Three short hikes around Lake Windermere……hoodoos and wetlands.

After a longer walk yesterday (and the first real one of our hiking season) in combination with 30 degree (C) weather…the plan for the day was three shorter lowland hikes……ones that (from their reviews) promised some interesting views.

The first was up onto the hoodoos at the south end of Lake Windermere. A short walk up…….spectacular viewpoint.

Part 1.

Hoodoo trail.

This trail was a well-travelled, fairly busy (i.e. we actually saw other people..!!) short easy hike. Steep hill but well maintained gravel path.

It was a decent reward for not a lot of work to get it…..

…and a very beautiful clear day……despite all the wildfires happening to the north……so far we have had very little smoke.

It’s impossible not to be impressed by the landscapes that BC offers…..no matter how many of them we see.

Part 2.

Colombia Wetland trail

The second short walk was wetland. I was trying to mix it up a bit re the kind of terrain we were on this day. It was a more exposed and easier walk but about as hard as one would want to be walking on a hot day.

The end of the walk offered a lovely vista of the lake…but we were a little disappointed not to have any real lake access…we had been hoping to end up on a beach….

The loop back took us down through some lush forest. Lovely and cool as the day was heating up……but the mossies were stirring…..so there was no lingering in the shade.

Part 3.

Windermere Lake Provincial Park.

The third pick of the day was Lake Windermere Provincial Park. The trailhead was a little more difficult to find…a longer walk…and part in forest, part across very exposed meadow.

At the bottom of the meadow path, it crosses the rail line. Then as you pass down to the beach there is a protected area that is the habitat for Bank Swallows that live in this small area. (click)

The Alltrails trail goes along the waterline to a beach…but the lake level was too high for there to be any way for us to traverse this reasonably….and we could not see a way to get there on land without encroaching on the bank swallows habitat……so around we turned…and back up the meadow.

It always surprises me when we return down a path at how steep it is going down compared to the up. This one was the reverse….it was hard going back up the meadow especially as the heat of the day was starting to take hold.

Another good day to finish in the hot pool.