JULY 16th: THE SPWC IS OPEN FOR THE SUMMER

As of July 1st we have opened the Wilderness Centre at Paradise Meadows and the Buttle Hut over on Buttle Lake.  Volunteers will be staffing both “Huts” during the summer, mostly on weekends, and some weekdays.  Unfortunately we could not attract a student to work at either location this year, so our hours are determined by the availability of volunteers. At the head of this Newsletter, therefore, we are putting out a call for Volunteers – if you enjoy being in the Park, and wish to share your love of it with visitors from all over the Globe, do consider helping us up at Paradise Meadows or over at Buttle Lake. For more information please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Jaron, at coordinator.swi@gmail.com.

SPWC interior (above)         

Buttle Hut exterior (above)

CONDITIONS IN THE PARK 

It has been an unusual spring – it may be mid July but we are seeing late spring conditions up on Forbidden Plateau. Recent warmer weather has contributed to the reduction of the snow pack, but there is still a significant amount on the trails on the Plateau beyond Battleship and Helen Mackenzie Lakes above 1150m.  That has not prevented avid hikers from making their way to Circlet Lake during the Holiday weekend, and after, in spite of difficulties en route and very few tent pads free of snow at the campsite. In areas with tree cover below the alpine, such as on Becher, or Allan Brooks,  the snow lingers.  A view of the ridge leading up to Albert Edward (plus Strata on the left) from the road into Divers Lake shows the extent of the snow above 1200m on the towards the end of June.

Over in the Buttle Corridor, the snow line varies depending on exposure, but in general above 1150 m is still under snow, as for example Flower Ridge (on the left of the photo below )- no snow free areas to camp over the Canada Day weekend.  

The Elk River Trail has been cleared of obstacles and snow only starts beyond Landslide Lake, but the are now two streams to ford on the way to the Butterwort Camp site. BC Parks and 43k have been very busy clearing trails of fallen trees, but damage from uprooted trees e.g. on the Arnica Lake trail has caused erosion on steep slopes.  

 Blow-down near the start of the Arnica Lake trail 

For the Bedwell area according to the 43K Supervisor as of July 10th, the trail up to Baby Bedwell is almost completely clear with just a bit of snow right before the campsite. The campsite at Baby Bedwell is completely snow-free with all tent pads uncovered. The hike from Baby Bedwell to Bedwell is a patchwork of snow with some places still very deep. 7 out of 10 tent pads are uncovered there but the ground itself is still almost fully covered. The hike to Cream lake from Bedwell Lake is fully snow-covered. Also note that the access road to the Bedwell trailhead is in rough shape, so a vehicle with at least high clearance is recommended, but a 4×4 is preferable.

In general the state of the snow-pack is a good 4 weeks behind last year’s. For a full account of Trail Conditions in the Park as of the first week in July, see the July 6th Report from the SPP website here.

The amount of snow and the slow pace of its melting is in general beneficial for the water table both in the subalpine areas of the Park and down in the valleys.  However, it has upset our usual summer schedule of interpretive walks and hikes for early July.  Our guided walks to see the early spring blooms, which have started in some years by mid June, are only now possible, with the first walk taking place on July 10th (See below) We have had to postpone two hikes – one in the Buttle area because not all of the extensive windfall, including some huge veteran firs and hemlock, had been cleared. The June 16th hike up Mt Elma has been pushed back to August 6th – there is still 1 meter of aging snow in places along the ridge of the mountain, visible even from the SPWC.  Our plans for the documentation of flora and fauna, annually conducted by our summer students, have also been thwarted as far as the Alpine is concerned.  The two students have therefore been assigned lower elevation areas around Buttle Lake, and trails below 1000m, such as the one into Divers Lake on this side of the Park. 

Our 2 students on the trail up to Arnica Lake

*************************

EVENTS

.  
The first Nature Walk of the Season took place on Sunday 10th July in Paradise Meadow, where the snow has all but vanished – just a few lingering patches remain beneath the trees on north-facing slopes.
The usual range of early spring blooms are visible – the white marsh-marigolds and swamp lantern were already visible before the snow had gone. 
      Northern Marsh Marigold  

Swamp Lantern

Now the rivulets running into the meadows are full of bright magenta shooting stars and the pink western bog-laurel.

.    Jeffrey’s Shooting Star

Western Bog-Laurel

Some of the Pink Mountain Heather is in bloom and even a tiny patch of the White one. There are a few green orchids showing, as well as both yellow and purple violas and the tiny white 5-petalled flowers of the three leaved gold-thread.  

.    Marsh Violet

3 – Leaved Goldthread

It was a cool day, with a slight breeze that kept the bugs at bay. All the extra moisture for this time of year means that there are large numbers of insects – a bonus for the flycatchers, swallows, nighthawks and various species of bats, not so pleasant for us.

********************* 

UPCOMING EVENTS

TRAILRIDER & ACCESSIBILITY DAY – JULY 24th

On July 24th we will be hosting  the first of our three TrailRider and Accessibility Days planned for this summer. The TrailRider is a reclined wheelchair that is maneuvered by two volunteers (“Sherpas”) along the trails and boardwalks in the park. These Accessibility Days will allow those who normally can’t experience the beautiful meadows and trails of Strathcona Provincial Park that opportunity. The day can include short interpretive tours around the 2km barrier-free Centennial Loop in Paradise Meadows, guided by naturalists, or longer excursions up to Battleship Lake, 3km one way, where participants can enjoy views of the lake from the fishing dock. The day-use area also has picnic tables and a TrailRider accessible toilet. Or if your “Rider” would like a more challenging 9 km loop, the Battleship Lake/Helen Mackenzie Lake circuit can be done. All of these are free to attend, but preregistration is requested so that volunteers can be arranged.  See our Website Page for the online Preregistration Form. 

And we are looking for Volunteer “Sherpas” to facilitate this event.  We put out a call for volunteers in our last ENewsletter, as part of our promotion of Accessibility in the Park through our TrailRider Days. The TrailRider requires a minimum of two able-bodied individuals to propel the device, one at the front one at the rear.  In practice at least four are recommended to spell each other, especially over steeper sections of trails.   The Route to Battleship Lake, which will be featured on our TrailRider days, has boardwalk and ramps specially designed to accommodate the single central wheel of the TrailRider.  So volunteers need to be in good physical shape, but will require a little hands on practice learning to manipulate the TrailRider on the Trails.  We plan to hold a training session from 9.00am to 10 am on the 24th to demonstrate to potential Sherpas how the TrailRider is put together and how to manage it on boardwalk or trails.  

If you want to find out more about the mechanics of the TrailRider and its operation, there is an excellent set of instructional videos put out by BC Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS) and the Disability Foundation  available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kvQsG6az_k&list=PLAcsYgX-1D8q4tj7bYkSbfKBBs8rI1Itv .

So if you are an avid hiker or runner in good physical condition, love the Park and would like to offer those who have mobility issues the opportunity to enjoy all that attracts you to the amazing trails in the Park, do consider joining our cohort of volunteer Sherpas .  If you enjoy community involvement and working with a team of like-minded hiking enthusiasts to help others enjoy the outdoors, come out up to Paradise Meadows on July 24th.

SWI does offer all volunteers a reimbursement  towards travel costs.
For more information, or to sign up,  please contact our Volunteer coordinator at coordinator.swi@gmail.com  or SWI in general at  strathconawilderness@gmail.com . 

 *****************

One last photo, taken on July 14th 

More of the rock faces on the ridge above Circlet up to Albert Edward and to Jutland on the right ( as well as Regan beyond) are visible.  The leaden skies in our panorama from the SPWC seem to be the norm for the month – a marked difference from the heat haze of late June / early July last year.