Easter weekend hiking

Hello world!

This version of the blog is a hike that we took on the Easter weekend!

The hike was from a little side track two turn-offs from the Last Spike (mentioned in a previous blog)
 

Above: The tiny blue dot in the lower left at Salmon Arm is where we are currently living and the red dot at "The Last Spike" is near where this hike took place.  

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The weather is just starting to warm up although I am told by the locals that it is happening really early this year. When asking around about this hike I was told to be prepared for there to still be snow on the ground.

Below: As you can see it did start out a little cold and it took a little brisk walking to get the blood flowing. We saw no snow, however.

Above: Who knows what Kyran was thinking, he insisted on taking his basket with him in case he found a mushroom

So this is a story for your amusement, not even 100m into the hike and I see something interesting so I squat to take a photo of it and well you can see what happened. 

Below: Many squats and photos later this it how it ended up at the end of the walk.

Moving on!

Below: This was a giant mound of what seemed like pine cones that had been pulled apart. the image at the bottom is what it was made up of.  Any guesses what it might be?  
Answers at the bottom!

Below: The Story behind this photo is that somewhere between the photo above and what follows the trail started to head towards a river that we could hear but not see the entire hike. 
So with adventure in the heart and camera in hand we decided to head off track down the slope to the river. The descent was steep and the moss and dirt kept giving away beneath us. The stick and logs were all rotten and not reliable things to hold onto. 

Then lo and behold this sucker! The only thing nearby on the steepest part of the descent and my reflexes kept making me grab for it! So me slipping down the slop with thorns in my hand every where.

 
But that's not where the story of this spiky bit of s#@t ends; on the way back up it was Kyran's turn to grab it. So every one got pricked that day!

These are the photos that we took as we reached the river, it was flowing very fast as all the snow-melt was heading down hill. 

Above: If you can see in the GIF there is a basket hanging on a twig as an indicator of where the trail was for the return back up the slope. 
 
Once we finally made it back up the hill we went a little further down the track, from memory it was labelled ' vintage/ heritage trail' and it certainly turned out to be so. There were so many trees that were fallen and the road eroded that we decided that our mothers would rest easier knowing we chose to turn around at that point. 

Kyran's take on how the photos you see were taken

OK well that all for this hike, stay tuned for the next adventure that will take us from the canopies of such old established pine forests to open fields, lakes and sunshine.

I finish with a little snippet of Agatha Christie's "Poirot" TV show that I've been watching lately:

Captain Hastings: Look at that, Poirot. Look at that view! 

Hercule Poirot: Yes, well, views are very nice, Hastings. But they should be painted for us, so that we may study them in the warmth and comfort of our own home. That is why we pay the artist, for exposing himself to these conditions on our behalf. 

Captain Hastings: What do you mean, conditions? It's a wonderful day.
[takes a deep breath] 

Captain Hastings: Just fill your lungs with that air. 

Hercule Poirot: No, my poor friend, this sort of air is intended for birds and little furry things. The lungs of Hercule Poirot demand something more substantial: the good air of the town!