Post by Gord on Aug 24, 2011 22:53:49 GMT -8
Time has not been abundant of late, so please forgive the late report.
This is a pretty nice hike and I was looking forward to it.
Arrived at the parking just after 8:00. The parking lot is right off the Coquihalla Highway which means no need to drive over rough roads. You can park and just get going. There were a few White-crowned Sparrows, Barn Swallows, American Crow, Common Raven and a Yellow Warbler here.
Struck off into the woods which begins to go uphill fairly aggressively. It's not too bad though, as I know that after about an hour of it, a much more sensible grade is found. Through the trees I mentally noted Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Sisken and a good sized flock of Evening Grosbeak.
After about 40 minutes, the trees thin out and you walk in a bit more open habitat with plenty of rocky areas. The trail is in great condition throughout.
Our hero pauses with Vircuna Peak in the background (the pointy peak if you follow the tip of my hiking pole straight up). Amazing to think I was up there just the week before. Sorry about the shorts.
Some trail shots.
Yak Peak is in the background.
We carried on with the grade a little less than before but with a couple steep parts. There was several places with snow and in the shade, a thin sheet of ice covered a puddle suggesting overnight freezing is already taking place. Without doubt, a lot of this snow is going to be around when the new snow flies.
Soon, we could see our destination. Needle Peak rises to the left. The ridge we'll walk on goes straight ahead and the steepness level to reach its base is hardly there despite the misleading photo.
White-flowering Rhododendron with a bumblebee.
We reached the junction of the trail at the base of Needle Peak. The landscape is unreal here with the mountain heather dominating. The trees here are short, twisted and stunted; almost looking embarrassed to be there. Large slabs of granite rock make the walking very easy. To the west is a little lake which Ive never visited in my one other visit to the place. The snow threatened to be covering it, but we went anyway. Im glad we did! What a beautiful place for lunch.
Needle Peak is back in the direction that we came. It looks imposing and far away, but it only took about 20 minutes to get back to its base.
Wildlife here included a couple American Pipits, two flyby Townsend's Warbler and a couple Pikas making a racket off in the distance.
Move ahead to the scramble up to the top of Needle. Along the way, an American Pipit was seen with a beak full of food. The anxious fussing further suggested a nest or young near by. A flock of Grey-crowned Rosy-finches flew past closely followed by a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Finally made it to the top. What a view!!!
Looking back from where we came. The lake we were at is further behind in this view but hard to see in the picture. It is just below the little red star.
Both of these are of the view east
View to the south
The trail we walked on to reach our goal I marked in red.
After taking in the view, it was time to head back. Other birds to add to the day's list was an adult Golden Eagle and a Hermit Thrush. The picture of the bumblebee aside, this was one of the first outings that I was not able to get a picture of some sort of bird. I tried for the eagle but by the time I got the camera out, it was fairly far away. I made up for the lack of wildlife shots with scenery.
A great hike! We were on the road by 3:00 and boy did I sleep well that night!
This is a pretty nice hike and I was looking forward to it.
Arrived at the parking just after 8:00. The parking lot is right off the Coquihalla Highway which means no need to drive over rough roads. You can park and just get going. There were a few White-crowned Sparrows, Barn Swallows, American Crow, Common Raven and a Yellow Warbler here.
Struck off into the woods which begins to go uphill fairly aggressively. It's not too bad though, as I know that after about an hour of it, a much more sensible grade is found. Through the trees I mentally noted Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Sisken and a good sized flock of Evening Grosbeak.
After about 40 minutes, the trees thin out and you walk in a bit more open habitat with plenty of rocky areas. The trail is in great condition throughout.
Our hero pauses with Vircuna Peak in the background (the pointy peak if you follow the tip of my hiking pole straight up). Amazing to think I was up there just the week before. Sorry about the shorts.
Some trail shots.
Yak Peak is in the background.
We carried on with the grade a little less than before but with a couple steep parts. There was several places with snow and in the shade, a thin sheet of ice covered a puddle suggesting overnight freezing is already taking place. Without doubt, a lot of this snow is going to be around when the new snow flies.
Soon, we could see our destination. Needle Peak rises to the left. The ridge we'll walk on goes straight ahead and the steepness level to reach its base is hardly there despite the misleading photo.
White-flowering Rhododendron with a bumblebee.
We reached the junction of the trail at the base of Needle Peak. The landscape is unreal here with the mountain heather dominating. The trees here are short, twisted and stunted; almost looking embarrassed to be there. Large slabs of granite rock make the walking very easy. To the west is a little lake which Ive never visited in my one other visit to the place. The snow threatened to be covering it, but we went anyway. Im glad we did! What a beautiful place for lunch.
Needle Peak is back in the direction that we came. It looks imposing and far away, but it only took about 20 minutes to get back to its base.
Wildlife here included a couple American Pipits, two flyby Townsend's Warbler and a couple Pikas making a racket off in the distance.
Move ahead to the scramble up to the top of Needle. Along the way, an American Pipit was seen with a beak full of food. The anxious fussing further suggested a nest or young near by. A flock of Grey-crowned Rosy-finches flew past closely followed by a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Finally made it to the top. What a view!!!
Looking back from where we came. The lake we were at is further behind in this view but hard to see in the picture. It is just below the little red star.
Both of these are of the view east
View to the south
The trail we walked on to reach our goal I marked in red.
After taking in the view, it was time to head back. Other birds to add to the day's list was an adult Golden Eagle and a Hermit Thrush. The picture of the bumblebee aside, this was one of the first outings that I was not able to get a picture of some sort of bird. I tried for the eagle but by the time I got the camera out, it was fairly far away. I made up for the lack of wildlife shots with scenery.
A great hike! We were on the road by 3:00 and boy did I sleep well that night!
