I never take for granted that I am fortunate to live in a place on our planet earth that has amazing places to play with breath-taking scenery right out my front door. I love these places, I appreciate them, respect them, and treasure them. Bundle all that together, add in some friends, then together fully embrace what Mother Earth and Mother Nature created for us on this Earth Day.
The Barrier Lake Lookout is a safe bet to reach this time of year.
The earlier in the day the better to hit this trail.
blue sky + no wind = pretty reflections
Trail conditions were all over the map. They were dry to begin with, then short sections of wet dirt, next came ice for the entire way up the switchbacks. We had our traction devices which meant no problem for us. We reached the first view point which was a mud fest. No lingering long here as we favoured reaching the Lookout sooner. We checked out the rocky outcrop then made our way along the steeper stretches which consisted of mud, dry dirt, ice, snow. I was glad to have safely worked our way up through all that to where these kinds of views began.
Yamuska in the distant middle
distant views caught my eye as did even the littlest of things
While it was wet with loads of snow up here, it was brown and dry down in the valley.
I was surprised to crest the hill and see the Lookout was open. That dry valley is why the Lookout Lady was home. She arrived two and a half weeks ago due to it being dry down below. Fires already occurred, one being sparked by a passing train.
Her and her pup came down to the helipad to greet us and chatted with us for some time.
She gave us permission to follow the trail to the back of her home.
I did so to capture my destination shot from my favourite vantage spot up here.
We savoured a lengthy amount of time up here.
The weather was on our side and it was not busy (yet).
I checked out the many scenes.
After investing as much time as we felt worthy for today at Barrier Lake Lookout, it was time to pack up and head back. We vacated our spots on the helipad to make room for the swarms of people beginning to arrive. Our timing was spot on today for our visit here. The trail down to the rocky outcrop was now full of a mess of mud & ice & snow and a mess of people coming up. While waiting for the rest of our friends to arrive here, we enjoyed the view.
Earth Day holds different levels of meaning for each. We all know one friend truly loves to get down and dirty. We questioned whether her mishap was an accident or intentional. Some of us hold a special section in our hearts for this place called Earth, others like to hold our earth in other places. All in all I am sure my friends would agree that in which ever way you become one with our earth, it is truly good for the soul!
We became spread out somewhat as we maneuvered down that mad mess. We waited here to gather together before aiming for those icy switchbacks. Barrier Lake is always a sight to see from up here. We noticed the clouds moving in, the wind picking up and our breath in the air. Again, we were spot on with our timing today.
As we began to descend the switchbacks we knew we were now on the last stretch to heading home and you know what that means. I take over the reigns with your thoughts! We made a quick and fun time out of it.
Thank you Agent-X for creating an opportunity for us where we could come together and share in acknowledging Earth Day! We are lucky people to be able to experience what we do. Embrace! Respect! Enjoy!
Another awesome day. Your 2nd and 3rd images are sensational.
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