Five plucky Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists braved -16 degree weather on Saturday, Feb. 8, to snowshoe the back area of Baldy Mountain, aka Iron Mountain. Once we started climbing it didn’t seem cold at all! It was another pristine winter day, with clear blue skies and full, warming sunshine, as Thea Adamo led us amongst the scenic rolling hills. Other than wildlife tracks and a few birds calling, including a Clark’s Nutcracker, we saw no signs of life. One of the benefits of hiking in the Princeton area is that you can be immersed in the wilderness only minutes from town.
Deep Snow up Stemwinder
Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists held yet another snowshoeing field-trip on Saturday, Feb.22, this time up Stemwinder Mtn. Nine of us took a circular route up to km. 7 and back again to the cabin. Many thanks to John Henry who took the lead through very deep snow, and created a nice trench in which the rest of us could follow. Tip helped out by giving John a break every now and then, when conditions were right. The scenery was beautiful as we wound our way through the woods, amongst trees heavily laden with snow, with the sun trying hard to peek out at us. We spotted tracks of moose, deer, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks, as well as bear claw markings up several trees. Laughter and cheers rang out for those of us who had difficulty righting ourselves after falling into the soft, extensive pillows of snow, and it was with exuberance that we ended our outing at the cabin with lunch and hot chocolate.
Our next field-trip is scheduled to be at lower Allenby on Saturday, March 8, led by John Henry. This will be a moderate hike with a focus on geology, however, everything hinges on snow conditions, so there may be changes. We will meet at Billy’s at 10 am. Please contact John at 295-7154 for more info.
VFFN’s next meeting will be held Tuesday, March 11, 7 p.m. at Riverside Centre, when Tanya Luszcz from Penticton will give a presentation on birds. Please join us for an interesting and social evening.