Day Eleven

Norvan Falls

Skunk Cabbage - grows in bogs, it smells
Thu Apr 29

The weather was set fair so we decided today was a good day to do the roundtrip to the Norvan Falls.  A minimum of 14k, but longer if you park down the hill (to avoid the paid for car parks), which will add at least 2k.  We parked down the hill!

We had walked half the trail on Sunday, but then hadn't come prepared to do the full distance, plus it was raining!  The lower half is relatively straight forward, though there are some areas strewn with rock, tree roots or just a bit boggy.

On Sunday we got as far as The Debris Chute, an open area accessible by service and emergency helicopters which has a strange metal locked cylinder.  We assume it has rescue or services equipment.  On Sunday we'd seen a couple of BC Parks staff walking up carrying a chain-saw on their backs, but no fuel.

Today we discovered the second half of the trail is classed as 'intermediate' and is hard work.  Uphill to the falls, small rock 
and timber strewn gorges that need to be navigated carefully 
down and up.  No bridges, a few board-walks and yellow squares nailed to trees every 2-30 m, to show where the trail is.

Jack was in his element and if our walk was 16k, his must have been at least half as much again!

Fred's walking poles were put to good use and really helped with the more demanding sections of the trail, both uphill and down and there was a lot of that.  

On the way up we saw just 6 passers-by, other trekkers, some with dogs; on the way down it was many more.

It was rugged and unspoilt, a forest wilderness; and yet we were no more than 7k from Upper Lynn's residential area.

The birdlife was more prolific nearer the top, but I only managed to get some pictures of a Stellar's Jay, the woodpecker flew off before I got my camera out. 

When we finally got to the falls and Fred saw the rope suspension foot bridge she said, 'well that made the long hike worth it' and was keen to get straight onto the wobbly but well constructed metal 'rope' construction into the middle for a better vantage point to photograph the falls..... on returning she said 'that was a bit of fun', I don't think so!

The round trip took just under five hours with refreshment breaks.  I think tomorrow we will ache!


Tree Stump pock-marked with Woodpecker holes
Stellar's Jay







Norvan Falls













Comments

  1. BobApril 30, 2021 at 12:21 PM

    Looks fabulous, well done you two - did Bro inch out onto the bridge? Bruv

    ReplyDelete
  2. LizApril 30, 2021 at 2:00 PM

    Hale storms here, snow on Chute causeway today! I did 7 miles yesterday and thought I did well! At least we have had the much needed rain. You look as if you are exploring the countryside. All so wild and unspoilt. Seen any animal life? Liz x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MikeT67MApril 30, 2021 at 4:51 PM

      Winter returned then. We’ve had a few days of rain here, but not that cold! Mostly birds on the wildlife side. We bought bear bangers and bear spray for our treks. It’s working really well as we’ve not seen any bears yet! :-)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Frustrations of Canadian Immigration Services

Image
And other things  Sat June 1st The pause in blogs was due to Immigration Canada announcing at the beginning of May that a further draw would be made from the remaining pool of the 2020 Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Parent and Grandparent sponsored Permanent Residency.    Friday was the last day and again we did not get through.  The fifth year running.  I suspect that later in the year they will invite a new round of EOI's which probably means we will be a small fish back in a very large pool.  On the grand scale of all suffering and instability in the world, it is insignificant  (I keep telling myself),  but it is hugely, bloody frustrating.  Our tenure continues under the Super Visa scheme, which runs until our passports expire in 5 and 8 years time respectively. Other news ...  on Sunday 27th w e went to a wedding reception. It is the first time I have worn a jacket in over three years.  My boarding pass from our Air Can...
Read more

Cream Crackers & Stilton

Image
Blue Sky in Whistler!!!!! Fred on the Piste - not overly busy Before I get on to Whistler ........ In my early BBC career I spent a couple of years working at the BBC’s Television Centre (TVC), in west London.  This was long before the BBC flogged it and it was turned into an apartment hotel and restaurant complex, plus a few TV studios for the industry to use as a nod to its history.   Amongst other things I did a stint as a studio supervisor and worked on the Two Ronnies, Morecombe & Wise and Top of the Pops.  Anyone remember Pan's People? Phwoar! Interesting times. TV Centre was huge and had several thousand staff. The restaurant block, on three floors, included a waitress service restaurant on the '2nd floor' where stars were entertained by their producers over long lunches and the odd glass of wine.  This was the late 70’s before ‘hair shirts’ and the critical public attention the BBC gets today.   Occasionally, a couple of fellow wor...
Read more

Fall Leaves and Rainfall

Image
Jack Vs Car Sat November 9th Fall seems later this year and the deciduous leaves have been a lovely mix of golds and reds with the predominance of Maples in all of its varieties. After last week's storms, most of the leaves are now down along with quite a few trees.  Further up the Coast a tornado was reported taking out multiple trees that closed the main highway and took out power for local residents for around three days.    A local driver caught the trees coming down on video .  After two consecutive dry summers, 2024 has been wetter with no significant water restrictions on the Coast.  I assumed this was good news until reading an article in the UK press that suggested late autumns are just another sign of global warming. The storm left us without power for nearly 12 hours and a huge number of properties were similarly affected across southern and central BC.  Fortunately we had a good supply of candles and a gas lamp.  Some friends near the ...
Read more