Sixteen people came out to hike on a section that we had not done in a long time. Thanks to Trail Maintenance and their clearing effort, the going was easy. We only had to contend with the many hills.
The day was breezy, which made for perfect hiking weather.
We started at Fidler’s Monument and had some good views of the river in this broad valley.
Fidler’s Monument, one of 3 in Canada
Battle River
Along the way, we spotted a nonchalant coyote and we posed with a (possibly injured) butterfly (we set it down on a flower).
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.
