There is a good base of snow up in the park at 1100m, entering from the Paradise Meadows access. Conditions have been highly variable to say the least over the past month or so, with incoming storms, and alternating above and below zero temperatures. Certainly anyone venturing into the backcountry should consult the Avalanche Canada website for the latest bulletins, especially for the treeline and above where the danger ratings have oscillated between considerable and high.
Over in the Buttle Lake area, the snow line lies about 770 m level, depending on aspect. The Park trails in the. Buttle Valley and along Highway 28 have not experienced the extreme snowfall and high winds that caused so much damage last year. Our favourite early spring hikes at lower elevations should be easier this year. Please note, however, that 6.5 k along the Elk River Trail there is no bridge over Butterwort Creek at present. Until BC Parks has replaced the bridge, crossing the creek, especially in the high waters of spring melt, is not advisable. BC Parks requests that hikers obey all signage. A notice will be posted on the revamped SPP website as soon as the bridge is completed.
UPCOMING EVENTS OF NOTE
FEB 24th The Backcountry Film Festival 2023 Tour
Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College,
Courtenay
7:00 – 9.30pm (Doors Open 6:30 pm)
SWI is excited to announce that we will be hosting the 2023 Backcountry Film Festival presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance! This is from the same group as the very last Film Fest that we hosted in December 2019, just before COVID. The Backcountry Film Festival is a collage of human-powered stories and backcountry-inspired experiences which ignites wild conversations and inspires action to communities that celebrate the present while looking towards the future. The feedback from our audience in 2019 was extremely positive and we anticipate a similar high-quality set of films for our return to in-theatre film fests.
Details for ticket purchase :
Cost: Adults $20, Youth (16 & Under) $10.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online through Eventbrite.
Printed tickets are not required; show your e-ticket or give your name to the volunteers at the door. Tickets will be available at the door: CASH ONLY.
For more information (including a preview) or updates see our websites Events Page.
AND STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OUR NEXT FILM SHOW
VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL
MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL
Friday March 31st 7-9.30 pm – Stan Hagen Theatre.
NOW AVAILABLE from our “STORE”
Field Guide to Basic Lichens of Strathcona Provincial Park
by Loys Maingon (retired biologist and SWI research director)
Price: $30
Dimensions: 8.25 X 4.5 inches
Format: paper back, 132 pages, full colour on 100 lb gloss paper
Year: 2023
This new publication is the second in SWI’s series of Naturalist Field Guides to Strathcona Provincial Park. It is intended to help all levels of user to identify over a third of the lichens currently catalogued in Strathcona Provincial Park. 101 lichens are illustrated through high quality photographs together with indication of size, shape, environment and other distinctive features for easy identification. Similar looking species are also noted. Sample pages are show below. There is an introductory section explaining basic lichen biology and the text also includes a list of the 274 taxa of lichens confirmed to date for Strathcona Provincial Park.
On a trip over to Buttle Lake on a glorious calm, sunny day at the end of January, we were fortunate to see a number of interesting winter birds including a few majestic Trumpeter swans on the lake, crossbills foraging seed by the side of the road, and this American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) typically feeding from a cobble in the Ralph River. It remained there well over 30 minutes, bobbing up and down, quite unperturbed at our proximity.
