Nose Hill Sunrise March 23, 2020

sitting solo

in silence

waiting for the sun to rise

digging for hope

looking for happiness

wishing for our world to be well

I am a morning person, an early morning person.  I took advantage of that and headed to Nose Hill Environmental Park to be there for when this new day dawned.  There was no need to pay attention to social or physical distancing, I owned this space.  There was a crispness in the air, it was fresh & clean & healing.  I sat, I pondered, I waited & wondered!  I thought of what to be thankful for and whispered thank you to those who I am thankful for!  As the sun peaked over the horizon, it was cheerfully bright and filled my heart with hope!  

Sugar Momma + Bobcat + Fullerton = Loop March 20, 2020

With a fabulous Friday forecast on the forefront I was up early and out the door to feel fulfilment from a forest hike.  I have been enjoying checking out, new to me, trails in the Elbow Valley area.  Today was the day to explore the Sugar Momma (or is it Sugar Mama) and Bobcat trails.  It was an easy quiet drive to the parking lot across from Allen Bill where there was only one other vehicle.  It was bitterly cold with a windchill so I quickly geared up in my heaviest of layers and took off spiking along.  

 I veered off towards the Snagmore Trail and shortly thereafter hit the intersection for Sugar Momma.  

 Or is it Sugar Mama!

Forested trails were not always a favourite of mine but I am learning to be thankful for them and appreciate them.  Today it felt like I was being hugged, it felt safe & secure in the forest, and I was feeling a feeling come over me which felt healthy and I even sensed a smile come on and I went for it!

so green and so alive

You know that commercial that goes something like 

"why not instead of looking something up, what if we just looked up" 

well I did, I just looked up!  

Along the Sugar Momma (or is it Sugar Mama) trail I came to an opening with a view.  There were two large flat rocks at the base of the tree.  It looked inviting.  I settled down and just sat and sat and sat and sat.  The view was wonderful, the sun shone on me, it was peaceful.

I carried on and came to the intersection for Bobcat.  These trails are multi-use and I imagine the tools hanging from the trees would be for the mountain bikers.  There were no bikers here this morning, nor other hikers.  I followed Bobcat for a bit uphill as I knew there were more trails up that way but then decided to save that for another day. 

 a rake

 a hand saw

I did an about face and carried on with my original plan.  

Off to the side in the forest was one tree, yes just one tree,  that was covered in ice crystals.   

I broke trail in the crusted snow to get up close.

 I got closer....

 ...and even closer.

 how beautiful and delicate is Mother Nature's design

nearing the end of Bobcat the views open up

 snow capped peaks peeking out

Bobcat linked up with Fullerton.  I did Fullerton back on December 24th.  I followed along Fullerton until I reached the bench with the wide open view.  I sat there for some time to savour my sandwich & tea and the scenery.  After that I made my way along the last couple of kilometres back to my car.  I came away with a new upbeat outlook and that felt good.  By the time I got home, geared down, cleaned up and did laundry, the sun was now on my deck.  I put my deck chair out, poured a glass of white, donned my shades and sat out.  I sat and I sat and I sat and I sat!  

the route I took today

Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park March 15, 2020

The frame I picked to highlight this frosty photograph is called "travel stop sign!" 

 How fitting this is these days!  

While "out & about" today I thought about how fortunate I am to not to be outside Canada right now.  I thought about the many places that are almost just out my door where I can safely escape to like Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.  My thoughts go out to those who are facing a rough time from life's happenings these days.  A big Thank You to those who are doing what they do to protect us and to keep us healthy and safe!

🙏

 Soon I should be "Springing in Spain!"  Friday's notification stated "Springing in Spain" cancelled!  

Instead I now still "winter in the west" and I will be springing here too.  Yes, it is still winter and we were walloped with a wacky weather front.  I love winter and sometimes I believe "I am winter".  I left home at first light and headed to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park to hike for a planned 10 kms under sunshine yet with a frigid temperature of -25C with a windchill of -31C.   

No one had been on the trails I took since the new snowfall.  

I spiked along in the snow which covered a sheet of ice in sections.

There were many tracks, some brand new, some day olds, some big, some small.  They were going where I was going, oh darn.  Eventually the tracks headed off trail into the bush.  Later I heard coyote cries & howls coming from different directions.  Mating!  Protecting dens!

swishing over my shadow

I crossed the tracks with intentions of checking out the ice formations in the Bow River.  I saw the icicles hanging from the washroom building.  While it was mighty cold the sun was melting the icicle.  I tried maybe twenty times to capture a shot like this.  Finally I pressed at precisely the correct second.

I broke trail down to the Bow River.  As you can see from the track on the google earth map below, I checked out different sections along the way.  There was no section that was safe enough to get close enough to the ice formations for unique photos.  I was able to safely get close to this though.  The location of this ice chuck tells you how high the river has been.

The ice is wrapped around the trunks of the trees.

This is how cold it was this morning!

To capture a photo like this it was necessary to get down and be one with the ground.  

I crossed back over the tracks and aimed for a picnic table to chow down on my snacks and sip some peppermint tea.  The sun felt nice so I just sat there for awhile to appreciate it.  It was time to carry on and get back up the hill to the parking lot.  A few hours away from reality soothes the soul!  It was what I needed today!

the route I took today

Sulphur Springs & Diamond-T March 11, 2020

I went for a woodsy wander today!  I had no real destination in mind just a general idea of where there would be some ground to easily cover not far from home.  I landed out in the Elbow Valley at the Station Flats parking lot.  There was no one else around, there had been new untouched snow over night, I geared up and took off hitting the Elbow Valley Trail.  The sky had blue in it and some not so nice white in the distance.  

I followed the Elbow Valley Trail through the sparse forest  and reached the junction for the Sulphur Springs Trail.  I veered off knowing from before that it would lead to a cross over of the Moose Mountain Road then there would be wide open spaces with nice views on the other side.  Hmmm, yeah that sounds good so I put a plan in place to reach that area.

Then the blue disappeared!

The snow began falling as light flurries at first and then developed into loads of heavy think wet flakes.  It eventually became white out conditions.  I debated whether to carry on or turn and head back because.....

 .....GGRRRRR This is not what I signed up for!  

I captured this shot before it got bad.

I put my camera away, my pack cover on, hood up, and did a turn about.

GGRRR about 20 minutes later some blue began to appear.  It was looking pretty.  

The flakes turned to flurries and then the flurries flurried off.  

My foot & spike prints from earlier were gone.

My prints were replaced with a fat bike track.

It was so pretty now with a cm or so of additional new snow since I began my day.  

I no longer wanted to continuing returning the way I came.  

I came upon an uphill trail with no sign saying something.  

Yet it looked like there was something up there.  

I ascended the trail to see what I could see.   

This is what I saw.  I was curious as to what was beyond the gate.  

I broke trail through the new snow and saw another veer off so I veered off.  This signs means viewpoint which must mean there is a viewpoint up on top of the hill.  I continued to ascend up the hill, followed a dent in the snow to the ridge and hiked along the ridge through the forest.

This would be the viewpoint, an old broken bench sitting at the edge of the the ridge amongst a thick bunch of trees with no view.  I did see rings of rocks covered in snow which leads me to believe people come here to have a fire.  There was nothing here for me.

Once back through the gate and closing it behind me, I followed the fence to an open meadow.  Now this is more like it.  I could have used snowshoes here but I did the best I could with my spikes.  Lots of new deep snow, some blue sky, wide open view, yeah this made me happy!

view along the way during the descent back to the Elbow Valley Trail

By the time I arrived back at the Station Flats parking lot there were lots of other cars but I saw no one other than the one fat bike rider, no he was not fat, the bike's tires were.  The picnic tables at this location were not easily accessible with all the snow so I drove down the road to Allen Bill where I knew I could get a table with no problem.

There was a safe section to stroll along the water's edge.  

Here you can see the ice formation under the water.

open water like this makes me think spring-like thoughts

the sun creates sparkly stars in the water

It sure did feel like spring at this point.  I sat upon my sit upon at the picnic table facing the sun.  No hat was needed nor gloves.  Sunglasses were a necessity.  I relaxed back, closed my eyes, let my mind wander, not back to the woods though but to what positive things spring could hold in store!  

today's track