Wednesday 18 August 2010

This morning we joined a guided hike up Gorge Creek, which is rated difficult, but really wasn’t too bad and only lasted 3 hours. It was very interesting to learn about the vegetation especially ferns, lichen and fungi. There were some nice scenic outlooks into the gorge or to the valley below, but as with all Canadian hikes – most of it was through forests.

A shuttle system was arranged so that we only had to hike one way and it was while Liam was driving some other hikers back that they saw a black bear. I on the other hand was not with them and missed it.

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The evening activity was a car convoy drive through the park, stopping at several areas of interest and with a commentary from the guide of anything we saw on our way. We did spot some deer as well as a car accident of a driver that left the road and tolled down the bank the previous night. Many vehicles hit moose on the road a night and come off second best.


Our first stop was a short walk to see an abandoned bear den which was really cool and incredibly long inside with a fairly narrow entry. The last stop was a 1 km boardwalk built over a marsh which was pretty with the late evening sunlight filtering through the trees.

 
 
 
 
 
After the tour was over, it was nearly dark, so we decided to drive up to Moon Lake, a reputedly famous moose area. It was great - we saw 2 lovely big males with a big rack of antlers. The one was busy at a salt lick by the roadside and was within 5m of the car. He was totally unfazed by our presence and we watched him for about 20 minutes. We could even hear him slurping and breathing. It was awesome, but being dark, not great for taking photos.

Look hard for the elusive moose!