If you go out in the woods today...your'e sure of a big surprise....

 Wow what a day.  What a great day.
It all started out very great.  Maywell phoned me last night to tell me the Avalanhce lilies were out in such great profusion that you would never be able to count them all.  They truly are a spectacular sight.  I am so lucky to go every year to this fine place and see them.

So I woke up to sun, warmth, and a wee bit of fog.
Started my journey over to Maywells...and the clouds were changing to grey.
By the time I got to Maywells house is was pouring sheets of rain.  Now I did come prepared, long pants, rain coat, hat, water proof hinking boots and I made sure Maywell had an extra battery in his car. (grin).

We were meeting with a woman who is a biologist, and wanted to see the terrain and plant life, some rare red legged frogs. ..so we picked her up and away we went.  As we got closer to the trail head the more it rained.  But I really don't mind the rain, I just hate that I don't have a waterproof camera.

So now we are at the trail head, I took a quick few pictures that I figured I could spare, and then left my camera in the car because I did not want to get the thing wet.  So next thing on my list...waterproof camera to take pic's even in the rain.

We got to the Tea hut and went inside to get dry..then trodded onwards to blueberry cabin.
There is still several feet of snow in spots all along the ridge, but I can now see some green spots, and part of the actual trail.  Funny how much harder it is to get from A to B when there is no snow on the ground. 
The Avalanche lilies were so abundant that it seemed almost unreal.
Labrador tea flowers were starting to bloom.  Yummy tea (needs honey), makes you sleepy.
Mountain Laurel, also mountain heather, bog orchids, bunch berries, and many other flora and fauna are all starting to peek out of the ground.

We then got to Blueberry cabin...and it stopped raining, and I don't have my camera. (Murphy's law)......Grrrrrr.......
We had a bite to eat at the cabin..Maywell told us the story of how this fine trail came to be.....
And then we headed out to the car and then home....

So a bit of how the trail came to beee.......

Once upon a time there were a few men and women who enjoyed this fine mountain side to go skiing.
This all started about 1988.
They used to go skiing up here all the time, down hill (which is hard cause there are no chair lifts to bring you back up), cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.   They came up here for years...the thing back then is that they could only drive a few miles into the road and then would have to play about another 10 miles up to the mountains.  This of course meant starting at about 400am...and then go enjoy the snow but would not get back home until about 10:00pm.  So they decided one day they would build a wee cabin to stay in overnight, making the snow playing more fun.
This of course turned into...lets see where everything goes...lets explore.
A few years later, and many wanderings...and thinking they worked out a plan with BC forest and a few environmental people..and were given permission to build this fine trail.  Now I am told in the beginning it took 5 hours to clear one piece of the trail so you could walk one minute.   It is now a fine 50 kilometer long trail.....and took many years to build and clear...(I have been there 15 years and have helped build, clear, pack wood, and enjoy this fine place).  It is always under construction...and always being worked on by many people who love this place as much as I do....
It holds so much, gives so much beauty...and every time I go there I am still stunned into quietness by it's beauty. Dumbfounded into slience (hard to believe I know). But it happens every time.  It is quite simply...magic....
It has great Western Hemlcok, Mountain Hemlock (Yes they are different), cedar, fir, so many flowers and lichen that I could never name them all.
Moss that covers the forest floor..soooooo soft....
Lakes that are practically untouched. ..and so clear you can see the bottom...and is warm in the summer to swim, canoe, kayak, lay on a innertube and just float away...and dream...
The smell is so fresh and clean...
The animals from bears, cougars, wolves (still have not seen one), deer.
I learned something about the deer today...when the snow is very deep on this mountain...they survive the winter eating this lichen that grows on the hemlock trees.....this lichen is very high in protien and sustains them during the long winter months...toally amazing.
7 (yes 7), different varieties of blueberries...wild cranberries, salmon berries, strawberries...I eat till I can't eat anymore.  Blueberries are my favorite...and the bears too....:)
Frogs sing everywhere (and I mean everywhere).
Birds by the thousands. .....from eagles, owls, hawks, grouse...and cheeky Whiskey Jacks.
Brown squirrels who chatter when you go by....

So I am going to share the few photos that I took today....
And a whole bunch of them that I have taken over the last couple of years...
This is only about 10K of trail which goes between Blueberry cabin...and the Tea hut which is still not quite finished, but will have it's grand opening this year.

So come end enjoy the woods with me today.......
Your'e sure of a big surprise.......