Expedition Canada

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

Norvan Falls Trail Not only does the forest look like a rain forest, today it rained.  The mountains were shrouded in mist with occasional glimpses of the tree clad slopes, their snow covered caps hidden for the day.   The trail up to the falls runs alongside Lynn Creek which was flowing well with the melt water coming down off mountains that form Lynn Headwaters Regional Park.  The round trip to the falls is 14k.  New to the area, we parked short of the trail start so added a couple of extra kilometres to the walk.  We made it just beyond half way, but plan to return and do the complete walk during the week. We arrived early and only met a few people on the way up.  A different story coming down, but there is so much space it didn't spoil it.     It is amazing how close residential property is to rugged, untamed forest.  Living 100m from a trail, the forests go on for several hundreds of kilometres with only occasional roads bisecting them. I say untamed.  There was a logging oper

Quieter Pace Wed 21st April After the early morning dog walk it was a b oys shopping trip .... for a car! With gas (sorry petrol) at 97p per litre should I go the petrol-head route, or something more modest?  Vancouver has car dealership malls - a bit like regular shopping malls, but cars.  A very convenient way of buying a set of wheels.  Yesterday we test drove a VW Atlas.  Nice car, solid ride but not great on reliability.  Also went looking for a Toyota 4Runner, but it had been sold before we got there.  It's amazing how long it takes to shop for cars! After a late lunch we went for a walk up Lynn Creek a five minute car ride away. In the UK, my greatest fear when taking Jack out picking up on a shoot, or alongside me as a peg-dog, was him running in to Charlie Rowland's cover crop at Bowden Farm before the drive had been through it.  Jack has an amazing nose and can smell game birds from 100 yards and will sniff them out.  Gun dogs dashing in to the wrong cover crop is jus