Whistler RV Campground, Hunting Holiday

I came back early this morning.  I’m losing faith and stamina.  I’ve seen 25 grouse but they’ve all flown out of the tall grass along the FSR when my Honda Rancher ATV is 50 yards away.  The grouse are individual or pairs and I expect that a dozen were born in the spring but coyotes and other predators ate the rest.  These are the elite fast and smart troops.  

This morning I sat in my little folding cammo chair beside the quad at 730 am.  I’d been up at 615 and good at getting away.  Beautiful dawn view. Yet I’m no longer patient and meditative as I once was.  My mind is at peace but not still. It sustains meditation for 15 minutes. I remember when I meditated with SRF monks dawn to dusk.  My mind is weary today as are my legs and back.  I climbed and hiked a mountain trail yesterday for over an hour. Today my body is tired.

I trip and stumble too much when I follow the grouse. I shot one at 50 years with the 22 . It jumped but then took off again.  I climbed the shale cliff holding onto branches.  Madigan couldn’t follow but eventually joined me.  No sign of the grouse.  I don’t think it was wounded.

There is no fresh deer tracks. No new or even old deer poop.  There was coyote stool on the trail and what might have been black bear poop as well.

How do you tell black bear spore from grizzly bear spore.  The black bear spore is black with berries and leaves in it with hair from small animals while the grizzly bear spore smells of pepper and has human hair and bits of clothing along with being black and having berries. 

I’ve seen three rabbits.  All scattered before I could stop the ATV and get my rifle.  Law says I can’t have the rifles loaded either so it’s a timely process.

Today is Madigan’s 3rd birthday.  We’re having. Arb excused steady and grouse tonight to celebrate. We gave him the new squeaky duck toy. He’s have a dog’s life. 

I only sat for an hour.  I used to sit from 7 to 10 then walk for an hour then drive about after 11. I sat till 9 and then drove about till 1030 before coming back to the camper. I only saw one grouse in flight.  

I showered.  I even washed a pair of underwear and socks.  

I want to go on the snowmobile trails but the entrance is so steep, going down was easy in first gear but coming up in second gear was scarey. I worry I’ll flip back wards and rides standing.  I can miss that.  I’ve been enjoying reading Lee Child.  Now I’ve started a Wilber Smith Seventh Scroll.   I took care of a couple of patients so have a little money coming in. I didn’t book any one this trip feeling. I need a real break.  It’s certainly that.  

I’ve got a hunting routine now and just have to get on my socks and boots. The rest is easy.  I like the quiet and the magnificent view.  I’ve the electric heater going at night. It’s chilly.  I love my bed.  

I had a nightmares of being with Tom in an old house dealing with the Communist Chinese invasion of Canada.  A chinese couple were helping us explaining that so few liked the Maoists and XiJinping. The rest like themselves were anti communism.  It was a reflection on Canada.  An apocalypse seencior

I’ve been enjoying my expresso coffee in the morning and my Twinning Early Grey or Lemon and Ginger Stash tea in the afternoon and evening.

Thank you Jesus for this vacation and all the many wonders.  Thank you for Laura and Madigan.  

Quadding BC

I took these pictures last month but just downloaded them from the camera. Good memories.  Beautiful BC

Plumper Cove, Keats Island, BC

I motored my Folkes 39.9 cutter rigged steel sailboat from Coal Harbour to Plumper Cove, anchoring Friday night .  We just had time to barbecue shish kabobs steaks bits and have with boiled potatoes and carrots.    In the morning after a marvellous breakie of fried eggs and hash browns from the left over potatoes, Gilbert and I got in the dinghy and rowed ashore.  I love the Plumper Cove Marine Park.  Great dog walk into the backwoods.  There's a creek that runs down the backside of the little hill.  Gilbert sniffed everything and peed on everything else.
Then we got back to the dinghy and rowed out to the boat at anchor.  It was a tough day of reading and napping and nibbling.  I had a shower at some point. The sun was so out that I put on sunscreen.  Despite this my face is red after the weekend.  I read Spirtual Theology by Diogene Allen and Inferno by Dan Brown. I even did a couple of chapters of Biblical Hebrew homework.  Four more to go to catch up.  I've a tutor planned as well.  All to be able to read genesis.  And hopefully visit Jerusalem again.  I loved the holy city.
Somehow with very little effort on my part, the day passed.  I fished a bit off the deck and eventually almost bored settled down for the night and slept another great sleep at anchor.
Today I weighed anchor early, well 9 am. I'd woke at 8 am.  On the way back I noticed i needed to add oil to the engine and everything was well after that. There's a harmonic on the shaft and prop around 2000 rpm but not there at fishing speed of 1500 or travelling speed at 2500 rpm.  It was a great moment when I caught a fish. Wow.  It was a cod and very quickly ended up on the barbecue.  I boiled some potatoes and peas to go with it and was delighted.
Gilbert even liked some bone free bits.
Then it was motoring home.  I almost put up the sail but I'm not that well stowed below. Besides I was enjoying reading Brown's book and sailing would mean running about on deck instead.  So lazy 'iron jenny'.   Great help from my neighbour docking.  A good outing.  Gilbert was glad to be back on dock.  

Othello Tunnels - Morning Hike

The rain pitter pattered all night long on the roof. I woke several times unused to the quiet and the sound of the propane heater kicking in. Gilbert was sure to wake me at the regular hour, snuggling in beside me, crowding me into the day.
The rain was light and feathery. The canyon light surreal. I leashed Gilbert for the initial walk along the road, enjoying the chamber music of the birds.
Gnatcatchers, chickadees, robins all love the conifers. Gilbert joyfully ran ahead sniffing the trail for God knows what.
It was a lovely walk. I only wore shorts and sandals and a light rain jacket. The weather is that mild.
This region is called the Coquihalla Gorge after the Coquihalla River which runs through here. The Othello Tunnels, closed now, are in the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. The tunnels were built in 1914 at the time of building the Kettle Valley Railway grade part of the plan to connect the Kootenay interior of British Columia to the coast.
I didn't find them but apparently the hiking trails link to the Hope-Nicola Cattle Trail. That's part of the famed history of the Gang Ranch. The civil engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway was an avid reader off Shakespeare so named the stations in the vicinity after characters from Shakespeare. That explains why I've seen all these Shakespearean names driving up and down the Coquihalla Highway a short distance away. Apparently, building the Kettle Valley Railway was the most daunting of his illustrious career.
I don't know if this applies but I once learned from a folk singer historian that normally geographical references to Kettles had to do with the making of moonshine.

By the time we got back to Othello Tunnels RV Park Gilbert was soaking wet. I was glad to find a towel and rub him down. Now he's sleeping contentedly at my feet. I've made coffee and porridge. Soon I'll actually think about packing up and heading back to Vancouver. It's only an hour and a half a way but seems a world apart.























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Canyon Alpine RV Park - October 2011

We drove up to Canyon Alpine RV Park  a few miles north of Boston Bar BC.  It was still a cozy night in the Forest River Mini Lite Trailer with the propane heater and electric heated mattress keeping us warm in the chilly nights.  Northern BC has already had snow.  I was up in the wee hours dressing for hunting.  I took Gilbert and the ATV in the Ford F350 diesel truck.  We tried Scuzzy Creek Forest Service Road Saturday morning.  I didn't see hide nor hair of a buck. I'd like to blame it on something but the Cellular Tower the guys were putting up when I came back to where I'd parked and unloaded the Polaris ATV wasn't even operational.  That evening and next morning I took the truck and ATV up to the Forest Service Road just south of Boston Bar. I unloaded the ATV each time and explored the countless trails and roads that abound there.  Great pictures and some of the most enchanting paradise. It's hikers heaven here in the summer.  I met a half dozen or more hunters.  One asian fellow told me about the black bear he'd shot Sunday morning. I had to confess I'd missed mine.  I'd parked the ATV on a logging road trail and walked on with Gilbert at heel. Coming around a corner I came face to face with a good sized black bear not 50 yards away. I lifted my rifle and was carefully taking aim when the very bright bear decided to skedaddle out of there as quick as he could run.  Gilbert courageous as ever was all for giving chase but I called him back.  I don't know what it is about this year and game. I've had two perfectly good shots at moose, took too long to shoot the first and then nicked the second by shooting too quickly. I figured if it had been a deer I'd have shot it in a second. Bear I'm a bit more careful with and have missed several opportunities to shoot them this season with two misses on the times I've actually shot at them.  One I missed a head shot because I didn't want to settle for less as the bear was downhill and standing before a steep ravine. Anything but a dead kill could have sent him over the side and who knows when I would have found him in the thick jungle forest hundreds of feet below.  Another I shot the stump dead in the stumps heart, the bear having stuck his head up behind it and me thinking I'd get a great heart shot head on in the dim light.  A bear with body armour!  This one I was actually looking for a rest and beginning to kneel to get the perfect shot at 50 yards.  Don't know what I was thinking with such nonsense going through my head. Another year I'd have had a dead bear.  So later this asian fellow tells me he shot a bear and I told him I missed mine.  Wondered if it was a metaphor, the universe out to get me, God having rejected me. All that silly blather passes through one's head when a shot is missed.  It wasn't the bear's time and I've been lacking in gratitude for the great experience of the outdoor, the dog and I and the joys of nature. If I was being a photographer I'd have some great shots of moose and bear this year.  I'd rather be eating than looking at pictures. Victor gave me some of his venison pepperoni from the deer he shot and it's oh so tasty. I think of moose steak, bear ham and venison stew.  The season's not over yet and I just keep getting up, getting out there, doing the drill, stalking, sitting or driving around in the ATV.  This time of year I love watching the colours changing.  It's an incredibly beautiful part of the world.  Mist and fog on the hills in the morning. Light rain late in the day. Sunshine still with no snow yet.  Sunday afternoon we headed back to Vancouver. 3 hours in total either way with only 40 kms of winding canyon road with tunnels from Yale to Boston Bar.  After Yale it's easy driving. The freeway from Hope to Vancouver is a breeze.  We always stop for drive through burgers Gilbert's favourite part of the drive.

Pierre's Point Campground and RV, Salmon Arm, BC

This is a lovely campground and RV park. it's run by the local First Nations Band, situated on their land.  Approximately $40 a night with all the facilities, sewage, electricity and water. There are a lot of more basic sites. Further there are sites where people are obviously staying the season or year round.  It's right on the lake with the beach just the next lane over from us. We can hear the water lapping .  Dogs aren't allowed on the beach but there's a dog beach further down.  There's also a concession with hotdogs, pies and such plus a store.  The downside is the train tracks are next to the campgrounds.  We're 8 km from Salmon Arms with celluar and wifi coverage.  We're here for the Sturgis North Motorcycle and Rock Concert.  It starts tomorrow.  Eric Burden and the Animals, Steppenwolf, Doctor Hook. A young pretty girl talked to Laura and I when we were walking Gilbert around the park. She said she was really looking forward to hearing Nazareth.  I'm here for Eric Burden and just don't know whether to torch my 'Depends' or just wave them.  I don't think the Nazareth crowd would applaud if one of the performers smashed a walker on stage. 

Canyon Alpine RV Park, BC, Canada

Laura and I have spent several weekends here.  We love the Canyon Alpine RV Park. It's on the #1 highway just south of Lytton and 2 km north of Boston Bar.