Mon, Dec 28 2009 - Elk Island Snowshoe Walk (View Original Event Details)
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Just a really nice day at Elk Island, and a couple of trails well worth doing.
The temperature was around -14 in the morning and didn't vary too much from that throughout the day, so no one froze too badly. Perfect for an EOC winter event.
14 people turned out, many to try out the new snowshoes they'd got for Christmas. We met at Belvedere Station and made our way out to the Beaver Pond Trailhead. After a bit of fussing and fiddling with bindings and boots we got on our way.
Beaver Pond is a nice 4 km walk through the bush on rolling terrain, and because it's not too hilly, it was a good way to warm up and get used to having feet a few sizes larger than usual. It took us over an hour to do the loop, with many stops for photo opportunities and adjustements, then we loaded into our vehicles and made our way to Amisk Wuche.
However, no one realized until too late that the sign for the Amisk Wuche turnout can only be seen when driving north on the highway, so our southbound drive became a bit longer than planned. After everyone managed to get turned around and back to the trailhead, we got rigged up again for what we thought would be a shorter and easier romp along a scenic trail. It turns out, though, that Amisk Wuche has been designed to give a bit of a workout, using the local 'knob and kettle' terrain to its best advantage. It includes a number of fairly steep ascents, and with snowshoes on, and a few weights in the backpack, would be a good conditioning jaunt to prepare for summer hikes.
A nice brisk walk, then back to the trailhead after a bit less than an hour, and back to town. Some people went to BP for a late lunch afterwards.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Mark G at photos@edmontonoutdoorclub.com. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to thirty of your favourites (only) for a day event, or up to sixty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.