South of Camrose lies the McGhee Basin, the home of Stoney Creek. Jerry Shaw showed us on satellite images how the creek has shifted since the map in the trail guidebook was drawn decades ago.
Shifting and rerouting is something that all creeks do. But do you know what never changes? The fact that you’re going to find oddities every time you visit this unique wild terrain.
Nineteen people from Edmonton and Camrose area came out to discover the Stoney Creek trail. Twelve hiked straight through to Camrose, and the remaining 7 explored a 7 km section at the “Smell the Roses” pace.
We trekked through leafy woods and the salt marshes up to the hoodoos topped with prickly pear cacti.
Debbie, a sharp-eyed hiker and photographer in the Smell the Roses group, spotted the one cactus flower (Opuntia) that was in bloom. The yellow flower was up high on top of a hoodoo. A quick scramble to the top and we managed to capture the photo.
The surprise discovery on this hike was a large patch of bee balm (Monarda). We had not noticed it on previous hikes. The hot, humid air was permeated by the blooms’ woodsy-spicy scent.
You can find more photos on our Flickr album.
We started from A98 in the Wanisan Lake area. After a short walk between picturesque beaver ponds, we arrived at the stile over the high ungulate fence. Of course, people “in the know” walk down further and use the elegant gate to get in.