Hike at Crests of Kennisis Trail

Well, today could not be missed! No rain, beautiful sun but not too hot! John and I took advantage of the day and decided to go for a hike. We headed out to the historic log chute between Hall's Lake and Hawk Lake (see winter photos in a previous blog), and had lunch at a picnic table. The water levels in the area this year are astoundingly low, and the Kennisis River between the lakes - which is usually fast moving, loud and beautiful, was rocks and mud in a lot of places. It was truly quite sad - no kids are tubing into Hall's Lake this year! After lunch we crossed the dam and headed along the "Crests of Kennisis Trail" - a 5km trail (up hill both ways - or so it seemed!) that leads you up and along a ridge high above the Kennisis River. As it was our first hike of the season, and we are not seasoned hikers, we didn't make it all the way, but we did make it to the first viewing point, past the beaver pond. It was spectacular and took about 45 minutes to get there. We then swung our exhausted bodies around and headed back. Lots of mosquitoes, lots of sunshine and an incredibly peaceful, beautiful forest. Sometimes we had to just stop and listen to the silence - an extraordinary day! I wonder what trail we shall try next????

Well - another excursion! Christine and I are determined to see as much as we can from a winter perspective! On Wednesday we drove to the Hawk River Log Chute - a log chute that was used by loggers and is still in perfect condition today! There are 3 different spots along Little Hawk Lake Road to pull over and picnic or just enjoy the fast-moving river. It is also a popular spot for tubing into Hall's Lake - you come out near the public beach. We started at the end of the road, but the Hawk Lake Marine and moved down to the dam and log chute. This is also an excellent place to access a couple of the hiking trails in the region - well maintained and marked with a kiosk for information and maps. The weather was gorgeous - warm, but very cloudy and we took our time walking around. As the water rushed from the dam into the log chute there was a neat effect on the side of the chute. The water had created a see-through ice wall where you could see the water rushing behind - something that was impossible to catch on camera. We took 140 photos! The rock face on the far side had incredible growths, ice formations and unlimited photo opps - we could have spent hours there. A funny moment when I started to slip on a trail - grabbed a tree branch, and the tree branch broke - I took the whole branch with me to the bottom of the trail - it seems I have more than enough padding of my own to break the fall! We stopped and took a few photos of Hall's Lake on our way home as the clouds grew darker by the minute.

I am trying to create photo albums at the side of my blog but so far am failing - I have posted a question for help in the discussion forum but no answers yet! In the meantime, here are just a few!