–submitted by Matthew Lettington
What an amazing day on Mount Klitsa! Nine of us hiked the Brooke George trail and reached the summit on this beautiful day. We drove on the rough road to the trailhead, which made returning to the vehicles even more satisfying. Many thanks to the AVOC volunteers for creating the turnaround!
The old-growth forest offered the usual splendour under the forest giants’ canopy. At the meadows, we caught sight of a bare ass heading for the hills. Nope, that’s a bear’s butt. It didn’t linger long, but neither did it move too quickly to get out of our way; I suppose it was causally. beard about on its merry way.
The low alpine meadows are showing signs of fall. The grasses are a multitude of colors, water sources are refilling, and berries are fat with water and nearing fermentation. As we gained the Alpine, the heat hit us, as did another unexpected element: smoke.
As we gained the summit, my lungs burned! My heart rate monitor told me that my heart wasn’t working that hard, but my lungs felt like I’d been sprinting. From the summit, we viewed the nearby ranges, but the distant peaks were obscured by smoke. For example, we couldn’t see Mount Arrowsmith, which is normally an obvious feature.
It was a fine day in the hills. I was surprised that the trip didn’t fill, but we had a great group, and I’m happy to have spent the day with these members. Thanks, folks!
Looks great! I just signed up today and paid by credit card. Now i’m trying to contact someone about potentially going on a trip somewhere. My name is Ian @ stewartfamily5@telus.net