Hiking The Rockwall Trail, Kootenay National Park (British Columbia) - Days 1-1.5.

I hope that you, the loyal readers of BTOG, are having a fine summer.

Every summer, it seems, I embark on some kind of big adventurous trek in the Rocky Mountains.

I just came back from Kootenay National Park, British Columbia where I completed, along with my pals Ahmed and Larry, the spectacular Rockwall Circuit.

(Note: We hiked from July 28th to August 1st, 2009)


Larry (left) and Ahmed at the Floe Creek trail head ready for five days of wahoo fun in them Rocky Mountains. The clouds were pretty low and threatened to burst open on us any moment that day. (Back in '95 we snickered at the Europeans who used trekking poles while walking in the Himalayas. We called them the "clickety clacks" 'cause we could always hear them coming. Its come full circle. I can't imagine not using the poles now. My rickety old knees thank them.)

First came the crossing of the Vermillion River. Its kind of obvious in the photo, but in 2003 a massive forest fire swept through these parts, traveling up the Floe Creek valley... almost to Floe Lake itself.

Bridge over the River Vermillion. Moments after this shot, the skies just opened up. For a few minutes there I thought the trip was going to be damp and miserable. The weather turned for the better as the rest of the trek was brilliantly hot and sunny (except for third night).

The Floe Lake hike was pretty popular. We started at about 2:30 pm and came across large packs of dayhikers (many who were elderly) heading back to the parking lot.

More evidence of fire history.

Fireweed (Epilobium augustifolium) seemed to proliferate in the burnt over forest.

I neglected to bring my macro lens but the 18-200 mm (zoomed out) was an adequate substitute. The bokeh produced by this all-in-one lens was surprisingly nice as seen in this pic of more fireweed.

The boys sitting on the only bench along the way. Floe Lake was nestled at the foot of the mountain in the background (left). Up till this point, we were gaining altitude gently, following the valley floor. All hell broke loose after this little break. The trail would gain about 1000 m in the next 2 km following a set of heartbreaking switchbacks, ending finally in the alpine meadows of Floe Lake.

Common Stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum). Succulent stems and leaves are purportedly tasty.

More Common Stonecrop. Low lying (10-15 cm tall), Stonecrop grows in scree slopes.

Golden Buckwheat (Eriogonum flavum).

Tall Purple Fleabane (Erigeron peregrinus). Pretty, ubiquitous plants (60 to 80 cm tall).

Tall Purple Fleabane from the side.

Common Harebell or the Bluebell Bellflower (Campanula rotundofolia)

The Cree Indians used the dried roots of the Common Harebell to stop bleeding and swelling.

Looks delish but the Common Harebell is packed with nasty tasting alkaloids and are passed over by grazers.

Home sweet home. After 5.5 hours, we reached the Floe Lake, the first over night stop in the Rockwall Circuit. Did I mention that we stayed in Warden Patrol Cabins along the way? Once I got a taste of staying in these rustic log cabins, I swore I was never going back to the primitive practice of roughing it in tents.

I've stayed in other cabins, in Glacier National Park (BC), but none were comparable to the palatial digs of the Floe Lake cabin. Propane gas fixtures were to die for.

Soft bunk beds!!! Man, the Wardens live a cushy life. I could imagine the New Year's Eve parties they've had here over the years...

View of the Rockwall and Floe Lake from the deck of the cabin. The "Rockwall" is actually part of the Vermillion Range of the Rockies, extending 40 or so km to the north. Floe Lake is named for icebergs calving off the glaciers found at lake's edge.

The Nitty Gritty...

If you plan on approaching from the north, look for the Highway 93 junction on the Trans Canada. Drive south at this point for about a half hour.

We chose to hike in Buddhist-esque tradition (i.e. clockwise direction). In this case, look for the trail head at the Floe Lake parking lot (A). If you're an animist (Bon), hike the trail in a counterclockwise direction starting off at the Paint Pots parking lot (E).

For the record we camped at Floe Lake (B), then Wolverine Pass (C), and finally at Helmet Falls (D).

A very good reference for the hike is found in the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide (Patton and Robinson).

The Eagle, Er, Blue Crane Has Landed - Etosha National Park, Namibia

The Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradisea), Etosha.

Birds R cool. Yes, you heard it here. In terms of biodiversity, they wack the number of mammalian species in the Park.

There are approximately 280 species of birds found in Etosha. Few are more majestic or graceful than the Blue Crane. Adults grow to a height of 100 to 120 cm and up to 6.2 kg in mass.

I like that crane's bulbous head...

Unfortunately, the numbers of Blue Cranes is dwindling. The ICUN Red List classifies the species as vulnerable, meaning eventual extinction if mitigating factors such as habitat destructions aren't dealt with.

The Blue Crane population in the Park is around 70 breeding individuals.

As we were watching these cranes, I couldn't believe cars were whizzing by without stopping for a look...

Blue Crane Factoid of the Day...

The Blue Crane is the National Bird of South Africa.

The Eagle Has Landed...

If you know me, and most of my loyal readers do, you know that I'm a NASA-outer space exploration-astronomy junkie.

Well, this week marks the 40th Anniversary of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the surface of the Moon.

If you missed this inspirational moment back in 1969, surf to We Choose the Moon, a really neat website that is "replaying" the events that transpired in "real time", complete with the original soundtrack of the mission. If you're into twitter, the website will send you "tweets" to keep you up-to-date with mission happenings.

As of writing, the crew is 90 hr. 18 min and 15 sec from landing on the moon.

NASA has posted new digitally enhanced Apollo footage on it's site. The footage is crystal clear, as if it was filmed in a Hollywood sound stage just yesterday. Oops. Forget about that last comment.

If you haven't signed it out of the local public library, or rented it, make sure you watch the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon.

Or, else.

I guarantee it will make you cry like a little baby...

I did.

Finally, as a tribute to both the moon landing and Michael Jackson, I leave you with this link.

MJ, I know you're up there somewhere...doing the eternal moonwalk with the rest of us...

I Want a Rhinoceros for Christmas...Throw in a Leopard While You're At It - Etosha National Park, Namibia.

The plains of Etosha were vast and at times appeared to be void of animals (large mammals in particular).

Our patience and persistence on the safari beat eventually paid off in finding the animals we wanted to see.

After a long, hot, dusty day of pounding Etosha gravel roads, me and Ahmed were driving back to Halali Camp. The sun was setting below the endless horizon, bathing the landscape of the expansive veld in golden light.

Ahmed brought the car to a screeching halt.

Three cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) lounged under a distant acacia tree to our left. Yes! Pay dirt! Our first cheetahs!

Pressed for time, we drove on.

Again, Ahmed stopped the vehicle in its tracks.

Three white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum) to the left!

Damn the Camp!! We rushed onward.

Driving around a big bend in the road, we saw what we thought was an injured animal lying on the edge of the vegetation. It was rather large for being roadkill. Ahmed slowed the car down. As we approached, the animal's head swung up.

The spotted mass was a sleepy leopard (Panthera pardus pardus)!

Holy crap! Bingo!

Pandemonium ensued, as we grabbed our cameras.

A little too much pandemonium in the car. Fast leopard, slow lens meant fuzzy leopard. Interesting abstract I guess.

In the span of 25 minutes we made three amazing observations...

My advice, don't stop looking. Never give up...

The cheetahs were really far from the road, but I managed to film the white rhinos and the leopard. Here's a taste of the chase:

Director's commentary:

00:12. Ahmed gets out of the car to observe the rhinos. Please do not try this at home unless you look both ways for large carnivores like cheetahs, lions, or leopards.

00:14. The darker rhino lets loose a violent power pee; easily mistaken for a jet plane taking off.

01:00. Ahmed tries to gain the attention of the leopard. By the way, using the psst...psst command is a legitimate photographic technique.

01:12. I think I was delirious from the heat in the car when I announced the distance to the cat was 700 metres. Clearly, it was about 30 metres. My bad.

Ed. note:

We missed the closing time of Halali Camp and were locked out.

African Elephant Sighting - Fire in the Hole! Fire in the Hole! - Etosha National Park, Namibia

Another example how close my friend Ahmed can get us to some of these animals. We spotted this mud covered elephant bull about 200 m off the road. We stopped to watch. The elephant was walking towards the road. Ahmed gauged the situation. He moved the car about 50 m ahead. The elephant crossed the road about 10 to 15 m behind us. Not bad tracking, eh? Made for a good set of photos...

One of the biggest elephants I've ever seen. I'd guess 4-5 m in height and really massive... Notice the tiny car on the other side of the elephant...yikes.
The African Elephant, despite it's apparent calm, cool, and collected outward appearance, ranks up there with the most dangerous African animals. Good advice is to stay in the car or risk being crushed or being gored/tossed/tapped with one of them tusks.

Nice portrait. If you're caught out of the car and the elephant starts flapping its ears while engaged in a staring contest with you (followed by a ear piercing trumpet of a call), make yourself scarce. Find a very thick tree nearby and hide behind it. Forget about running...or climbing.

Elephant Factoid of the Day...

Healthy adult African Bush Elephants (Loxodonta africana) have no natural predators...some young adult bulls have been known to attack and kill rhinoceroses.

Who let the birds out? Part One... The Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris), Etosha National Park, Namibia

Recite "ker-bek-ker-bek-ker-bek-krrrrr..." repeatedly and you'll likely attract flocks of the Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris).

The above is one of my all time favourite wildlife pix.

Described as "very common" in sub-Saharan Africa by Newman's Birds of Southern Africa, I love these birds. Their plummage is so psychodelic. Just gaze at their bodies. It's mesmerizing. Their heads are crazy, futuristic looking.

And, unlike most birds that are tiny, I can get a decent image of them with my measly Nikon 75-300 mm (1.5X crop factor) zoom lens.

Helmeted Guineafowl Factoids of the Day...

Tastes like chicken... just kidding...

Bigger than a bucket of KFC, but smaller than a turkey...

Extremely gregarious when not breeding. Flocks are composed of up to 25 birds...

Who's scared of the big bad lion (Panthera leo)? Me!! - Etosha National Park, Namibia

My, Mr. Lion, what big eyes you have...and that sweet, sweet breath... Look for the reflection of a little iddy biddy, trembling Chinese dude in his eyes.

My safari mate and good friend Ahmed has this knack of getting us really close to wildlife. On this occasion, he drove right up close to a small group (3 or 4) of bachelor lions.

How close? I, in the passenger front seat, was less than 2 metres from the closest lion, with the window wide open. I could see the reflection of the car in the big cat's eyes.

For the first time, I actually had to zoom out with the camera lens to take photos in Etosha.

Suffice to say, I suggested to Ahmed to keep the car running and his foot on top of the throttle just in case.

Crazy thing about the situation is that the second you stick an appendage out the car door or window, you are toast my friends, lion snack, tender vittles, etc.

Mantra of the moment, "stay in the car, stay in the car..."

My, Mr. Lion, what great big teeth you have...

My life as a lion (Panthera leo leo)... C'mon lion, go out and kill something for the tourists. Maybe let out a bit of a roar...or, at least yawn.

Factoid of the day...

According to my Road Map of the Etosha National Park (1994), the lion population was estimated at 300.

Gnu Kid On The Savannah (GKOTS) - Etosha National Park, Namibia

Connochaetes taurinus aka the Gnu (pronounced "G-new" or just "new"), aka the Blue Wildebeest (for the bluish/grey sheen of it's hide), aka the Brindled Gnu. Thank God for scientific names.

Often described as an "ungainly" ungulate, wildebeests grow to 1.7m at the shoulder, and weigh up to 380kg.

The front-heavy wildebeest reminds me of the Orcs in the Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. They look rather clumsy but are in fact quite agile on their hooves. Healthy adults are renown for taking on and beating the crap out of predators such as lions. On the other hand, in terms of observation and photography, these were amongst the most skittish creatures around.

Definitely Not An Adidas Running Shoe - Springbok (Gazelle), Etosha, Namibia...

There's one in every crowd... At least someone's paying attention to the nutty photogs...

Daytime temperatures while we were in Etosha rose into the upper thirties. Crazy tourists sat in their hot furnace-like vehicles while the wiser Springboks (Antidorcas marsupialis) took refuge from the blazing sun under the shade of leafy green trees.

Springbok (Afrikaans) = Spring (jump) + bok (antelope)

Springboks can jump to a height of 3.5 m.

To communicate the presence of predators, springboks will pronk or serially jump into the air while running.

The South African National Rugby Team is nicknamed the Springboks.

Source: Wikipedia.

Definitely not a Chevrolet - The Black Faced Impala, Etosha National Park, Namibia...

This no bambi. It's Aepyceros melampus petersi (common names: Black-Faced Impala (English) or Rooibok (Afrikaans))!

This sub-species seems to be endemic to Namibia. The Black-faced Impala is listed as vulnerable to extinction. According to the ICUN listing, there are approximately 1000 animals left in Namibia.

Gotta keep up fighting skills for rutting season... Described as the quintessential African antelope, males grow to 55-75 kg while female weigh in at 35-53 kg.

Being gregarious animals, impalas tend to group together in large herds. When resources like food are plentiful, male impalas become territorial, taking possession of females that wander into their respective territories and kicking out bachelor males. A male impala may have a "harem" of up to 100 females in some cases.

Little known impala factoids:

Impala appear as appetizers in the menus of cheetah and leopards.

Adults can leap 12 m and 3 m in height in a single bound!

Sunday Driving - Etosha National Park, Namibia

Be prepared to share the road while driving in Etosha.

Very wide load... (Loxodonta africana)

Very narrow load...(Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa).

Etosha Factoids of the day.

Etosha National Park was established by German occupiers in 1907. Originally the size of the park was 100,000 sq. km. Due to "political pressure", the park was reduced to its current size of 22,270 sq. km.

"The Park is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and, surprisingly, one species of fish".

I must report no sightings of fish in the park.