Walk 'em Cowgirl!

This is the Kootenay version of Saddle Mountain, located near Nakusp. The picture is the back end of the saddle. We hiked here two weeks ago - the hiking weather this September was been absolutely perfect. The approach to this hike is rather long for us to do on a day trip so we headed over to Nakusp on Sunday night, had a very long wait for supper service at the local hotel, and then crossed the Arrow Lake on the Arrow Lake Ferry. Sleeping in the back of the truck was remarkably comfortable. The hike up to Saddle Mtn. didn't take too long - about 2 hours to the top - the descent would have been faster but we found about the best bunch of huckleberries we'd seen all summer so filled up our lunch containers with more berries. For some reason the Arrow Lake Ferry doesn't run for two hours in the middle of the day (siesta time, I guess) but on this particular Monday whoever was supposed to operate it simply didn't come back to work. About an hour after things were supposed to get going, a replacement worker showed up. Ah, Kootenay Time! Ice cream at The Hut in Nakusp is still a very good deal.

Yes, You Can Go "Home" Again

I want to include a picture of a SK sunset here but for some reason the blogger isn't accepting photos today. Can't figure that out when I'm FINALLY getting ready to post after all this time.

Anyway, just wanted to say that I discovered that you CAN go home again - I had a great trip back to SK. Thank you to Margaret for organizing the Wild Women of Waskesiu and thank you to my Saskatoon hosts, Ron and Carol, for letting me stay for so many days in the lovely area of Montgomery. I saw so many more people by staying in the neighbourhood - it was perfect. Margaret was my motivation for getting out there and I enjoyed 3 lovely days at Waskesiu in one of Saskatchewan's perfect weeks of weather (and I know it was a long wait to get summer!). I visited my friend, Bev, in Humboldt, saw lots of Saskatoon folks, had a chance to play bridge at the Saskatoon Club and enjoy another lovely garden party in Montgomery. I saw my Regina friend, Marilyn - thanks for meeting me in the "north", Marilyn - and had a wonderful trip. My back problems all cleared up after 300mg of Arthrotec.

It was also good to connect with some of "Andrea's friends" and see the next generation doing so well.

Thanks, SK women, for making my trip so perfect! You really are the friendliest folks in Canada!

What Happened to My Posting?

I figured it was time to let my few readers know that I haven't forgotten about my blog. I just have too much stuff in my computer to sort out right now and I'm simply not getting time to work at the blog. I had a great summer. I spent 10 days in the US and then another 11 days in SK and AB. Had a great time there, too. I've been back home for a week now and there's so much to do to get ready for winter that my priorities are wood splitting, moving plants and processing food. We leave for NZ in just 6 more weeks. I still take time to read books. We've had the TV back since the first of September and I've watched it for a total of 45 minutes. Yesterday, Dave and I went hiking near Nakusp and I hope to report on that trip very soon. Be patient, please.

The Notch at Rossiter Ridge

If you look for the V shaped rock in the centre of the picture you are looking at the "notch" of Rossiter Ridge, a fairly distinctive landmark in the West Koots. Today we hiked to the Ridge - I didn't attempt getting up into the Notch - it's pretty much a hike for an accomplished scrambler. What I loved about today was leaving the house at 11:30 a.m. (after we each completed our community service work - me for the library and Dave for Pine Ridge Water Users) we headed out hiking. We were at the high point by 2:30 p.m. We had lots of time to pick huckleberries on the way down (and they are fantastic up there) and still got to sit down for a wine-soaked supper at 7:00 p.m. Proximity is everything.

Macbeth Icefields: Take Two

After a very gruelling walk into MacBeth Icefield last year (see August, 2008 post called 115 Deadfalls) we made a second journey this year. That's because Dave and a small crew went up to the trail in July and cleared out a ton of deadfalls. We only had to climb over two of them on the entire trail (falls that occured during the past 3 weeks). This time, we hiked with the Sunday Hikers and made it all the way to the icefield - a really nice hike. It was a a fine day for a trip like this - quite cool, although next time I'd like the woods to be a little drier. We figure it's about 1200m of vertical gain and I have to say I had difficulty doing stairs on Monday.

Newport Camels

Couldn't resist taking this photo at one of the Newport mansions in Newport, RI. It was our first day in a very hot and humid New England and we enjoyed a lovely coastal walk along the Atlantic Ocean with views of the seacoast to one side, and stately mansions to the other. It's the kind of hiking that I always love. Now if only those mansion owners would build gardens right down to their fence lines!

On Walden Pond and Beyond

Spending a day in MA in August is probably not the calmest thing that a person can do. However, getting to Walden Pond relatively early in the morning (about 9:30 a.m.) allowed us to walk to the homesite of Thoreau and enjoy the calm of the lake - I was surprised to see how many people actually swim across it at that hour - probably all triathletes! It's really very picturesque before the crowds arrive AND if you can ignore the commuter train passing to the west of the "pond".

From Walden we walked to Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott. The tour here was one of the highlights from my trip. I had always loved "her book" as a child, and learning more about the author and her wonderful home on the outskirts of Concord, MA was a fine way to spend a couple of hours. I'm currently reading March by Geraldine Brooks, a novel about what is happening to Mr. March while he is away from "his girls". It won a Pulitzer a couple of years ago. Doing the "author's tour" at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery was another favorite bit of time. It is true; there can be peace and quiet in some parts of New England.