Spring 2007
Snow shoe March 11
Our snowshoe outing at Bead Lakes in Riding Mounntain National Park on Sunday was beautiful, mild, not sunny........in fact, at the trail-head, we were wondering if we should've packed our rain gear!
We started our 4 km tracked show shoe trail and continued at a leisurely pace, enjoying the fresh spruce-filled air, and each other’s company. Some were busy taking photos, others identifying wildlife markings. The rain never did start, and in fact the sun emerged just in time for our weiner roast at the camp-site across the road from the Bead Lakes trail head. Thanks to Donna and Vern for supplying the weiners and donuts for roasting! Thanks to Bert and Sandy for our lesson in wildlife! Janice & Herman (guests), Sandy (photographer), Judy, Bert, Aaron, Donna, Vern, Roger,
Becky & Grace attended.
Grace
Minnedosa Day Hike April 21
Club member Grace led a successful hike in the Minnedosa area on April 21, 2007. We first hiked the marked hiking area at the bottom of the valley on Number 10 & 16 Highway. Following lunch we then proceeded to the Minnedosa dam area and did a short hike on an interpretative trail, which included a Pioneer village. The nine hikers were, Grace, Shannon, Marg, Millie, Arthur, Di, Janis, Maureen and Bill. Après hike was at Chipperfields' coffee house in Minnedosa (jukebox 2 songs for 25 cents!!). Thanks Grace for your organizational and leadership skills.
Bill
Moon Lake Hike April 29
It was a beautiful day for a hike! With ice still on the lake, Donna, Aaron, Fred, Ann, Donna, James, Collin and Becky headed out. A few wet feet were found on the south side of the lake. We stopped for lunch for a view overlooking the lake, and thoroughly enjoyed the company of a few ticks! On the second half of our hike we happened upon a woodchuck on the trail. As he scurried up a tree, the paparazzi snapped a few shots in time to finish the hike in a record breaking three hours!
Becky
May 5,2007 Overnight Camp & Canoe
The weather was wet but warm as we headed up to Whirlpool Lake on Friday night to meet up with Roger. Whirlpool Lake is beautiful any time of year and after a thermos of Bean Soup we were off to canoe the lake. It was breezy as Aaron and I made our way to the mouth of the northwest creek, and it was farther than I remembered. Roger, being solo in his canoe, headed back and we caught up with him just before camp. It was quite foggy and misty but we found our way back. Roger then had his supper of smokies and we called it a night, for we wanted to start early in the morning as we venture into the unknown. Not sure what time Roger got up but his tent was almost down by the time Aaron and I got up. We enjoyed a good breakfast, broke camp, and parked our “getout” vehicle all by 9:00 a.m.
Whirlpool River was running very well, approximately 4km/hr, and we had to keep our eyes peeled for obstacles, rocks and dams, sharp curves, letter S ring a bell, and fish. Lots of routes to choose as to which way you want to go. Aaron and I found many shortcuts. The beaver dams were broken and no signs of beaver at all. We did shoot a couple of good ones though, eh ,Roger? We missed one and portaged back to make sure we didn’t miss a thing. One was on a curve and we had to enter a back eddy in a pocket just to get turned around. Doing something different for the first time is always exciting and Roger led us down the river like a pro. Our time on the river was 3.5 hours, with one hour for lunch and dam surfing and whatever. For anyone looking to do something just for the fun of it, this is the trip for you. I know we’ll do it again. Great scenery, and yes, it rained on us but it was so warm! Unbelievable for May 5!
Donna
P.S. any red rocks are Roger's!
Bike Ride May 13
Our bike ride, organized by Maureen & Brent, was successful as usual - they always make a great job of this event. We had a total of nine on the ride, Maureen, Brent, Arthur, Verne, Norma, Bill, Carol and Jeff and Jessica who joined us from Minnedosa via Australia! Welcome to the club J&J! We did a total of almost twelve miles in great weather conditions, sunshine and temperatures in the 20's. A fun BBQ was held at Eleanor Kidd Park with Brent making a blazing fire in short order! Thanks Brent and Maureen, the trip was thoroughly enjoyed by all and we look forward to next year.
Bill
PS: Anyone who didn't make it, missed out on Norma's butter tarts--to die for!! Eat your heart out!
Kinnis Creek Overnite bike-hike May 25-27
The first bike-hike of the year was enjoyed by three members, Trish, Mike K, and Mike R. Although it was chilly at the trailhead, a vigorous pace had us warmed up in a few minutes. The skies were clear by noon, and after setting up camp, we cycled a further eight km to an area known locally as "Three Rivers". There we ditched the bikes and had a true "backcountry" hike from 3:30 to 6 pm following game trails along the Kinnis Creek. The only wildlife other than eagles and hawks were dozens upon dozens of wood ticks, which we meticulously picked-off every 10 minutes or so. This is the third year with no wolf sightings along this area. The remainder of the evening was spent at the campsite, with perfect blue skies, towering spruce and poplars and a babbling brook in the background. We three had a hearty meal and good conversation till the stars came out and the sleeping bags beckoned, the last members still up at 11:45 pm. The following morning saw us off after breakfast. After unpacking at the trailhead and seeing Mike K off, Trish and Mike R carried on for a 34 km day bike along Central Trail, where the highlight of the day was Trish's surprising a pack of five wolves right on Central Trail, no bushwhacking required! A brief weiner roast at Whitewater campsite completed the afternoon, with a quick 40-minute cycle back to the vehicles. A beautiful weekend excursion and great weather for the last weekend in May. The Central Trail remains currently (June 3) in superb cycling condition. Hope to see some cyclists out there for day trips this summer!
Mike Rossier
President's Day Hike: North Shore Trail (Glen Beag to Spruces return) June 4
In attendance: Mike K, Shannon K, Di, Grace, Mike R., Janis, Lynn and Bryan, Arthur, Verne, and Ann S. The hike was to begin around 10:30am at Glen Beag. We waited for a few people as my directions apparently led them onto the twelfth hole at the Clear Lake Golf Course! Trail conditions were great other than a few soupy spots along the way. Parks Canada has re-routed three to four sections of the trail in order to avoid more of the soupy spots. In one particular area, the elevation gain provides hikers with a fantastic view of Clear Lake. Other than tracks and scat, there were no sightings of animals. After a short stop at Spruces picnic area, we returned down the same path to Glen Beag. Total time on the trail (16km) was approximately four hours. After Environment Canada's predictions of cold, rainy weather, luck was on our side. It turned out to be a beautiful day. Several members stayed afterwards for a hotdog and Tofu-Dog roast. Fire-roasted doughnuts were supplied by Verne---a nice treat after a day on the trail.
Mike Klassen
Gorge Creek (A great trail anytime) June 10
While hiking RMNP’s Gorge Creek Trail is a fall favorite, it was equally spectacular in early summer. The oak, birch and evergreens are brilliant green. There are blossoms on the cranberry and nannyberry bushes, and delicate wild flowers and ferns highlight the path in every direction.
The six hikers who climbed to the top of this escarpment were rewarded with great views of the prairies and one of the best lunch spots in the park. And best of all, we were never too far from the sound of water running through the creek that created this remarkable landscape.
Thanks to Carol and Bill for leading the trip and treating everyone to coffee at Poor Michael’s afterward, and to Alf and Janis for providing commentary to two first timers.
Fred and Ann Stevenson
McFadden Valley Hike (1) June 18
Five club members including Shirley and Arthur, Grace, Jackie and Fred met at Uncle Tom's restaurant near Minnedosa for coffee and/or breakfast at 9AM. Also joining us for brekky was Marg, a friend of Jackie's (and potential club member?) who has returned to MB after living on Victoria Island. Grace and I had a pre-hike discussion and based upon her knowledge of the area we chose the route we would hike.
We were on the road by 10:30 and arrived at an ATV trailhead 45 minutes later. The trailhead we took was located three miles due north of Elk Ranch. Elk Ranch is located on Provincial Road 357 (Mountain Road) and is a somewhat useful point of reference. To accommodate our schedules we dropped off a car two miles north and two miles east of Elk Ranch so we would not have to backtrack. We followed the ATV trail in a southeasterly direction through aspen and hazel brush interspersed with birch and spruce. The mosquitoes were almost as thick as thieves but luckily the ticks diverted our attention from them somewhat. Whilst hiking we had to skirt a small lake created by semi-aquatic rodents and here we saw our first bruin prints (Not to be confused with the NHL Bruins - reason being hockey season is over). We exited the woods and crossed through a grassy meadow which we deduced had been cleared at one time or another for agricultural purposes. The ATV trail continued due south but we opted to take the 'high' road towards the car. This high road is drivable when dry. We still had plenty of time, so Grace showed us another route which crossed the creek we were skirting and brought us out onto a large hay meadow. We tramped across the meadow only to be confronted by a rather deep ravine between us and the road we wished to intersect. LAfter finally referring to a topo map, there were two choices - one was to backtrack, the other to follow a minor flow channel down to the creek and ultimately the road. As we all know backtracking is too boring and obvious, so we chose the route less traveled. It was somewhat steeper, wetter and overgrown than we would have liked but we made our way gingerly and deliberately and found the elusive road. It was clear hiking up to the car from here. Total hike time almost three hours. Comfortable temperatures, partly cloudy skies and four great sports (considering that unintentional bushwhack). After retrieving Arthur's car at the trailhead we all stopped in at Big Valley for a quick lunch and headed our separate ways.
June 21,2007 McFadden Valley Hike 2
On Thursday June the 21, Arthur, Shirley and Di met up with Grace at her parents' farm. We really had a beautiful day to be out hiking. After a very quick snack - we started out by car to our first starting point. Now, if I consult my GPS - our trail made a very pretty pattern! First of all we headed back towards the farm. Being a valley - we went up and we went down. We certainly had some fabulous views from our high spots - and some very wet bits in our low spots. On arriving back at the farm, we sat and enjoyed some lunch - and a well earned cold beer! We then headed back into the bush. On this occasion, Grace took us on the scenic route. Well, we were there to explore - so that's exactly what we did! By this point, Shirley had seen enough of MacFadden Valley, having hiked the scenic route only the week before. Anyway, we all made it back to the farm where we had to 'de-tick' before we could do anything else. We must have hiked between five and six miles, encountered many different terrains - and we enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks Grace for a great day...
Di Ingram