Today, I ascended the Gimli Ridge Trail with three others; two family friends Tim and Gary, and my grade school teacher Phil. We left early and spent an hour ascending a logging road in Tim’s 4×4. The trail itself starts of tamely. A thin track cuts straight through the trees and Mount Gimli can be seen high in the distance through the gap of the trail itself. The air in the forest was muggy, but the sky was full of clouds so the temperature was relatively low. After crossing a small creek by way of a new bridge, the trail’s incline increases. Spruce and fir trees line the switchbacks which make up the first part of the trail. We took the first half of the climb slowly which gave us the opportunity to fully take in each new vista that came into view. The Valhalla Mountains are some of the most beautiful and un-adulterated mountains in the area and they are truly wondrous to behold.
Tag: kootenay
Bear, Deer, and Dogs On The Slocan-Kootenay Lookout
There is a website trailpeak.com that I use to search out trails in my area. Often, the trails posted to the site work out wonderfully. Sometimes not. The Slocan-Kootenay Lookout is a trail near the Playmor Junction between Nelson and Castlegar. Or so the website claims anyways.
I left town mid-morning and drove around near where the instructions said to find the red flagging which marks the trail head. I eventually found it across the street from an auto wreckers. The next piece of flagging was across a fast flowing creek, but there were plenty of rock by which I made my way across. The post which led me to this trail claims that is well flagged. That may have been true once, but it is certainly the case no longer. The remaining flags are few and far between with only bush between. It has clearly been some time since the trail was flagged as many pieces of flagging tape were no longer visible, haven fallen to the ground some time ago. So, leaning on a stick for balance, I made my way up the steep slope towards the next flag, and the next, until there were no more flags to be seen in any direction. I bush-wacked my way up the side of the mountain when I could no longer view the trail until I came upon a well trod game trail. I followed the trail until the trail level off. Continue reading