main focus of the lakes' recreational activities, there is thankfully a 'long drop' loo available (no details necessary) for those in need - a little rustic but functional.
The trail is now quite flat although narrow as we pass very close to the actual shoreline before taking an oblique turn away from it. Nearing the picnic area and beach which is the main focus of the lakes' recreational activities, there is thankfully a 'long drop' loo available (no details necessary) for those in need - a little rustic but functional.
So that's Rolley Lake walk...peaceful, fun for the dogs (it was actually their first experience of forest when they were very small) and an easy walk to plan, with only a couple of available variations. Not somewhere we will use much as the weather becomes warmer, partly because the traffic around the lake makes it less relaxing but principally because we have to have the guys on the leash which gives them a lot less exercise. In the winter and the less busy times of the year it is, however, a truly great place to walk, with or without the faithful hounds. Even Charlie Brown thinks so - as you can see he planted his christmas tree on this nursery stump...
Featured Walk #2
Today's featured walk takes us a short distance North West of Mission to Hayward Lake. Like many lakes in the region,Hayward is managed by BC Hydro (our provincial electrical power company) due to it's status as a power reservoir. Dammed at its Northern (inflow) and Southern (outflow) ends, the lake was created by the flooding of the narrow Stave River valley. A trail runs around the entire lake and provides a good day's exercise, especially on a hot day, and moves through a variety of terrain types with the Eastern shore trail being almost entirely within forest. There are many opportunites to cherry-pick sections of the trail at various points around the lake, but the majority of the trail is little-used and has a sense of remoteness about it. Our walk today is short on distance but long on fun, including a brief forest section on the way to an off - leash dog park on a designated beach of the lake. It's a beautiful lake at any time of the year and is relatively popular by local standards during summer weekends, but during the week remains rather quiet and serene, and a great place for those in the know to take their mutts for an amble. I will take you on a pictorial tour of this walk, and hopefully you will see for yourself how much fun (and exercise) the dogs get from this otherwise compact mosey.
This looks good already doesn't it? This is just the parking lot for goodness sake! Yes it's beautiful, and manages to be developed without feeling like the wonders of nature are being kept at bay (and yep I know the lake itself is artificial). The parking lot is rarely busy, especially outside of the summer months, and is a real oasis of peace - just the calls of crows and eagles to greet your arrival.
Directly from the parking lot is 'Harry's Trail', a short ten or fifteen minute walk through forest and marsh (created by a beaver clan of course) named after a former park warden. The last time I checked, Harry's widow was still living in one of the two houses on site (but that may no longer be the case). As you can see there is a rather ricketty bridge over one of the marshy sections, and for reasons unknown our two domesticated wolves find bridges VERY exciting...
The humble Skunk Cabbage...no I don't know what the real name is, and who cares anyway with such a fantastic common name being used? Oh alright then, here's a link to skunk cabbage (I felt guilty). These guys are about eighteen to thirty inches tall and they appear everywhere there is marshy ground. A lot of people don't like them because of their appearance and strong odour. I think they are rather beautiful in a rustic triffid kind of way and the scent is not bad - reminiscent of wild garlic but essentially very organic, and to my nose at least, not unpleasant. The dogs are totally unimpressed - one of the few things they don't seem to explore with their mouths.
You can see here some stumps of trees which have been felled either as a result of wind damage or because they have become dangerous for some reason. Pretty big huh? However these are NOT very big trees by local standards. They are in fact 'second growth' beasties, having grown following the first logging of the area around the lake in the early part of the last century. The forest here is amazingly lush, draped in curtains of moss and full of new ground level growth. At this time of the year a lot of sunlight reaches the forest floor but that will change as the deciduous trees fill out their branches and the path will become a welcome shady haven for walkers and their pets.
After fifteen minutes maximum, the trail opens out onto the lake trail proper (the "Railway Trail") which follows the line of an old logging narrow gauge railway along the western side of the lake. This is typical of the wider parts of the trail but it does change character every few hundred metres. At numerous points along the trail it is possible to see the old railway trestles rising up from the lake waters (pictures to follow on a separate featured walk) - depending upon the light and weather conditions they can either look gnarly and old in a noble kind of way, or just plain creepy!
A few hundred metres along the trail we turn left and into the off - leash park. As you can see it is largely comprised of a beach (nice mist today) and adjacent marshy bits - the dogs just adore this part. We have benches to sit at and take the weight off our feet as we watch the pups play and generally enjoy being dogs. I'll now include a few pictures of the lads enjoying their private beach!
I think it speaks for itself...
Who says animals aren't expressive!
Oh yes, wildlife - well today was the first snake sighting of the year - and here is the colourful little fellow hiding in the leaves after we surprised him/her basking on the grass...about a metre long and as thick as my thumb around the middle - harmless and quite beautiful.
Finally does it get much more iconic than this? A couple of Canada Geese swimming past a beaver lodge? Anyway, I hope this little snippet gives you a flavour of the walk at Hayward Lake. Although far from 'wilderness' territory, it is easy to feel a long way from anywhere else as you walk the lake shore, and even on this short walk ( the distance is small but we spend a long time at the beach!) the tranquility is wonderful. Please feel free to ask on the blog page any questions you may have about any featured walk or walk of the day, I am more than happy to enlarge upon the overviews.
Featured Walk #1
Yes folks it's here at last! By popular request (well, my wife agreed it was a good idea) I am introducing a featured walk page - the page will change fairly regularly and hopefully I will work out how to archive each one for reference and to avoid repeating myself. I'm going to start off with baby steps so don't yet (or possibly ever) expect reams of data - the idea is to give you a flavour of where we are and the kind of walks we enjoy with our furry friends. I think it would be very interesting if readers (and don't be shy - by now I know you are out there, my site data tells me so!) could contribute with fave walks from your neck of the woods or city or wherever you are lucky enough to call home. There are no huge expectations - only that you let us know what you enjoy about the walk you contribute. Remember - it's just about chatting and sharing your enjoyment with everyone else if you would like to remain anom...anoni...anomin....if you would like me not to share your name with everyone, that is no problem, either use a pseudonym or just let me know via email and I'll make up a tag for you. I will be adding a walk of the week 'blog' page for you to use, only on that page each contribution will be approved by myself before posting (it's quicker and easier than using my personal or business email). I'm looking forward to seeing wherever it is you walk with your beloved pets!
So here is my first featured walk;
Matsqui Trail, Page Road Trailhead.
Matsqui, British Columbia
So here is my first featured walk;
Matsqui Trail, Page Road Trailhead.
Matsqui, British Columbia
Matsqui Trail looking SE towards Page Rd. Trailhead.
This trail is a tiny section of the Trans Canada Trail, which as the name suggests, is a footpath which crosses the entire continent in a meandering kind of way - covering, when completed well in excess of 20,000km! Oh yes, it's a BIG country! Details of the trail can be found at http://www.tctrail.ca/. Our tiny dog walk section runs along the southern bank of the mighty Fraser River (the largest salmon-bearing river on the planet) for just a few kilometres - enough for our purposes. We actually split the trail into a few different walks, mainly hour - long bites but due to the large number of access points we can vary the length of walk according to our mood. Today I'm concentrating on the few kilometres closest to the Page Road Trailhead. Essentially the trail (not designated off-leash for some reason) runs along the top of the levee or dyke, which was only raised in height a few years ago to protect the surrounding farmland from an exceptional flood risk. This trail (resembling a railway embankment) is what in England we would have called a bridle trail, as it is ideal for horses however the walking surface is a gravel mix so not the kindest in the world. Happily the sides of the levee are grassed and the dogs (if they momentarily slip off the leash by accident of course) love to snuffle around the hundreds of rodent burrows, getting their noses covered in dirt in the process. It also makes a great surface for ambushing one another (although the ambusher is generally only hidden by virtue of sitting or lying very still!) and the leaps, chases and wrestling are a regular if slightly diminishing feature of the walks - they are, after all, still very much in the puppy stage.
Oops, they slipped their collars!
The slight drawback of the levee - top trail is that it is rather exposed to the elements - no problem for the fur coat brigade of course, but by jingo the easterly winds coming off the mountains can freeze the fillings in your teeth! There is no real obstruction to the winds off the mountains and it whistles along the Fraser valley and right through any hapless dog walker caught out in the open...however it does provide comic relief when the dogs face into the wind and let their ears lift up...
Salvation comes from a parallel trail which runs right along the very top of the river bank itself, and approximately ten to twelve feet closer to the water level. This pathway is merely trodden-down dirt and winds enthusiastically through woodland consisting largely of Cottonwood and Willow (anyone out there who can better identify trees please let me know!). Depending on direction, the wind tends to either raise up and over this area in order to clear the levee, or is diverted upwards by the levee itself. Either way it is a much more tranquil pathway to follow and the dogs particularly enjoy the opportunity to explore the undergrowth in the woodland.
Salvation comes from a parallel trail which runs right along the very top of the river bank itself, and approximately ten to twelve feet closer to the water level. This pathway is merely trodden-down dirt and winds enthusiastically through woodland consisting largely of Cottonwood and Willow (anyone out there who can better identify trees please let me know!). Depending on direction, the wind tends to either raise up and over this area in order to clear the levee, or is diverted upwards by the levee itself. Either way it is a much more tranquil pathway to follow and the dogs particularly enjoy the opportunity to explore the undergrowth in the woodland.
There is a price to pay for the coziness of the river bank path of course - and the photo to the left illustrates it.
Oh yes, here in BC we have our fair share of the wet stuff (liquid sunshine as the more cheesy TV forecasters call it) and as you can see the river bank path tends to take a while to drain (this photo was taken today and the path will likely be very squelchy for another two days). Personally I don't have a major problem - just bring the proper footwear and it doesn't really matter. And of course the four legged section of the family thoroughly enjoys the puddles! Who cares what we look like as long as we can keep warm and dry? As somebody wiser than I once said "There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing"... Soon it'll be summer anyway, and we'll be longing for cool days!
Oh yes, here in BC we have our fair share of the wet stuff (liquid sunshine as the more cheesy TV forecasters call it) and as you can see the river bank path tends to take a while to drain (this photo was taken today and the path will likely be very squelchy for another two days). Personally I don't have a major problem - just bring the proper footwear and it doesn't really matter. And of course the four legged section of the family thoroughly enjoys the puddles! Who cares what we look like as long as we can keep warm and dry? As somebody wiser than I once said "There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing"... Soon it'll be summer anyway, and we'll be longing for cool days!
As well as large numbers of ducks, gulls and various songbirds, we are on almost every occasion priveleged to witness at least a couple of Bald Eagles (seeing an eagle is still one heck of a thrill for me, and I hope I never lose that sense of wonder) doing their thing or majestically perched in one of the large Dogwoods keeping a sharp lookout for any likely food opportunities. Other signs of wildlife are the occasionally impressively HUGE molehills, sporadic expired rodents (or at least what's left of them), red tailed hawks perched on the fences, coyotes in the adjacent fields or - a very common find - owl pellets which, of course, the hounds find almost irresistible.
Last but by no means least and rather incongruously right next to the small parking lot at the Page Road Trailhead itself, there is a rather cheeky community of Canada's national animal - the beaver. The fallen trees in the photo to the left are not wind-blown. Those trees have all been chewed at the base of the trunk by those industrious orange - toothed workaholics...close by and just out of shot is a tree with a three foot diameter that never stood a chance...it looks brutal but it's the way nature would have things! My opinion is that they should leave those little guys alone to do whatever they need (they bring down the trees to get at the succulent and nutritious bits such as the layer immediately beneath the bark), but I have a horrible feeling that the damage may be too significant to be ignored any longer by the authorities...
Last but by no means least and rather incongruously right next to the small parking lot at the Page Road Trailhead itself, there is a rather cheeky community of Canada's national animal - the beaver. The fallen trees in the photo to the left are not wind-blown. Those trees have all been chewed at the base of the trunk by those industrious orange - toothed workaholics...close by and just out of shot is a tree with a three foot diameter that never stood a chance...it looks brutal but it's the way nature would have things! My opinion is that they should leave those little guys alone to do whatever they need (they bring down the trees to get at the succulent and nutritious bits such as the layer immediately beneath the bark), but I have a horrible feeling that the damage may be too significant to be ignored any longer by the authorities...
Arrrr...here there be...beavers!
So that ends this small summary of how I characterize just one of many very enjoyable and varied walks in and around our wonderful municipality. I hope you enjoyed the snapshot. If you did, please let me know and there will be more forthcoming!
Dogtastic
