Although the mild temperatures experienced lately equate to melting snow, Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists managed to find enough of the fluffy white variety for snowshoeing on Saturday, January 11. John Henry and Mary Masiel led us out to Wolfe Belgie Road, beyond the Copper Mountain mine, where we trekked along in a series of mini-blizzards, in fact.
The snow fell so heavily that the 13 of us were, at times, covered in white, almost as heavily laden as the trees alongside the trail. It was truly a winter wonderland, and after two hours of climbing we stopped for lunch under the protection of trees. Within a minute John, most impressively, had a small fire started, and we gathered around in appreciation of the lovely setting. After lunch the group split up, as the more intrepid continued on another couple of hours, while five of us retraced our steps, the indentations of which were already filled in by the continuing snowfall, and returned to our vehicles. It was a great adventure, and we do appreciate the leadership John and Mary have shown in organizing several field trips during the last few months!
Our next field trip will be led by Terry and Greg Tellier on January 25, out near Osprey Lake. Originally intended to be a 2-hour snowshoe outing, this may turn into a walk along the lake, if the warmer weather persists. For more information or to confirm attendance please call Terry at 295-7354.
Our next meeting will take place at Riverside Centre, Tues, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m., when John and Mary will provide a presentation on their trip to Croatia. As always, the public is more than welcome to join us on field trips and at meetings.