I had never visited the area to the south of the big tree log that was lying across the beach. This delta area was created by the sediment from Paleface Creek and is fairly broad with a few streams running through it. I stopped to take photos of the log positioning Williams Peak in behind to give a variety of interesting views. Finishing with the log, I continued down the beach trying to avoid soft spots and sinking in too deep in the soft sand. There were some interesting photos along here and at the furthest point I could safely walk to I saw a A-frame a little ways further down the shoreline. The A-frame has road access but there is a locked gate keeping people out. I then turned around and made my way back to Ethan and then continued past to the rock causeway where I gathered a few more photos. Ethan had started cooking lunch by the time I got back to him so I didn’t want to go much further.

After lunch I replaced my small zoom lens with my telephoto and then set off to retrace my path from earlier. This time I was looking for new sights with the longer lens. It was fun seeing just how different the place looks with the longer lens. I found some shiny sections of the beach to be particularly interesting with the longer lens. I also go a better shot of the A-frame this time. Eventually I had worked my way back to Ethan who was reading while sitting next to the lake. I packed up the camera and sat down for a bit more peace and quiet. By now the clouds had thickened and the sun was not as bright and warm so we were starting to feel the chill. Before we got any colder we packed up and returned to the truck.

Rather than just head back we continued down the road to the furthest point we could drive which is the bridge over Depot Creek. The road was closed here to protect the south end of the lake. Rather than find the cement blocks we found a forestry gate and a watchman who was spending his time in his trailer. I had chatted with him before on the West Harrison so we spent some time talking about his time here and how dark and cold it must be at night. He explained that they were doing a last bit of logging on a stand on the north slope just across the creek. Once done hauling it out they plan to remove the bridge to permanently protect the area to the south. They will be replacing it with a smaller foot bridge.

After chatting for a while we started back up the road and made our way out in good time with the improved road. We continued along the Chilliwack River Road and soon were in Sardis where we picked up a second coffee for the trip home. It was a lovely afternoon and just the perfect outing for my mood and need to regain some back-country sights.

Our next stop was Duttona beach where there is easy access to the shore of Lake Erie. We walked a short distance along the sandy beach enjoying the wind and fresh air. Then we sat in some lounging cars for a chance to soak in the beauty. Before returning to the car, I walked the beach and gathered a few photos. As it was now lunch hour we decided to find a place to eat as our next order of business.

We drove up to the Talbot Trail and headed for Wallacetown where we found a small cafe that had a gas bar and doubled as the post office. It was quite busy and we had a decent meal and some very nice homemade pie. We chatted with the owner who told us he had lived in Burnaby for a few years and was familiar with white Rock. It was a pleasant friendly place and we will return again. Done with lunch we took a direct path back to the port and there we enjoyed the afternoon. I went for a short walk to the end of the road and the harbour but didn't take any photos.

I finally got to the cliff and parked. There were a few people watching the birds but it seemed that they were heading out as the weather darkened. I grabbed my camera bag and walked to the cliff edge and there I looked out over the lake and watched the play of the light, clouds and rain on the surface. I took a number of photos while I enjoyed the scene. Looking towards Port Stanley I could only see the trees darkly in the gloom but I saw bright sun off in the distance slowly coming closer so I decided to wait for it to arrive at the port and take some more photos with the trees lit up. As I waited the main storm cloud passed over dropping a bit of rain but not really very much so I just stayed out there waiting for the right light. It brightened a few times but it never really got full sun before I had to move on.

It was now 3pm and time to try Ralph on the radio. The irlp wouldn't connect again so I wasn't able to talk to him. I then drove some of the back roads towards Port Bruce finding a few spots of nice colour. With the main rain cloud now out over the lake, I was able to get much longer periods with the trees in the sun.  I slowly worked my way to the smaller port and then back up through Sparta and on to St. Thomas to pick-up Carolyn. We then drove back to Port Stanley where we bought a few groceries and returned to the inn for e night. So in the end I had a decent drive through the back roads after all.

This year I only had one opportunity to get out before I left for our Ontario adventure. So I packed up some minimal gear and set out for the parking area and the start of the trail along mushroom corridor. It didn’t take long to find my first clump and then they just kept showing up as I continued along. The only downside of shooting mushrooms in a park is the funny looks one gets from those walking by. They don’t seem to get a picture of the actual beauty of these poor little wonders.

After I made my way down the main section of trail with the densest collections I decided to wander back up through a side trail in the middle of the park. Though this is a pleasant walk, I find it to be quite sparse in mushrooms and today was no exception. I probably should just backtrack along the main section next time. It was a quick visit but I did manage to find a nice selection to share here. I hope you enjoy the photos and perhaps even develop a bit of an appreciation for these little guys.

Next I parked at the adjoining park and waited for noon when I was to make an irlp contact with Ralph in Vancouver. Though I had a good signal from the repeater I didn't seem to have a strong enough one to signal the irlp node and so I was unable to bring up the link. After a number of tries I packed up the radio and set out on foot to view the park. I headed to the lookout over Lake Erie first but didn't find the view much to shoot this year. So I wandered the forested area of the park and gathered a few photos before returning to the car for the return trip home.

Rather than head straight back I travelled a few more side roads. As the afternoon progressed I enjoyed more breaks in the cloud layer and I was able to resume my pounce and wait game, gathering some more colour shots of the local forest patches. By the time I had travelled back to Port Stanley I was ready to call it a day even though the sun was now out more than hidden. Hopefully I will get a few more days with sun before I return home.

Rockway falls is very pretty and we gathered a number of photos from the top of the rock face. It's quite a drop should one step too far. Done with the above photos we returned to the car and the east side of the creek where there is a trail that leads away from the fall but allows one to descend to the creek and then one can backtrack to the waterfall. We were taking our time along the creek as there were so many amazing scenes that demanded our time. Eventually we arrived at a good viewpoint of the waterfall and we were able to capture some shots from the bottom. Our only problem was that the sun was now directly behind the waterfall and made shooting quite challenging. When we had finished collecting photos we returned along our path in and soon we were resting back at the car.

We decided to continue east to St. Catherine's and look for a place to eat lunch. After a few false turns we found a small restaurant that served Shawarmas. We each ordered one and found it to be a lovely meal. A nice side adventure for the day. Once we were done eating, we continued back along Pelham road and took a turn to Decew falls. Here we parked in the small lot and made our way past the old mill buildings and looked for a good view of the fall. Unfortunately the views were all blocked by trees so we continued along the gorge trail to a place where there is an access to the creek below. This short drop requires the use of a rope to get over one steep section but once down, this part the walk along 12 mile creek was pleasant and we were soon at a great place to take photos of Decew Falls. After taking a quantity of photos we packed up the gear and set off for the car. I found climbing back up the rock face easier than the down trip. A few minutes more we were back to the car and ready to head home, it had been a lovely drive and we had two amazing waterfalls to enjoy.

Geoff crossed over and noticed a small lake just off the road and so I came over with camera gear and took some photos from a few spots along the edge. As we made our way along we found some interesting small plants to take photos of. The rain was on and off and we were getting wet so we returned to the truck and started backing back done the road. This continued for a distance before we found a wide spot to turn around at. A short way further back was another fork with a more overgrown road leading off further up the slope. We turned onto it and drove to a wider clearing and the effective end of the road. Here we parked.

We looked around and saw a short but beautifully moss covered cliff to our west. It was so interesting that we decided to get out and climb up to the top of it. This took only a few minutes and soon we were at the top of this small cliff enjoying the amazing colours of the many varieties of moss. When seen as a whole field, the varieties, colours and textures of moss can be very pretty. Looking down the far side of the cliff we could see a lovely moss blanketed open forest which was so inviting the two of us just had to get down there to explore it, we could hear frogs in the distance and that was calling us along to find the pond. We had my GPS in hand so we felt we could safely get down there and enjoy the open forest floor and see what was there.

As we made our way along the forest, we came by a trail which lead roughly in the direction of a small lake marked on my gps map. We decided to follow it and see where it went. The trail was actually quite well trodden and easy to follow and there were a few branches going many different directions. We followed what seemed the main path up the next rise and then down to the lake. We walked it that far and found a very lovely lake area which would be an amazing camping spot. So secluded and stunningly beautiful. As we hadn’t really come geared for hiking we decided to go no further and to return to our truck. The way back seemed to go so much faster than the way out and soon we were resting back at the truck. The sun was popping out from between clouds and the clearing was quite warm. Geoff was thoroughly enjoying the spot and marvelling at a dragonfly that was busy hunting the clearing around us. It was now around 1:20 and so we decided to eat lunch before moving on.

The rest and quiet felt good and we really weren’t in a hurry to leave. Geoff decided to set up a target and took a few shots getting near bulls-eyes with each attempt. He found his one riffle had lost a screw and so he didn’t shoot it lest it get damaged. Then we packed up and started back down the road. I wanted to drive over to the main road where there has been some amazing fall colour in past years and so we drove back down from the ridge to the very first fork - almost at the beginning of the main FSR. It didn’t really take all that long to get back to the cliff wall section with the red maples but it was a bit early and the leaves were just starting to turn. Another week or two are needed to get good colour here. Geoff did a bit more driving hoping to see a Grouse but they were all well hidden and so we called it a day and started the drive out. With Geoff’s work and school he was now quite wiped so I took over driving for the next segment and continued along the highway to the town of Hope.

After picking up a coffee at the Blue Moose Café we got back onto the highway heading home. About 20km out of Hope we learnt that the highway is closed not much further ahead due to three accidents! We quickly exited at the next road and returned to Hope to take highway 7 to bypass the stoppage. Apparently some people ended up being stopped for two hours! We were soon in Agassiz in a long line of cars which were now pouring down this route. We headed back to the highway and once on it the road was empty, it seems we were amongst the first to get around the stoppage and the road was wide open before us. We made very quick time all the way to our exit. Then Geoff took over driving the final bit home – even 16^th was lighter than normal.  It is quite amazing how the traffic stoppage affects so much downstream traffic. It was a pleasant trip and we both felt relaxed from it.

The next segment of trail went steeply downhill to the marsh level and then continues out along the edge of the marsh to where a small side dyke juts out to join the main dyke. We got to the side dyke and made our way along it enduring stinging nettles and prickly vines as we pushed through tall grass. Then it was over a barbed wire fence as we could see the cleared dyke trail only a few hundred feet ahead, we were feeling not too bad and so we just pushed on as the hard stuff would soon be behind us. And then it happened, we spotted a wide gap of water between us and easy walking! This was not at all a happy moment! The mud flats were just too deep and thick with mud to make it safe to wade across here. If we had a rope it may have been doable but not with our current gear. So we turned back not at all excited about the now much longer path further south and with growing uncertainty of what it would reveal.

Having pushed our way back around the fence and tall grass and nettles, we arrived at a sign post showing the trail, though going south was longer it looked like it stayed at marsh level where we were making faster time than on the slope so we decided to continue south. Things were fine for the first couple hundred meters but then the trail disappeared and there were no markers. It’s possible we missed a turn and it went up the slope a bit but where we were there was no way forward. By now we were already tired and really in need of some rest and an easy return trail. So reluctantly we made the decision to turn back and follow the route we had come. We were currently at 8km and the way back would be up the slope and over those obstacles that were a challenge before.

Not much into the steepest section just below the pavilion, Ethan’s legs cramped up and he was suddenly in severe pain as we now inched our way forward. There were many points where he had to stop and I massage his legs to get the cramping under control. Then just before we got back to the pavilion, we disturbed some wasps and Ethan got stung on his sore legs a number of times! Now he was in even more distress and could barely make it to the pavilion. There we stretched out and rested for some time and finally ate some lunch.

Once finished eating we were feeling better and started out on the trail. But with the continued uphill climb, it was only a short distance further where Ethan’s legs cramped up again. We had to stop and wait several minutes for them to settle down before moving again. This pattern continued for the next 2 km’s. As we reached the last part of the descent to the level section at the start of the wooded trail, his legs seemed to settle down and he had much less trouble though it remained just on the edge of tightening up. Finally we came by the small gap just before the main dyke and we struggled across. Now we were safely back on the main dyke and we felt great at having made it through the challenging section. Just as we started along the dyke we came by a couple out walking who asked about the trail. He had done it years ago and stated how lovely a hike it had been. He was saddened to hear how it had deteriorated but was thankful for the information as it was a hike he was hoping to redo.

The walk back along the dyke went without further incident though it was still some distance, being level and graded the distance clicked by quickly. It sure felt good getting to the truck and being able to finally rest. We got our hiking gear stowed and the driving equipment set up again for the drive home. Ethan was in no shape to drive so I ended up driving at this point. Though late for the birthday party we still dropped in and had some time to relax and enjoy some family and food before continuing home.

So our 12km hike turned to 16km and went from moderate to difficult. The overgrowth really made the trail difficult though it wouldn’t have been too bad had Ethan’s legs not cramped. But considering the challenges we faced I figure we did quite well. At this point I don’t recommend this hike to anyone inexperienced.

The way forward came in chucks of very steep sections followed by wide gaps where we could regain our breath and plan the assault on the next wall. After around 4 of these small ridges we reached a wider one with a higher wall just below the final sub-peak and the start of the top ridge line. Geoff wanted to go up the right side of the wall I the left. But after more study we went left and soon we had reached the top ridge and a gap between the main peak to the south and the sub-peak before us. We walked between the two rises as the one between us and the summit was a sheer cliff face and we had to find a way around it. Fortunately the far side of the ridge had a gentle slope up to the top and we had a short walk along the ridge to the summit of Anif.

We stayed for 20 minutes or so on the summit hoping for the clouds to clear enough so that we could enjoy a nice view of Sky Pilot but we never did get a glimpse of it. We did get brief views of Mt. Habrich to our South West and could even make out the top of the Chief far below to the north-west. Done with waiting we started back down the path we came up looking for a few simpler spots down the steep sections. We followed a bit straighter path on the way down to the saddle point, generally closer to the ridge line but even here I went for a bit of a slide at one steep area. Fortunately it was in a heather field and I was able to grab a few plants before gaining any speed on the way to the next flat section.

Back to the saddle we stopped to look over the small pond a bit more and walked around the far side of it. Here we found some deep foot prints from a bear, and the print wasn’t all that old. We then started on down the slope from the saddle to the end of the old road. This slope was much like the upper part that we were descending earlier but this was more open and we had to wade through 2 to 3 foot high mountains plants as we very slowly picked our way down to a pile of logs I saw below which I assumed would be at the end of the old road. The ground was very uneven and had many logs strewn across it all of which were hidden from view thanks to the deep vegetation. Geoff stepped into a hole several times on our decent.

It was very slow going over this section of the hike and it seemed to be a long distance but it was actually quite short just somewhat treacherous due to the hidden ground. Once we reached the pile of logs we indeed did find a clear path along the old road. This proven easily walkable and we made fast time along the old road back to the truck. This hike was quite a challenge for us. Being wet, we got quite cold when we stopped but generally I wasn’t uncomfortable, Geoff’s boots were full of water from early on which made for walking a bit less enjoyable but he managed to continue. We also encountered some equipment problems en-route. It was only about a kilometer along that the zipper on my fly broke and I enjoyed extra ventilation for the balance of the hike. I also broke the chain on my spikes which connected the spike plate to the rubber support on top of my boot. After this broke the front spike plate was constantly slipping to the side of my boot making it useless for gripping and I had to watch it and adjust constantly. It had gotten so bad that I could no longer trust it to function and it was likely worse than not having anything. After a bit of thought, I was able to tie it in place with my shoelace and once that was done the plate was more stable than it normally would be, so that problem was solved. At the end of the hike Geoff discovered that he had also snapped a support on one of his spikes but it was a back plate and hadn’t caused him any problems on the hike. My camera also got a bit wet in the brush and made for a bit softer set of images but at least they turned out fairly well.

So we accomplished both peaks and pushed ourselves to attain some steep slopes both climbing and descending. Likely we would have picked a different hike had we expected the steepness but in the end we mastered some new skills I guess. Though the weather gave us less view than we could have enjoyed we still had a good day and felt it was worth the effort.