Adventure with a Capital "A"!

Today I am off on a Grand Adventure... a hike to Ammonite Falls. I am beary excited because I've been wanting to do this hike forever... and today is the day!

First it's a bit of a hike along an old logging road...

The trail is actually quite well sign-posted now... a few years ago it was beary hard to find...

And... we're off!

Oooh... we're getting into some tall trees here. Nice.

There's a split in the road but... the signs tell me to go right.

And here, the trail peels off from the old road... again, beary well sign-posted.

I like the forest here - it's beary quiet and peaceful with lots of birds chirping.

A few little obstacles...

And crossing another logging road.

Looks like there's some active logging off in the distance.

These horsetail ferns are almost a forest in and of themselves for a little bear... kind of like the Jurassic period!

Ummm... bit of a tangle of trails here... let's see...

That trail goes somewhere but not sure where... maybe next time.

I can hear a waterfall!

First we do a little scramble down this slope... there is a rope there to help in muddy conditions...

I see a waterfall!!!

Eh? Trail Closed? Steep and Hazardous Terrain?? I read about this... this is where the Capital "A"" Adventure kicks in...

Cause I'm up here... the waterfall is down there and...

The only way down is a scramble down this muddy slope... but there are a bunch of ropes there... so let's see...

Whee!!

OK... I think I have bear bum rope burn... ouch... But... I'm down!

Thank goodness for that rope!

And here we are... there isn't a tonne of water flowing cause it was... ahem... cough... early June... hrrmmm... when we went but... it's still beary pretty.

I imagine it's even nicer in early spring.

Although... maybe in the summer it warms up enough to go swimming? Maybe?

Do you think there are fish in there?

Nice hike... now I just have to get back up that slope... wish me luck!

More Trees

And... we're back in the arboretum... those are nice big cottonwood trees... they remind me of Gramma's place.

 This one is a Cedar of Lebanon but... it ain't doin' so well...

 Oooh... Trembling Aspen... they remind me of Gramma's place too!!

 Although the leaves are a bit different - much bigger teeth along the edges which makes me think it should be labelled a Big Tooth Aspen. Huh...

Now this... this is a PINE!!! And the sign agrees - Eastern White Pine.

There was a sign for a Macedonian Pine but... I don't think it did so well... And... we're at the far corner of the Arboretum... goodness it's a big piece of property... wonder what trees are along this far side....

 Some of these pines make neat cones... which would be great in wreaths... must make mental note... 

 There's a sign here for Incense Cedar... neat... from Oregon to California... wonder if Little Fox has met this tree down there?

It's bark is different from our own Western Red Cedar...

See... Western Red Cedar bark... beary different.

 There used to be a Western Hemlock behind me but... it didn't do well either...

And this Eastern Hemlock isn't doing so great either...

 This branch looks a little bit like red cedar but it is actually Yellow Cedar... not not actually a Cedar but a Cypress... tree nomenclature is confusing. The wood is beary yellow and is very aromatic... although some people say it smells like cat pee... go figure!

 And this tree... this tree is Sitka Spruce!!! It grows up near Gramma too...

 Hmmm... gonna say Tamarack or Larch... the needles turn yellow in the fall and fall off... neat, huh?

 Oh... and both of us freaked out when we saw this big black thing running out of the bush but... it was just a black dog coming out of the mystery trail... not a wolf... whew! And that concludes our tour of the Arboretum!

Break from the Trees

I've been wandering through the Arboretum and... saw this trail heading off into the bush... I can never resist a good trail... let's follow it!

Looks like an old tree farm, or maybe an experimental tree plot?

And some scrambling up the sandstone...

A bit of a view... you can't see it but the pulp mill is in the distance...

This is cool... although the trail is getting a big jungly...

And then it opens up again.

Ummm... what happened to the clear trail? It's heading through a patch of bracken fern and broom...

OK... this is the most inconsistent trail! I wonder where it goes... maybe it doesn't go anywhere?

Oh, this is pretty broom... with yellow and orange flowers.

I know it's hideously invasive... and stinky... but it sure is pretty.

The trail just keeps going... and I'll keep following it... maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of it?

Nope... just some sandstone blocks...

And more tree farm stuff...

Wait... here's a brick... hmmm... where's that archaeologist pal of mine?

And a big open area... with some scattered bricks throughout the grass... maybe an old building?

 Oh... a bit of a concrete wall... old building foundation?

And a little hut made out of concrete blocks. Huh... I wonder what all of this was?

There's nothing left inside...

Little bear minds want to know... was it part of the Arboretum at one point? Or was it an old homestead?? Ah well... back to the Arboretum...