Our visits to Banff, Revelstoke and Hope show that these Canadian cities have a lot of civic pride. They all seem to work to make their cities look nice and to celebrate their history. Here in Hope, I have seen these billboard size signs in a couple of places giving information about both the First Nations people of Stó:Lō who lived here for centuries (and how 90% died from small pox introduced by Spanish/Mexican traders) and of the European settlers who have dominated for the last two hundred years.
Our trail for Monday was the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. Part of the trail is maintained by the Fraser Valley Regional District and it is also designated as part of the Trans Canada Trail that goes from coast to coast to coast across Canada.
Since it is a former railroad bed, it is a level and easy place to hike - definitely HMB approved, with the possible exception of the wildlife.
The trail is some 50 to 100 feet above the Coquihalla River as we progressed uphill (a mere 2.2% grade we learned later) and upstream to the Tunnels we went through the day before.
We came across what was called a weeping wall in the American Glacier National Park - a rock wall where water is naturally seeping out and dripping to the ground below. Here is a short video of it:
We continued on and met a local couple out with their dogs. We chatted with them for several minutes and learned more about the local area, and they gave us some suggestions for places to visit (and some to avoid) during our stay in Hope.
We came across what appeared to be big handfuls of dog hair. At first, we wondered if an animal had been killed. Our best guess was that it appeared someone with a large, shaggy haired dog had brushed their dog while here on the trail.
These photos fail to show just how red this hillside looked, red enough to get us to stop and try to figure out what the plant was that had the red color - we could not figure it out.
We came across the point where the Tunnel Loops Trail connected and where we had been yesterday when there were large hordes of people. It was much quieter and much nicer to go through the area when you do not have hundreds of your closest friends present.
Yesterday, many people were taking selfies with this large tree that went across the channel in the rock dug to allow the train to go through. My question was where did they push the snow? The walls are high and the channel is several hundred feet long, so there was no place to push the snow.
As with yesterday, we were impressed with the beauty of Coquilhalla Canyon and River, as well as with the amazing engineering work done to build the four tunnels and connecting bridges of this section of the Kettle Valley Railroad.
As if the bear and cougar warnings were not enough, we also had to be warned that this was a high hazard area - and of course, some visitors simply cannot restrain themselves from climbing up on, to and around places they should not be - such is life.
The KVR was definitely an engineering marvel.
The couple we had met earlier told us about a side trail that goes from the railroad bed down to the river, so on the way back, we added that to our hike.
Metro Vancouver is now issuing an Air Quality Advisory valid for
tomorrow, August 1, 2017, for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley
because of high concentrations of fine particulate matter that are
expected to persist for several days.
Air quality today is currently good, but conditions are expected to change by tomorrow. The developing weather pattern over the BC Coast is causing outflow winds to carry smoke from wildfires burning in the BC Interior towards our region. Air quality forecast models are predicting smoke from these wildfires may reach ground-level in our region by early tomorrow morning. This advisory is expected to continue until there is a change in the current weather.
Smoke concentrations may vary widely across the region as winds and temperatures change, as well as fire behaviour.
Fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5, refers to airborne solid or liquid droplets with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres (μm) or less. PM2.5 can easily penetrate indoors because of their small size.
Persons with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, and lung or heart disease. If you are experiencing symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing, follow the advice of your healthcare provider. As we are in the summer season with warm temperatures, it is also important to stay cool and hydrated. Indoor spaces with air conditioning may offer relief from both heat and air pollution.
Metro Vancouver works in cooperation with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Fraser Valley Regional District and B.C. Ministry of Environment to look after air quality.
The smoke was still bad enough Tuesday morning that the mountains are nearly obscured from view and the sun is just a rather dim orange ball in the sky.
Our trail for Monday was the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. Part of the trail is maintained by the Fraser Valley Regional District and it is also designated as part of the Trans Canada Trail that goes from coast to coast to coast across Canada.
Since it is a former railroad bed, it is a level and easy place to hike - definitely HMB approved, with the possible exception of the wildlife.
The trail is some 50 to 100 feet above the Coquihalla River as we progressed uphill (a mere 2.2% grade we learned later) and upstream to the Tunnels we went through the day before.
We came across what was called a weeping wall in the American Glacier National Park - a rock wall where water is naturally seeping out and dripping to the ground below. Here is a short video of it:
We continued on and met a local couple out with their dogs. We chatted with them for several minutes and learned more about the local area, and they gave us some suggestions for places to visit (and some to avoid) during our stay in Hope.
We came across what appeared to be big handfuls of dog hair. At first, we wondered if an animal had been killed. Our best guess was that it appeared someone with a large, shaggy haired dog had brushed their dog while here on the trail.
These photos fail to show just how red this hillside looked, red enough to get us to stop and try to figure out what the plant was that had the red color - we could not figure it out.
We came across the point where the Tunnel Loops Trail connected and where we had been yesterday when there were large hordes of people. It was much quieter and much nicer to go through the area when you do not have hundreds of your closest friends present.
Yesterday, many people were taking selfies with this large tree that went across the channel in the rock dug to allow the train to go through. My question was where did they push the snow? The walls are high and the channel is several hundred feet long, so there was no place to push the snow.
As with yesterday, we were impressed with the beauty of Coquilhalla Canyon and River, as well as with the amazing engineering work done to build the four tunnels and connecting bridges of this section of the Kettle Valley Railroad.
As if the bear and cougar warnings were not enough, we also had to be warned that this was a high hazard area - and of course, some visitors simply cannot restrain themselves from climbing up on, to and around places they should not be - such is life.
The KVR was definitely an engineering marvel.
The couple we had met earlier told us about a side trail that goes from the railroad bed down to the river, so on the way back, we added that to our hike.
On our way back, we noticed that there appeared to be smoke in the air and after a while, we could even occasionally smell smoke. We later learned that there was an air quality advisory issued:
Air Quality Advisory Issued
July 31, 2017
Air quality today is currently good, but conditions are expected to change by tomorrow. The developing weather pattern over the BC Coast is causing outflow winds to carry smoke from wildfires burning in the BC Interior towards our region. Air quality forecast models are predicting smoke from these wildfires may reach ground-level in our region by early tomorrow morning. This advisory is expected to continue until there is a change in the current weather.
Smoke concentrations may vary widely across the region as winds and temperatures change, as well as fire behaviour.
Fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5, refers to airborne solid or liquid droplets with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres (μm) or less. PM2.5 can easily penetrate indoors because of their small size.
Persons with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, and lung or heart disease. If you are experiencing symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing, follow the advice of your healthcare provider. As we are in the summer season with warm temperatures, it is also important to stay cool and hydrated. Indoor spaces with air conditioning may offer relief from both heat and air pollution.
Metro Vancouver works in cooperation with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Fraser Valley Regional District and B.C. Ministry of Environment to look after air quality.
The smoke was still bad enough Tuesday morning that the mountains are nearly obscured from view and the sun is just a rather dim orange ball in the sky.
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