Hike up Summit Peak Trail

 

The next day Leo, Mark and I hiked up the Summit Peak trail, across the road from the campground.  

The pines have suffered winter dessication, also known as the red band.

Alas, we did not summit Summit. The wind was gusting very strongly and the trail was steep and exposed. Eventually I could go no further as I was tiring and the wind was blowing me off balance. Leo and Mark went on but soon Mark returned and Leo came back soon after.

But we had lovely views and I found a lone fairy slipper.

Not a fairyslipper but a nice  vetch or peaviney flower

On our way down we spotted this lovely pool, a perfect spot for a dip on a hot summer day. Not today though.

Later in the afternoon we hiked along the lakeshore 

where we saw caribou tracks 

and a beaver dam.

We actually saw some birds today, juncos, robins and a spotted salmon.

And Leah gets all the points today as she went for a dip in frigid Summit Lake.

Flowerpot Lake

It rained all morning so we sat around playing Skipbo (card game). The rain eased up in the afternoon so we put on our rain gear and headed up the Flower Pot Lake trail. 
 

Its an easy hike up into the alpine since the campsite is already in the subalpine.

We did this hike in late July back in 2020. 

The advantage to travelling up north in June is the alpine flowers are all blooming; the disadvantage is it's peak mosquito season. 

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Once we reached the lake they were just swarming us.

Last time we encountered a caribou; this time we encountered no mammals but we did hear savannah sparrows and four different warblers

And the wildflowers were spectacular. 

Later Leah glanced out the trailer window and said, hey there's a cariboo up on the top of that ridge.

Quite the game-whisperer since she did the same thing back in 2020.

Stone Mountain Park

 Another long day of driving along what is possibly the most boring stretch of the Alaska Highway and possibly of all of BC.

But first we stopped at a viewpoint over the Peace River now flooded by the Site C dam. We talked to a local couple on motorcycles who said that they had cycled the bridge below before it was flooded and it was way above the river below. They were surprised when the reservoir had filled in just 6 months covering islands that locals used to boat out to for picnics. 

We remembered we had driven this way in 2029 and it was all under construction with giant earth movers clearing the land to be flooded. For now there is no access to the waterfront until the banks are stabilized.

So we drove on, stopping for gas - 1.77 at Charlie Lake, 1.99 at Pink Mountain, and 2.05 in Fort Nelson. But mostly it was just straight highways, slightly rolling terrain, boring pine and black spruce and work camps for the gas industry. Occasionally the road would dip down to cross a river (ooh, topography!).

No wildlife to be seen even though the highway verges were lush with green grass perfect bear habitat. Finally after Fort Nelson we spotted a bear, then another one, then 3 bears. 

Then we started driving up in elevation as we returned to the northern Rockies that we'd crossed at Pine Pass, finally reaching our destination for the night at Summit Lake in Stone Mountain Provincial Park.

It was busy!  It pretty much filled up by bedtime.  I'd say by nighttime but it doesn't really get dark.

We neglected to get a photo vut Summit Lake campground has the best outhouses ever.  They are composting toilets built high off the ground so you ascend a big staircase.  They are built of all wood, they are spacious and they don't smell. Quite palacious.

We all walked down to the lake and Leah spotted a caribou swimming across to the highway where it then browsed on the green verge.

North to the Alaska Highway

 

We left home on June 13 to drive up to the Yukon and take the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyuktak, NWT.

But first we had a lot of driving to do. Generally we try to avoid driving more than 3 or 4 hours (Google Maps time, it takes a lot longer in real time) but we have a lot of ground to cover so the first 2 days were big driving days. Cr

Leo had done a bunch of prep prior to leaving including sealing the truck canopy from dust and getting a hitch welded to the trailer to hold our ebikes.

Tall bluebells, Moberly Lake

Alas it became apparent soon after we left home that the bikes were too heavy for our trailer, affecting its stability so we turned back 20 minutes out of town and dropped them off at home.

After that delay we drove north to Prince George and on up through the Pine Pass.  

Our travelling companions, Mark and Leah, saw four black bears on the drive, we only spotted one.

We arrived at Moberly Lake around 6 pm. It was Saturday so the park was busy with families enjoying the warm, sunny weather.

Bird of the day was the black-throated green warbler, heard but not seen, but it still rates because we were now east of the Rocky Mountains and we don't see them in most of British Columbia.

Bluebird Box Route

Back in April we were determined to clean out our bluebird boxes before the birds started nesting.  We drove out to the Chilcotin in the middle of the month but as we crested the Sheep Creek hill the truck started acting up and we had to drive home. It took us a few weeks to get the truck repaired and then life got busy so we didn't get out again till mid May.

So we managed to time it to the balsamroot bloom.

The bear had been busy again knocking down boxes so Leo was kept busy repairing and replacing.

So far it looks like it will be a good bluebird year.  Way more bluebird nests than last year and there seem to be lots of eggs, sometimes 7 in a nest.

 The walk was lengthened when I realized I had dropped my phone during a toilet stop.  It meant we had to climb up a big hill again, Fortunately it was right behind a big burn pile so I was able to find it.

It was a chilly day but it never actually rained on us.  Thundershowers all around and we drove home in heavy rain.

Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park - Hike to Cosens Bay Beach

 We all drove to Kalamalka Provincial Park (day use only) for a hike.

The balsamroot were still blooming.

A little past their prime but still lovely.  I missed it but a rattlesnake was sighted. It slicked into rock before I got there.

We got a little lost but eventually reached our destination, Cosens Bay Beach.  Shoulda brought the bathing suits.  We had lunch on the beach.

It was a hot climb up the switchbacks on a treeless climb back to the parking lot.

Back in 2021 we hiked to the same place but we came from another parking lot.

Camping near Vernon

 We reserved 5 nights at Kekuli Bay Provincial Park on Kalamalka Lake near Vernon.  Leo and I left 3 days early because Leo had a medical appointment in Kamloops. We camped 3 nights at Steelhead Provincial Park in Savona.  Friday was taken up with Leo's appointment.  Saturday we visited friends who live just down the road in Tobiano and had just gotten  back from their winter home in the Baja.

On Sunday we drove to Vernon. The road through Monte Creek was closed so we took the Salmon to Enderby route.  Not sure why the road was closed but our friends were able to drive through later in the day.

The point of this trip was to get some camping in when the weather was still cold at home but instead it was pleasantly warm in Williams Lake and midsummer temperatures in  error.

In the evening we walked on the rail trail for a short distance.  Highlight was several bull snakes warming on the trail.

Closeup:

The next day we had plans to cycle to Oyama (24 km return).  But we were delayed till after lunch, and by then it was hot.  We got as far as the Crystal Waters subdivision (14 km return) and turned around.  Leo, Leah and I went for a swim afterward.  Weather was warm, water was not.

The next day we drove to Myra Canyon and biked the trestles (24 km return).

It was much less busy than the last time we were here.  So we didn't have to dismount on the trestles as there were no crowds.

Leo bikes through the tunnel

They have really expanded the parking lot, though, a d there's way more bikes for rent so it must be nuts on a summer weekend.

Some of the trestles:

Look, no crowds.

Leah and Mark head into a tunnel:

On our last day we finally biked all the way to Oyama.  We were hoping for coffee at Oyama but the cafes were closed.  Fortunately, just as we were heading back the food truck by the trail opened up and we were able to order ice cream (💓🍦 )

Taking a butt break

On our way back we saw a cinnamon bear trying (successfully) to cross the highway at Crystal Waters Road.  

Kalamalka Lake is very clear (crystal water clear) so we could see the suckered spawning at one spot along the lakeshore.

It was still hot but because we did the bike ride in the morning (and icecream) it was bearable.  Leah and I went for a dip afterward.  We met a friendly woman from Miscou Island, New Brunswick, on the last day of her vacation.