Storm on the Mountain – BCC (July 6, 2016)

When we woke the river was no longer rushing and roaring.  With the rain yesterday we have changed our plans of working on Pink Mountain this morning. Our next option was to drive Buckinghorse Road.  Up on the ridge we found a series of roads through the forest to the pads of gas wells.  We had a good start and were out on the road at 8.  Shortly after we were on the ridge we saw a little black bear at the side of the road. 

Our first foray into the trees on the ridge was thick with alder.  Now alder grows out as a bush from the base.  The branches then grow eight to ten feet tall in a web.  These can interconnect.  So when you bend some one way the next are crisscrossing the opposite way, just as if woven in a web.  Furthermore the long branches are long enough you can’t push them out of the way.  One has to either or both step on some and lift the others, just as if unraveling a piece of fabric.  We walked around or rather thrashed our way slowly.  We found nothing.  Walked out to the road and then a little farther on tried again.  Nothing.  While in the forest we saw bear scat twice and several trees with bear claw scratches.

Carpets of bunch berry and my favorite Linneas or twin flower as called in North America, a treat to see.

Back in the car we drove down the road, looking for a spot where one can see through the trees, a spot where there had been a fire.  The next one was great.  Once through the alder and willow along the road, the trees were openly spaced.  We were in a fairy world.  The ground was thick with sphagnum moss, Linneas, bunch berry, pyrola, and false lily of the valley.  Our feet sunk a good six inches.  Our steps were silent and bouncy.  I expected any minute to see the forest family Elsa Beskow wrote about. After walking and walking, we found eventually two boulders.  Heather and I were working on the second boulder.  Anders was down the ridge looking for another.  Berto just returned with word that he had not found anything.  I was down near the ground when I saw a flash and wondered where the camera flash had come from, since I had the camera in my pocket.  Heather had been saying we should get off the ridge since we were hearing thunder.  Suddenly only a couple of seconds after the flash there was a huge clap of thunder.  We all fell to the ground and she shouted, “Get on your heels.  Keep your heels in contact.”  We scrambled up a bit and crouched with our heels on the ground.  Heather quickly finished her notes and we gathered all and scrambled up to the Expedition. 

Once inside rain fell. 

We continued down Buckinghorse Road back to the Alcan and back to Pink Mountain, a spot in the road with a gas station-liquor store, camp ground on one side and the Buffalo Inn and some prefabs for gas worker housing on the other.

Housing for gas workers at Pink Mountain

Got gas

and went to Buffalo Inn for Wi-Fi, lunch and to plan what to do.

While Berto got gas he talked to people in the store asking about what was happening on Pink Mountain.  He learned that a group of fourteen youth campers were be rescued off Pink Mountain because of washed out roads.  Remember how we had to turn around on our drive to Pink Mountain yesterday.  On another ridge to the east of the highway a party of campers on 4 wheelers were being helicoptered out because of the weather.  

Buffalo Inn was great.  It had a central hall like in a home.  To the left was the café and to the right a living area by a fire place and farther down the hall a pub.  In the center hall entrance they had two signs telling patrons to remove their muddy boots, actually all footwear.  They had racks for boots. 

As some might know, I am a 4-H leader.  Had to include this sign just above the muddy boots sign.

We walked into the dining room in our stocking feet.  We had poutine, great big pots of tea, amazing homemade French fries and burgers. After studying the map, the decision was made to return to the south end of Buckinghorse Road where we had seen a few boulders that had been bulldozed to the side.  

Back through the alder and willow into the fairyland.  We spread out and walked down the ridge and walked and walked, seeing nothing.    As I walked along I notice white flakes in the pockets of moss.  I was speculating on what little animal had eaten pine cones. But why were they so white? I continued some more and suddenly I realized this lace was actually hail.  All over in the pockets of moss were quarter inch pellets.  Finally, Anders spotted one.  That made three by four o’clock.  We kept looking and looking.  The erratic that Anders found was covered by six inches of  moss and lichen.  He actually saw it as he had climbed back up the slope.  So that was our new tactic to climb up the slope as we looked.  Another was spotted.  As samples were taken we kept looking.  The call went out when another boulder was found.  So six samples have  now been collected off Buckinghorse Ridge.  Good news for not being able to collect at the original site of Pink Mountain; a full day to collect the six.  BCC (British Columbia Central) is now finished.

With 60 samples we headed north on the Alcan to Fort Nelson for BCN  (British Columbia North).  From there we drove to Testa River Camp Site near the peaks Steamboat and Tepee.

Along the way we saw a little black bear on the road side.  The Testa River is roaring along.  The shore is bars of cobbles. The vast majority of rock material is locally derived from the local bedrock but we see many cobbles and boulders from the Canadian Shield.  So why do we see all these granitic boulders in the valley?  Initially there would have been more sandstone boulders, but they have eroded away with the stronger granite rocks remaining.

Tents are up and we are so fortunate to have a little wooden pavilion with a small box wood burning stove.  We are cooking on the picnic table in the pavilion.  Rain is pouring.  Deluges.  Around the picnic table with maps, we are making plans for tomorrow's collecting.

Along the Testa River.  The spots are the mist in the air.