Hikes

Six people came out on a beautiful sunny day. There was a bitter wind, but we were mostly in the trees and the ravine so it passed overhead most of the time.

We had about 5 cm of snow the previous day, so we were concerned about walking through that. As you know, the more fresh snow, the more energy it takes to walk.

But we were fortunate. There must be a lot of early-rising dog walkers that use the ravine, because a good part of the trail had already been compacted to form a single track. This was particularly true along the creek west of 50th Street. We had to break trail in only a few places, none too long.

This was our second hike in a row where we spotted pileated woodpeckers.

Our hike started at the corner of 34th Avenue and 34th Street. The 9 km hike took just under an hour and a half each way. We had a nice warm lunch in the Jackie Parker shelter. No one else was at the shelter. And on the trail, it was mostly just us and the dog walkers.

Thanks to everyone who came out. You can see all the photos on Flickr.

Where we’re going next.

Eleven hikers came out in beautiful weather to hike the riverside trails in Edmonton’s west end.

At Laurier Park, along the river’s north side, the Silver Skate Festival was on. A highlight was the Heritage Village venue where we heard the Abraham Lake Singers play drums and sing.

Here are two of the seven ice sculptures:

We also saw three woodpeckers in a tree, all at once.

Lunch at Laurier was outside, just because the weather was so beautiful.

On the Whitemud (south) side of the river, it’s become trickier to find stairs from the trail to the street level above. The stairs from Groat Road/Saskatchewan Drive have been removed because of the Hawrelak Park renovation. There is an older set from the top of Keillor Road, and these were clear. By paying strict attention, we successfully negotiated the nearly two hundred steps without incident.

The question was asked, “Did we have to climb them on the return?!!” And no….

You can find more photos on Flickr.

Where we’re going next.