Created 7-Nov-21
Modified 20-Dec-23
2021-11-06 | Willow Creek Knoll | 1666 max | 1471 TH | 12.1 km | 451 TA | w/ Peter & David
Southbound today, Peter picked me up at a leisurely 8:30am and what should I find on the seat beside me but, as David laid over at the B&B again, a savory bit of loaf with walnuts and other flavourful bits topped by a slice of cheese! I could get used to this! Our best wildlife sighting came just north of Longview when a rather rotund grizzly bear charged across the road in front of us and east into a ranch yard. Probably a young one kicked out by mom, very cool and the furthest east I’ve ever seen a grizzly bear.
Hwy 40 and 532 had a lot of hunters parked along the road and our hike included an area where OHV is allowed – so it while we didn’t see a lot of machines or hunters, their presence was felt including the occasional shot and some target practice at the end. The one non-hunter we ran into was a local rancher on a quad looking for stray cows. Down 30 pairs at round up he good naturedly blamed bears, wolves, and logging for the losses and or wanderings of his cows. At one point we found a broken aspen tree with a murder scene. What looked to be a ruffed grouse had been consumed by an owl with all that remained being feathers, backbone, and a few entrails. We investigated like a murder scene marveling at the complete destruction of the grouse. Otherwise some ravens, nuthatches, and an intact ruffed grouse rounded out the wildlife. The hike was pretty much a ramble up and over some high points and down through drainages with quite a bit of it slipping on muddy quad tracks.
At the conclusion of the hike Peter surprised me with a book entitled “Where’s Clayton” with photos from hikes dating back to 2008 thru to almost the present where I was featured as a ‘where’s Waldo’ style – sometimes very tiny mixed in with rocks, or only my helmet visible on a scramble. It was a very touching and thoughtful gift from a long time hiking partner and will have a place of honor on my bookshelf for probably as long as I have a bookshelf. Thanks Peter!
© Clayton Ditzler