Jan 14th. An easy walk in the snow….!!! well……that was the plan….!!!

Well it started out as an idea. With the snow melting fairly rapidly here at ground level ..and having had a couple of days of rain, the prospects of muddy walks were not particularly appealing.

The promise in the weather forecast was for a reasonably warm daytime high of plus 3°C .(…you take what you can get…!!) and we have been shut indoors for a bit too long now…..so revisiting the KVR little tunnel seemed sensible…..nice even gravel path, easy elevation…..beautiful views that should be impressive in the remaining snow.

When we got there what we found was a snow covered, barely travelled path….about 8 to 10 inches I would estimate. So much for the nice gravel path. Oh well…!! ..it became an excellent opportunity to try out our newly purchased long gaitors..!!

Lets just say it was hard going…….

The weather network had promised sunny breaks in the early afternoon (the sun is still disappearing from the sky behind the mountains at about 3 pm ish…) so we were confident of some worthwhile views and pix.

It was really foggy. Heading up the trail, We were walking towards the fog/low lying clouds. It is a very interesting effect…that very clean line of the bottom edge of the cloud.

The views down to the lake make that effect much more dramatic……..especially as we approached the tunnel. Watching the other side of Okanagan lake…the sun broke through onto the water.

The glittery, ripply sunspot is truly something to behold. We gasped…held our breath a little, and raced, as fast as the deep snow would allow, to the tunnel hoping it would still be there when we got to the other side. The intensity, shape and colour of the light changes by the second as it moves up the valley and fresh openings cleave through the cloud cover. The silence only adds to the majesty of it all.

Being January 14th…it is also what would have been my fathers 101st birthday. Last year my niece and her partner organised a virtual run in memoriam..my (Macfarlane) tartan buff is from that run.

That sunlight display across the lake rewarded our efforts with an unfolding burnished, other-worldly spectacle.

We (I…!!) decided against trying the ladybug walk out onto the rock formations. Just a bit too icy and slippery (despite the fact that any pictures from there would (almost) have been worth it.)

The walk back down was vaguely easier….but it might just have been the psychological effect of knowing we were going downhill.(……and the knowledge that there was coffee in a thermos waiting in the truck.)

By this time our legs were…well tired is one word…….the constant unevenness and lack of traction are hard going on the hips and ankles. Interestingly its easier to walk in the fresh snow to your knees cos at least your footfall is even…and there is a little bit of traction. Walking in this stuff…… imagine staggering drunkenly for 10 km!!! ( Editor. Hmmm no idea what that might be like )

It was as beautiful (if a little veiled) as expected…….and despite the complainting…..it was great fun….!!!

The highlight of the journey down was the fleeting appearance of this little rainbow cloud…….I hope you can see it…..it was much clearer in life and we almost missed catching it on camera…..

The next trip out was a hilariously death defying trip up a trail we found on the east side of Skaha lake.

( PS if anyone is interested, here is the link to the same hike pre-snow.. https://osteopraxis.com/2022/01/02/nov-26th-naramata-kettle-valley-rail-to-little-tunnel/ )

Extra pix