BRIAN REID PHOTOGRAPHER
Canada West Day 21 - Strathcona Provincial Park
Sunday, 28 May 2023 04:37
Yes more waterfalls. I spent the day in Strathcona Provincial Park with its entrance around 60 km from Campbell River. The morning clouds were soon gone as I took the trail to the upper Myra Falls which starts at the Myra Falls mine. This mine is currently under care and maintenance but has produced copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver in the past when it was economically viable. The trail is moderate with a climb of about 150 m (around 500 ft) over a trail a little less than 9km round trip. It opens along one of the mine roads where the shot below was taken off one of the other three ‘groups’ I met along the way. As an aside this trail was one that I was going to let Martin know I was on, just in case, but there was no mobile phone signal. In fact the signal died within a couple of kilometres from Campbell River! Being in a mining area I guess you expect explosives. The fun thing is the yellow sign. “No sh*t Sherlock!” as the bard might have said. Once on the trail proper the plants were fascinating with some looking like they came from an alien world. The trail was generally good if a little rough in places and there were occasional giant moss covered boulders to add to the interest. There were even some crystal clear pools of water to negotiate. You can guess I really like this trail and it provided not just one but two waterfalls, a taster from which the headline picture is taken. The big one was a clear drop of about 23m (75 ft) and then cascades down for hundreds of feet into the forest below. One of the features of trails like this is that you hear the falls some time before you see them, raising the anticipation level. Back down through the mine it is a lovely run along Buttle Lake with a couple of nice stopping points for views of the snow capped mountains and forested slopes. I was not done with waterfalls as there was Lady Falls with a little walk up trail to a viewpoint and it was worth it. The wind had picked up as the day wore on as can be seen on the lake surface and it was blowing spray across to the viewing platform and the falls itself was generating plenty of that from its about 100ft drop. I took my evening constitutional to the Riptide for dinner, good food and good beer, enjoying the sights along the harbour side rounding of a fine day in this neck of the woods.