May 14, 2006

65: Took A Hike

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Top row (left to right): pine bark detail, evergreen sapling from above, birchbark curl. Middle row (left to right): section of McGillivray Falls, Kerry polishing off a roasted marshmellow, moss detail. Bottom row (left to right): moss and bark detail, flower detail, birchbark detail. Below: a second snapshot of McGillivray Falls.
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Last weekend Kerry and I took off for our favourite trek in the Whiteshell, the Hunt Lake Hiking Trail. Usually reserved for fall visits (and the occasional hot-day-in-April sojourn), last Sunday was too good to pass up. It was a beautiful day; windy, but hot – and, as a nice surprise, the park was oddly empty of people. But the Hunt Lake loon pair was back, as were others on larger West Hawk Lake. We scared a couple of snakes sunning on the path, and the summer insects were just beginning to make an appearance (including the woodticks). We returned to the car early and made a quick side trip to McGillivray Falls a few kilometres away (also devoid of visitors, but we did see a bald eagle), before returning to West Hawk for a weenie and marshmellow roast – then leaving as a thunderstorm loomed.

The above grid of photos were largely the result of an attempt of mine to seek out "the little things" from the trail, and the day in general. This photo below is also my submission for PhotoFortnight's back-end-of-May theme of liquid. There's a slight blur from the slower shutter speed, but it's still a nice capture. Since a beaver dam burst a number of years ago at the top of the falls, it's not uncommon to find them dry in the summer and fall.

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7 comments:

lew! said...

nice photos mr. J.

i think you are right sir. i need to give myself some weekend get aways to beat the funk.

i have been thinking about a little cmaping trip since the season change (but not during out recent cold/wet snap)
I have to check my tent for dry-rot though. Which tells you how long it has been.

and i am talking camping. not the 20-something drinking outside cmaping. I mean - dewey mornings and cmap coffee, tired legs and maybe a little fishing.

awwww yeah! i think i should work on a long weekend.

perhaps this should have been a blog and not a comment yes?

;P

lew! said...

yeah type-o galore! sheesh!

shannon said...

these are great! I miss nature!!! ;-)
Your photo skills keep getting better and better!!!

jk said...

ever done the mantario trail?

patricia zapata said...

love the photos! totally jealous we don't get to see much of that sort of thing around here... :(

Jeope said...

Never done the Mantario in its entirety, but growing up we used to make day-trips from either end. Even got lost on the south end in the dark once!

Anthony Woodward said...

I just got myself a digital camera and I'm having fun taking lots of snaps too. I like your new header too, looks familiar ;)