Tuesday, August 25, 2009

most amazing

I love all my hiking, but some days....
Yesterday's hike/bike was one of those, most amazing.

I do drive 20 km. to get to the spot were i start biking.
I have biked this trail before a few times. But always taken the same route. Today i plan to go straight North were i normally turn West.
The trail is good, and yes, thank goodness for trails. Only the first part i can bike, and after that i am pushing my bike up, it's a continues gradual incline.
And before i know it, i am at the start of the treeline, blueberries, dwarf birch, with scattered big wide Spruces. Soon the trail is littered with Harebells
the tiniest plant with one big bluebell as a flower.
Here i could still be ok without a trail, but then for a mile or so, I am in Willows up to my shoulders, here the path has Wormwood blooming. an inconspicuous flower, lovely never the less.
(i did put pictures on my wildflower blog and lots on flickr, see right hand column. My flickr account is called 'je zon')
This is a mountain on the East

I am going up the one on the West. I leave my bike somewhere on the trail against a big rock, next time i will continue the trail to see how far it actually continues. It seems to end on the moraine in between those two mountains.
I do have to bushwhack a little bit to the foot of the mountain. A beautiful stretch though, crumbly rock formations sticking out of the now only three foot high bushes, little dips here and there, some with a little flow of water in them.

The Mountain; first i have to climb a bit on fairly loose rock, but lots of vegetated spots in it for safe climbing. Several dwarf Spruce growing right out of the side.
Above the rocks its grassy slopes forever.
So many wildflowers were blooming here this summer! I will be back. Now they are mostly in seed. I do find some mountain Asters.
Soon it turns out my favorite kind of mountain. One side sloped and the three other sides more or less vertical.
(holy, now, when i am typing here, there is a real down pour going on outside and the sun is still shining!)
Anyway, a mountain i dream off and only a three hour walk(at the most, i didn't bring a watch) from the highway.
As i am at the East side, I follow the ridge to the highest point. And.., i think i am over the top :) I see some white rocks, not too far off (so much for my spotting skills) Suddenly one of the rocks moves!

Very soon they see me too, and wander off. Slowly i do try to get closer, which makes them run to the edge, where they wait a while. But do decide to go down towards the lake. Indeed down the vertical slope. I just watch them, they do cause some little rock slides, but it is amazing to see how they jump.
They don't go all the way down but circumvent the North slope and eventually end up underneath the moraine, where i loose sight of them. Two of them went East.
I explore the whole ridge. which is lovely. The views fantastic and to look straight down exhilarating. Fall colors appearing and only Harebells and Wormwood for flowers. Well and some always present, blooming Yarrow and Fireweed And some Heather. Then it starts to rain. I return to my bike. have an amazing ride down am totally wet and full of mud.
I better go clean that bike now (Alexander's Faith 2)

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