Category: Kootenays

Top 10 Bucket List Items – Number 10 – Update

British Columbia, Bucket list, Canada, Dusty Trails, Hiking Trails, Kootenays

I was browsing for hiking books online and came across this gem. We now have a comprehensive guide to a wide range of falls, complete with how to get there. We are considering a loop in September and will keep you updated.

As a plug, we do not purchase books from chains, preferring local bookstores. When in Cranbrook, please patronize Huckleberry Books or use their website at https://huckleberrybooks.ca/

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Top 10 Bucket List Items – Number 10

British Columbia, Bucket list, Dusty Trails, Hiking Trails, Kootenays

Number 10 on my personal bucket list is simply, finding waterfalls. The ingredients for this are quite handy at the moment.

  1. Be in a place where there is easy access to waterfalls. Check. We live in British Columbia where there appears to be an endless supply. This leads to…
  2. Having limited ability to travel elsewhere. Check. There’s a pandemic limiting most travel. This leads to…
  3. Spending time away from other people. Check. Hiking into these places invariably means that it is just you and the bears. Which leads to….
  4. Knowing where to go. Check. There are plenty of guide books out there. We are presently using “Mountain Footsteps” by Janice Strong. An excellent source for hiking trails in the Kootenay Range of British Columbia. Which leads to…
  5. Having the equipment to pursue this goal. Check. Our winter adventures loaded us up with good footwear, walking sticks, clothing, backpacks, water bottles and, last, but most important, bear spray and insect repellent (not so needed in the winter).

There’s nothing quite like a hike in the mountains, leading to an inevitably beautiful spot, be it a lake, a river. a waterfall or simply a breathtaking view.

Let us give you some photos of a few of the falls we have visited over the past few years, and we will add many more as we go into the future. Also some related music for you as well, Hank Williams and “Singing Waterfall”.

Fletcher Falls Near Kaslo, BC
Lumberton Falls, BC

Just A Picture – March 3, 2021

British Columbia, Canada, Hiking Trails, Kootenays, Norbury Lake

Took this shot on February 27, 2021. Norbury Lake in East Kootenay, British Columbia. Taken with iPhone XR, no filter. Doing a tour north and east of Cranbrook. The wall of mountains is stunning. The spot on the ice is someone ice fishing.

Just A Picture – December 14, 2020

British Columbia, Canada, Dusty Trails, Hiking Trails, Kootenays, Moyie River

Our Sunday stroll took us along the Moyie River near Cranbrook, BC in Canada. We followed it for about 2 miles through the bush. The river is mostly frozen, soon we’ll be able to ski it, just needs a bit more cold and some snow. To get here we go under the highway and across the tracks. After a few minutes, all you can hear is yourself breathing and the sound of your footsteps. All we saw fro wildlife on this hike was a squirrel running across the river. Luckily, nothing was chasing it. Standard equipment out here is bear spray, you never know. The bears re sleeping, but there is the odd cougar, and even some wolves in the vicinity. Pretty rare to see one. Lots of elk and deer as well. Next time out, I must remember to bring our GoPro and hook it up to my chest. It is gorgeous out there.

My Reverse Bucket List ; Evacuation

British Columbia, Canada, Dusty Trails, Kootenays, Owls Nest, Reverse Bucket List, Travel, Travel Trails

Time for something completely different. A reverse bucket a list, a list of accomplishments that I never ever wanted to do. First up, being evacuated due to a forest fire.

British Columbia is known for it’s hot summers, especially in the interior. Forest fires are no strangers in this environment. In the fall of 2017, B.C. was on fire, multiple fires throughout the province, one of which was real close to our recreation property near Cranbrook, B.C. As dangerous as things were, it was still kind of interesting,

For eample, the water bombers cruising over Moyie Lake and depositing their payloads on the fire up on Lamb Creek.

Then a turn for the worse, an evacuation alert. We were put on alert, meaning instant evacuation from the RV resort. As luck would have it, the fire was getting visibly worse.

The Smoke

That evening (pre-covis) we had some friends in for supper. Around the 3rd bottle of wine, it happened. EVACUTION!!! We had zero miniutes to clear out.

The Glow

The fire was obviously an issue and ominous. Luckily it was dark, and we followed the tail lights in a very slow parade to Cranbrook.

Not something I ever wanted to happen and the first entry on my reverse bucket list.

A Life Post – December 8, 2020

British Columbia, Kootenays, Owls Nest, Retirement, Tips & Tricks
Our Retirement Place

As we state in our About page, we suddenly realized about 15 years that today was coming, and coming fast. Today meaning, getting older and facing retirement. Retiring is a hard thing to contemplate after working so hard and for so long to try and reach the goal of enjoying life with adventure and contentment. On occasion we will be posting some of our successes, failures and projects along this path. We are not experts, only experiencers. I think I just made that word up (experiencers), spell check didn’t like it. We will share without preaching, hopefully creating a story of some sort. I know a lot of readers will have had some of the same experiences, please feel free to share yours in the comments.

Retirement isn’t the end of the road, but just a turn in the road.

Just A Picture – December 7, 2020

British Columbia, Canada, Hiking Trails, Kootenays, Moyie Lake
Moyie Lake

Lori and I took a walk, something we do regularly now and took this shot of Moyie Lake from the beach. Beautiful view from a sandy beach. Minus 5 Celsius, so not exactly beach weather. Ice is starting to form and kind of be noticeable to the right near the shore.

Just A Picture….and a Shameless Plug

British Columbia, Canada, Kootenays, Monroe Lake, Travel Trails

First the picture, overlooking Monroe Lake.

Monroe Lake After The Snow, Before The Ice
Now the plug. Having basically abandoning my blogging, with periodic stabs at reviving my interest, I am now committing to re-learning the techniques. Many changes since my last consistent typing. As I work on that, I am posting on a regular basis on my music site, https://therealcanadianmusicblog.com/ So far so good, have a ton of photos, videos and ideas for both and hope to get back into a regular schedule.