A snowfall of 20 cm in the mountains overnight meant a trip to kananaskis today wouldn't reveal much in the way of 'new' photo opportunities, I think we've all seen enough of the snow for now.
It was still a nice afternoon, too nice to remain indoors, so I opted for my usual haunt of the beaver ponds in the elbow valley. There's nothing new here in terms of topics but it's close to home, it dodged most of the snowfall and is an enjoyable place to wander. I was going to visit elbow falls on arrival, but a surprising amount of people swarming the area had me changing my mind and heading upstream. I walked along the riverside watching dippers plunging in and out of the cold clear water, poking their beaks under and around the rocks but remaining frustratingly beyond the reach of the lens. The Canada geese on the beaver ponds had no such concerns, perhaps because I was the only person around (unusual given the number of people at the falls). Whatever the reason for their bravado I was happy to make the most of it and gather a few shots. Nothing special today, just a small collection for the memory bank.
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I had a photo trip to Kananaskis with Cecil today and the area showed some significant snow loss over the past week. Roads are all clear throughout, and the snow depth has dropped to such an extent we were able to roam the exposed marshland beside the lower lake. There were patches of mud interspersed with dry grass, puddles, and expanses of snow in between.
The sun shone down on us all day and it was wonderful to be out in such conditions. Blue skies overhead were shared with huge fluffy white clouds providing more filler for our images. We are still a couple of months away from the soft ground and clear hikes of springtime, but it's great to see nature making inroads against the seemingly endless snow. The main shot today is of Mt Indefatigable reflected in a meltwater pool on the exposed flats beside lower kananaskis lake. The gallery has captions showing the what and where of the day. McConnell Ridge is a perfect hike for the shoulder season. Rising beside Barrier Lake at the northern end of highway 40 it offers beautiful views across to Mt Baldy and south along the highway into Kananaskis.
Even with deep wet snow melting away and slip slide conditions all along the route, it's a nice leg warmer in early spring. Parking is easy in the Barrier Lake car park and following the trail across the dam and into the forest beyond is all that is required. Signposts along the way keep you on track and long raking switchbacks make the ascent a gentle climb (gentle by kananaskis standards that is). Temperatures reached double digits today allowing me to make the summit and sit with the whiskey jacks for half an hour without needing to put on my jacket. It was a nice, leisurely afternoon sitting at the overlook with only the birds for company and the sun beating down. I'm sure there will be more snow before winter finally releases it's grip, but for now we're enjoying a warm start to spring and great hiking days are drawing ever closer. The sun continues to shine as it has since our return from England and temperatures continue to climb. The heavy snow is finally starting to shift and the sound of water trickling, splashing and roaring along melt channels is now commonplace.
I decided to take a short afternoon hike in the Elbow Valley today because I've not been for some time and I wanted to check out the conditions. As it turns out the area is going to need another week of sunshine to make significant in roads into the snow cover. That said, it was lovely to be out and have the beaver ponds area all to myself. I thought I might see a little dipper and a squirrel or two given the conditions, the squirrels didn't let me down but the dipper that frequents the area was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings were scattered throughout the area and after chasing them around for a while I managed to make a few shots. To fill the gallery I added two images from the garden this week, two different Northern Flickers that keep battling each other for the rights to the feeder. All in all spring continues to push forward and we are enjoying the sunshine, always with one eye on the long range forecast. Our clocks 'spring forward' this weekend and the weather seems to have noticed. We are, at last, in sight of temperatures that don't begin with a minus. Today was only -4 so I grabbed the gear and went to our local forest at Bragg Creek and had a nice plod around in the snowshoes. More for the exercise than anything else but obviously I had a camera with me.
No great shakes or stunning scenery today, just a record of a lovely afternoon plodding in the melting snow. I'm sure there will be more snow in the coming weeks but there is a real feeling of spring about the place and it's one we are welcoming with open arms. I went out with the snowshoes today and made a long trek through the forest around the upper lake in kananaskis. It was great to walk off the 'plane legs' that never seem to be fully recovered after flying, until you work them hard.
It was an incredible day of beautiful sunshine and deep snow, there must have been considerable snowfall while we were at home in England as everything is covered. The was little to shoot other than vast swathes of white so I didn't bother much at all today, maybe not making pictures at home has continued with me back in Canada. Anyway, I had a nice set of shots from the week before we flew home so I've posted those instead. There's some great ice formations on the upper lake, riverside shots at Galatea trailhead, and another nice sunset at the lower lake. A lovely day for images even though the cold was biting all day. The ice in the main image is on the upper lake and the gallery has captions identifying locations along the way. We are now back in Canada after a wonderful (but tiring) two week break at home in England. We began our stay with two nights in Milton Keynes, including a trip to Steeple Claydon. After that we headed north to Lincolnshire, calling at Nottinghamshire before heading back south to Watford and Milton Keynes one last time. It was a hectic trip where we seemed to be moving perpetually and trying to squeeze in everyone, it was a bad idea that left us both absolutely knackered.
We did have time to meet new family members in Milton Keynes thanks to Neil who picked us up from Heathrow on arrival, and took us back there at the end of the trip. What an incredible difference that makes, no hassle off the plane and into chauffeured luxury to our first hotel layover. Then again returning us to Heathrow hassle free at the end of the trip, that made such a difference. We managed to walk the river circuit in Lincolnshire with our little grandson (and his parents of course). I had a half day fishing excursion and a trip to Leeds to watch Leeds United win at home. We visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park, walked in Twigmoor Woods and watched Ethan train and play football. I tried to fit in a sunrise shoot beside Willen Lake one morning and got scratched all over by bramble bushes then the sun refused to play along and I got nothing for my troubles. In photography terms the trip was a total write off but we've done the family rounds and felt the warmth of the spring sunshine at home for two weeks so we are renewed. Home is still home and we are back in Canada already wondering where the time went. The main image below is from the river circuit in Lincolnshire and the gallery has captions to identify locations. |
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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