Powell River, BC
372 Posts |
Posted - 05/25/2012 : 2:41 PM
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I am starting to discover a maze of unmarked trails just 5 minutes from my house that are new to me. It's fun figuring out how they all interconnect. Last Monday I took a very interesting little loop trail that followed an old skid road, with the vast majority of the skids still intact. As it was rather overgrown with salal and Oregon grape, I returned this morning with clippers in hand with the dual goal of doing some pruning and exploring a side trail I'd noted. The entrance to the trail is inviting.
The skids are still in good shape, it's easy to imagine the huge logs being hauled down them to the water in Scuttle Bay.
However the same can't be said for the old deteriorating bridges.
There's lots of vanilla leaf in bloom along the trail.
Tiny little Wilde Creek still supports a chum salmon run in the fall.
As I looped back around I took a side trail heading off east. After 10 minutes or so it joined a grassy old logging road, and after climbing up a hill turned into a trail proper. Someone has been looking after this trail, it is in excellent shape.
After plunging down into a little ravine, it opens up into lovely open second growth forest, with a mix of maples, Douglas fir and cedars.
Then I started seeing them ... lots of culturally modified trees. Very interesting.
As these are obviously fairly recent, I imagine the local Sliammon people have been collecting the bark.
The trail abruptly dumped me out on a logging road. It continued on the other side, but was clearly not as well maintained.
I found a nice sunny spot for lunch in the little ravine, and will leave the exploration of the trail on the other side of the logging road for another morning. |
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Take the skid road to the culturally modified tree
