As you can see from the main image below (click for larger) the larch trees have taken on their autumn shades over the last few days. With a week of winter storms predicted I thought I had better get out and get some shots before the needles are knocked off.
I decided to head to Highwood Pass, mainly because I've not been up there for some time and I know the larch can be great there. The trail to the south end of Pocaterra Ridge is well trodden and muddy beyond belief owing to the huge number of tourists who frequent this area in all weathers. Highwood Pass is the highest paved road in Canada and lifts you into the alpine without getting your feet dirty. Hiking from here is fantastic and if you turn toward Grizzly Peak and Mt Tyrwhitt instead of Pocaterra Ridge you will leave all of the tourists behind. That is what I did this afternoon, spending three hours wandering the forest, climbing the avalanche slopes and chasing shots of this incredible sight. I found myself wishing I'd brought the canon gear with better lens choice but the Sony is so easy to carry it always wins out when hiking is involved. It was -2 up on the slopes and not much warmer in the car park but I spent 3 wonderful hours getting pelted with snow and hail and loved every minute of it. The main shot is the south end of Pocaterra Ridge and the larch valley below, the gallery has captions to identify the peaks in each image.
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The Merlin is a species of falcon found throughout the northern hemisphere and, happily for us, is also found in our back yard of late. This beautiful bird is incredibly acrobatic and rivals the Peregrine in both speed and agility.
We've seen him kill a few birds in the past couple of weeks and it is always incredibly impressive. He usually dives in from above but on occasion will loiter on the fence, and just once he came to rest on the feeder close to the house. Thankfully I was ready with the camera and fired off dozens of shots of a bird rarely seen so close. Below is just a small sample of the shots made. Our garden is a hive of activity at this time of year, autumn always sees an increase in visitors as the locals scavenge for food sources to last them through the harsh Canadian winter.
Recently we have seen several new squirrels, a new small warbler, a whole flock of robins, several waxwings and an incredibly acrobatic Merlin. I managed to get some good shots of the Merlin and will post them separately shortly. Autumn really is a riot of colour around here, not just among the plants but the wildlife too. I got myself out in good time today and took the short journey to the Elbow Valley. I have not spent much time down there this year and thought I should make my usual visit to Forgetmenot Ridge before the winter gates are closed again.
The autumn colours were just getting going in exposed areas and it was a beautiful sight, even with my little hiking camera I was able to find some nice images of the bright reds and yellows dotted along the elbow river. I really enjoyed the hike as always, it was hot as I made my way through the forest and along the initial ascent, but it was surprisingly cold at the summit. At 2324 m (7624 feet) it was not unexpected and it was nice that the cold layer kicked in about 6000 feet making the final ascent more comfortable. With good weather predicted for the week ahead there may be more autumnal hikes on the horizon. The main shot shows the view from the summit (click for larger) Nihahi Ridge on the left, the Powderface trail in the valley below, Powderface Ridge behind and to the right of the cairn, highway 66 leading out toward Moose Mountain on the horizon and the elbow river exiting the frame at the lower right. Hikers can find a full details including directions, maps and route description on a previous hike to Forgetmenot by clicking here or by finding it on our hiking Canada page. The gallery below has captions to identify mountains and surrounds from todays hike. With my friend Cecil heading out to the east coast next week we decided to have a day in kananaskis yesterday. The weather was changeable with some blue skies but a lot of cloud and scattered showers, luckily we avoided the rain.
We stopped at our usual haunts along highway 40 to assess the condition of the autumn change so far and managed to find a moment of calm at the Wedge pond (see main pic). At the upper lake we walked the trail around the peninsula to the old stump skeletons and shot what we found along the way. We made a few landscapes as always and a few detailed shots to keep things fresh. As usual we had a great day wandering and managed to find some 'new' images in the same old places as well as re shooting the old in a new way. The gallery has location captions and a little bit more info. Cecil an I hit Kananaskis yesterday on our usual Wednesday wander, but this one is just a day before his birthday (Happy Birthday Cec). We had checked out the sunset potential but it wasn't great so it was another midday event.
The light at this time of day is very poor so composition has to be good, which makes for great practice. The autumn colours haven't arrived yet but the foliage is dulling and beginning to turn so that wasn't helping either. We drove highway 40 stopping at a couple of places but made no images. Then we took the road to spillway lake where a rare calm caught us by surprise and provided our first images of the day. From there we drove to the upper lake but huge waves from strong winds combined with surprisingly large crowds to make that a no-go. We decided to ascend the short but steep grunt to Elbow Lake. It's our first visit this year and being tightly surrounded by mountains it provides some shelter from the wind. The crystal clear water and driftwood on the shore saved the day as we made a circuit of the lake picking up plenty of images along the way. After a great afternoon shooting we returned to the truck and set off home, as we scooted along highway 40 Cec spotted a moose and calf on the edge of the forest. We stopped to investigate and though the calf ran far into the trees the adult moseyed around the edge and let us grab a couple of shots through the trees, as we did, another moose returned with the calf, so we ended up with a 'three moose day' as the icing on Cecil's birthday cake. The main shot today is from the shore of Elbow Lake and the gallery has captions for location. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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The Shaman, West Texas
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