2008-08-10

MTM: Whitemud Creek

I am going to apologize right off the bat. I have a migraine so this will mostly be a pictorial MTM post.

Saturday evening after a wonderful bbq steak dinner, my friends & I went for a walk down in Whitemud Creek. The city was under severe thunderstorm watches and we weren't sure how far we would be able to get before the skies opened up.

This is the first photo I took as we got out of the car. The moon was still visible and that portion of the sky was still blue, but you can see the beginnings of some clouds.


This is the the ravine itself, where the trail begins it southward journey. There is an area by the parking that is manicured and has picnic tables set up. The signs tell you what kind of animals you may see on your walk. No bikes allowed on this portion of the trail.

This is from the bridge (#250 - I don't know how they are numbering the bridges, but thought I would point it out ;)) The water is quite still here at this time of year and you can see the nasty clouds building in the reflection.

The other side of the bridge, you can see algae forming.

There are several old trees along the path that they have avoided removing. We also noticed they are protecting the trunks of several others with wire mesh to keep the wildlife from toppling them.

This is the second bridge (#251 - imagine that) and it gives you an idea of how high the ravine is in this area. You would never know you were in a city of about 1,000,000 people.


These stairs lead down to the third bridge, but as I wasn't aware we were going to be going walking (on gravel no less), I was not properly shod for the hike. We stopped here and made our way back.


This is at the top of the stairs.

I had to go down a few steps to get a good angle on this pretty rock.

Back near the trail head, the weeds are all in various states of bloom and seed and I thought they looked rather pretty.

There is a short little loop that you can make that will take you to the Hwy overpass and here is where I found evidence of Beavers at work. (sorry for the blur)

This is looking under the Hwy to the setting sun. The storm didn't roll through until about 23.00 hrs, so we would have had time to go elsewhere, but better safe than sorry.

It was a short walk of about 30 minutes, about a mile traversed, little hills and such to go up & down. Not many other people on the trails either which was nice. It was also the first time I have walked that trail.

I hope you enjoyed your hike in the woods.


Travis Erwin is the creator of My Town Monday and if you visit his site, he has links set up to all the others that post about their own towns.


Have a good day all.

23 comments:

Unknown said...

This was really very cool! Thanks for the tour!
Cheers,
Robyn

Crabby McSlacker said...

What a great hike! Beautiful photos, I felt like I was there.

And sorry about your migraine!

Leah J. Utas said...

Beautiful camera work, Reb. I love the stuff from the bridges. It is hard to believe there's a city around the ravine. You did a really good job with this. I was especially fond of the reflection photo, but they're all good.

Dianne said...

Hope your head feel better now!

I loved the hike, thanks

Missicat said...

Very beautiful!! Those stairs look impressive....

the Bag Lady said...

Lovely photos, sis! It's great that there is such a nice area in the city.
Hope your migraine is gone!

gary rith said...

my goodness, so pretty!

Reb said...

Robyn thanks, glad you enjoyed.

Crabby thanks. It is a nice hike.

Leah, thanks so much! It is hard to believe the city is there.

Dianne, thanks much better. Glad you enjoyed.

Thanks Missicat, yes they are.

Thanks Sis, yes and that was such a small portion of the trail. It's gone.

Gary, thanks.

Jay said...

So what animals MIGHT you encounter on the trails? Nothing that will shred you into a thousand little pieces I hope! haha

Enjoyed all the pics! Very scenic.

pattinase (abbott) said...

The pictures said it all.

Fortune Cookies said...

thanks for the virtual hike! I needed to stretch my legs just now! What great shots you got! I'm going hiking with you next time :)

Reb said...

Well, Jay, if you are lucky, you will only see squirrels, birds and bugs. Maybe a porcupine or beaver. The possibility of coyotes is high, along with cougars. Deer and elk have been dislocated with all the construction, so you might run into one or two of them.

Patti, thanks!

FC, thanks. I am glad you enjoyed and you are welcome along anytime at all.

David Cranmer said...

It's hard for me to believe, after seeing beautiful photos like these, that I haven't visited my neighbors to the north.

Stacy said...

Looks very peaceful. I love nature walks.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Reb said...

David, thank you. We have all kinds of beauty up here and we are more than happy to share it.

Stacy, glad you enjoyed it.

Joshua said...

very cool post

Reb said...

Joshua, thanks! Glad you dropped by.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the armchair hike!
I miss the West...

Reb said...

Kcinnova, your more than welcome to join me whenever I go.

debra said...

Thanks, Reb. What a beautiful place--and in the middle of the city! I'm so glad it hasn't been developed.

Reb said...

Debra, thanks. Our city does a good job of keeping it undeveloped.

Barbara Martin said...

Nice photos of Whitemud: interesting the City cultivated a trail.

The population surprised me: when I left 26 years ago the greater Edmonton area was 600,000.

Reb said...

Thanks Barbara. The city has connected trails all along the river valley. That population total would be the metro area.