Today, with the weather forecast promising showers, we opted against Jeff’s planned trip to Dog Mountain, as it would take us up into the snow and snow with rain is one of the suckiest weather combos around. Instead, we headed over to the Coquitlam River Trail for a little under 3-hour hike. Unlike Baden-Powell, the river trail features little elevation gain and is relatively flat, so it was not as strenuous a workout, though I did pick up the pace a fair bit on our return.
With an overcast sky but mild temperatures, we set out sans jackets, with the plan to walk the trail to the point where one must ford the river. As it’s a bit deep this time of year and neither of us were carrying any portable watercraft, we would then reverse direction and head back the way we had come.
This was a nice, even relaxing hike. The trail at times moves far enough away from the river and any obvious signs of civilization to create the illusion that you are out there all on your own. We actually never encountered anyone going in, only on the way back. The most distinctive part of the hike–apart from several large and ripe patches of skunk cabbage growing in pond water–were the numerous points where parts of the river crosses the trail. One especially big one (check the photo gallery for more) probably discourages the casual types from proceeding farther, especially at this time of year when non-waterproof footwear means cold and soggy feet. I was happy to just make it across without falling in.
The red arrow on the sign is a bit confusing, as it points away from the trail but if you cast your eyes to the left there are no immediate private property signs that I could see, either, so I dunno. Mystery red arrow!
There are several fish traps near the start of the trail with big ol’ warning signs. This is part of a conservation effort, as the signs explained. I just like the incongruity of something as innocuous as ‘Fish Study in Progress’ being prefaced with DANGER.
We had some light snacks at the point where the river intersects the trail then stopped for lunch at Crystal Falls, where a mother/daughter biking duo and another group with a small dog were also taking pictures/resting. Jeff posed for a pic up close and personal with the waterfall and picked out his steps so carefully I could practically hear the calculations for each footstep in my mind.
As we got back to the truck the first few drops of rain began to fall, but the showers held off until we had packed everything up and headed out. All in all, a nice little excursion. The only downside was me apparently incubating a nasty flu bug the entire hike, which struck a couple of hours later. Weird how that sneaks up on you like some clever sneaky thing.
Gallery:
