By Skip King

It was a sunny and warm morning for our hike to White Lake and much appreciated by our ‘Group of Seven’, including myself, Phil, Anyaa, Cheryl, Hal, Lefa and Vern. We met Jean and Barry at White Lake.

It was a bit late for plants and birds but two ravens were flying as we started. The first two ponds were dry but the third had water and ducks, mostly bufflehead, some mallards. While there, a young couple with two dogs were on their way out.

At the boundary fence we found a large lake which I had not seen in several previous trips. More bufflehead and mallards were enjoying the water. With no inlet or outlet this was surprising. Perhaps this resulted from the high snowpack the last two years.

While having lunch at this 4th lake, no less than three separate groups passed us having
come up our exit trail. I had not seen anyone in this area before so it has become a fairly popular trail. A flock of cranes flew high overhead but too high for my eyes to see.

We proceeded down the steep loose trail until near the bottom. My feet got a bit ahead of me, the loose surface prevented me from stopping. A saskatoon bush should have stopped me but it was too weak and it broke causing me to fall into it. I got up with some
significant bruising and minor scratches.

Phil kept a good grip on me helping me down the short remaining distance to the main trail. The others being more cautious descended without incident.

The other groups we met seem to have chosen the better direction. Wisdom should come with age but I have been waiting 20 years for this to happen! I am forced to accept that I am now OLD so will try to act more appropriately in the future.

As an aside, my ribs are still painful but ibuprofen is allowing me to function. All the trip participants claimed to have an enjoyable outing (in spite of their feckless leader).

Photos courtesy of Cheryl and Skip.