walk to 661 and beyond

yesterdays walk to 661 was to be a there and back again but turned into a loop. i started the walk on the trail by the 240 side fireline. once i got to 661 i realized the trail around the lake to the ridge access trail would be quite wet so i went off trail taking "rock islands" in the forest till i made my way up to the ridge trail. i hae done this many times before so i wasn't surprised to come across old friends.

these show the 240 side fireline from the road to the lake.


these two look similar but the first is at the beginning on the fireline and the second is near where the trail leaves the open rock for the forest. i noticed this birch ring awhile ago and thought it interesting.

the first is taken standing on the weir looking down at the flow from the v notch. the second is looking down towards the lake. lastly a secondary stream coming from the dam at scummy to the weir.

the initial view of 661 from the trail and a self portrait in water.

a "panoranic view of 661. there is more open water beyond the peat rafts. i often see ducks and sometimes moose here but not today.

beautiful red sphagnum mosses as you come off the trail at 661. i built this rock guy on the other side of the weir. this is where i started the off trail leg of the walk.


these are shots of the 661 outflow as it makes its way to scummy. lots of tannin in the water giving it this brown colour. i love to watch and listen to the water flowing.

the first is "tim's rock" tim worked with me in 1993-1994. he inspired me to make rock guys. he in turn was inspired by andy goldsworthy. i know it is tim's because even in my younger days i could not have lifted this rock to rest atop the other. i love gnarly tree roots. i see aman talking to his dog. what do you see? more rock guys.

this rock guy lasted all winter intact. another view of 240 from the ridge, scummy is at the far right below 240. more gnarly roots reminding me of a bosch style conflict. i took the met site path down from the ridge as it is the quicker way home and i was quite hungry by this time. what started out as a one hour walk became two and a half hours spent most enjoyable rambling about.

nw weir trail

this walk to lake 239 and the nw terrestrial inflow usually takes about 20 minutes
there and back again. i took a picture for each section of the trail, trying to make a
continuous flow of the trail. this will likely only be of interest to folks who have walked the trail in the past with the pictures triggering memories of being on the trail.


the beginning of the nw weir trail from the camp road. and over the open rock
with a short stop to look at some quartz and moss.


the last of open rock for awhile and into the forest of birch, poplar,
jack pine and spruce trees. lots of water in places, good thing i
wore my yellow boots with green turtles.

and it is downhill all the way to the inflow and the lake although
these look the same they do show different successive parts of
the trail. keep walking you won't be disappointed.

i liked the the framing of this tree stump with all the mosses and lichens
covering it. and still going down hill. i spied these lovely bright green raspberry
leaves. lots of raspberries along this trail.


still going down hill. coming to water moving downhill as well. till we come
to a flooded area of the path and a large pond to the right.

finally the nw weir is in sight. these weirs measure the flow of water going
into the lake. this weir measures terrestrial water flowing from quite a large
area of forest. the wooden bridge allows easy access to the rest of the trail.

this is the water flowing over the v notch of the weir and under the bridge.
flowing through the forest delta to the lake.the water is so brown because
of tannin.

the trail gets very boggy as we go through this cedar grove. the smell of
cedar is refreshing. and finally the trail ends at the lake. sorry about
the lack of focus.

this picture shows the inflow bay to the right. above is the view to the
left of the trail. schindlers cabin is a short walk along the beach.

more of the inflow bay. i love taking pictures of water.

a picture of moss for anne and a very old snag of tree root.
i did see some warblers here but was not quick enough to take their picture.

on the way back now. labrador tea and moss in water. another view of the big
pond. and back up the trail.

on the way back i noticed this birch tree flashing me. the new bark
is so white against the orange.

i missed this birch stump on the way downhill. i always see more
on the way uphill.

i liked the look of this stump as well. and still going uphill.

the end is near. and on to open rock. the camp road is in sight.

more shots of moss for anne.

the last of the open rock before getting to the camp road.

these were taken on the fire line. i loved the patterns on the wood and
the new growth of grass pushing through the dead grass from last year.

these show the fire line, a swath of open area with a pipeline and sprinklers
that stretch from lake 239 to lake 240 surrounding the camp. this is one
of the defenses against forest fires. these pictures show the lake 239 side
of the fire line with the last one showing it crossing the camp road.