The days are short enough now that I’m struggling with motivation to do weekday rides – it’s already getting dark when I wrap up work, and it’s been chilly and wet to boot. This weekend, however, I got out for the better part of the day both days – on Saturday it was a loop around Burnaby on the Bombadil, carrying my new camera setup for hopefully some bird photos, and then Sunday I rode the Seymour valley on the Rambler with a couple friends.
Saturday’s ride was decidedly relaxed, which the Bombadil is perfect for. The forecast originally called for heavy rain, but the system moved through early and instead it was cloudy. Here is passing over the Douglas Rd overpass over Hwy 1:
My loose plan was to ride to Deer Lake, then over to Burnaby Lake via the new pedestrian overpass, then to Dageraad for a burger and beer. Both lakes are good for birds and I had specific species I wanted to find (spoiler: did not), and I’ve got a well-sorted chill route to get there which involves passing through the Discovery Place wooded area:
The colours were fantastic, with most deciduous trees still hanging on to enough leaves to keep the show going.
The clouds continued to get more interesting, too. Here a bunch of cackling and Canada geese fly over the lawns at Deer Lake. I locked up the Bombadil and walked the boardwalk in search of good photo opportunities. There were a variety of waterfowl but nothing particularly interesting to report. I got photos of the lovely autumn scene instead.
I didn’t actually take any phone pictures between the lakes or at Burnaby Lake, though I did get some bird photos – a varied thrush and a fox sparrow pictured below:
Then I captured some scenes along the way to Dageraad – just with my phone since the only lens I had on the ‘real’ camera was the telephoto.
That dog came up to give me kisses on multiple occasions, thankfully I finished my burger in peace though. When I left, the clouds had continued to get more dramatic, and I spent quite a bit of time marvelling them.
I made a last-second decision to pop over the Second Narrows bridge and stop at Maplewood, to round out the ride to three birding opportunities. By the time I arrived it was 4pm and with the incoming storm clouds, the birds were very quiet. Other than a Kingfisher making a racket, that is. I walked a loop with an older woman who was worried about recent bear sightings then headed on home.
That’s a wrap on the Saturday ride, now on to Sunday’s outing.
I was riding with a new friend Cal, as they had not been into the Seymour valley before and I felt a duty, as one of the valley’s most committed fans, to show it off. Also joining was Mara, someone I’ve known for over 20 years. Actually, we were about Cal’s age when we met! Now I feel old…
We rode up to the mid valley area knowing we could then decide whether or not to continue for the full loop – the best stuff is at the north end and Cal was game to do it, but judging by how dark the clouds were up the valley as we approached, we knew there might be good reason to bail.
Unsurprisingly, given how much rain had fallen in the past 48 hours, the river was about as high as I’ve ever seen it – exceeded only in November 2021 after a historic storm system that did huge amounts of damage to the area.
When we reached the mid-valley marsh, we were still dry – so we chose to press onwards. The rain did start as we were departing, and it increased in intensity until we were thoroughly soaked about two kilometres later, but no regrets. Thankfully it eased once we were up at the north end.
Surprisingly little blow-down on the loop, though there was a big tree across Spur 4 and another one on the Bear Island connector shortly after. Lots of smaller branches, especially on Hatchery Trail, which we could clear by hand.
I was thrilled to share my favourite spot in the valley, the two old growth Sitka on Rainbow Creek trail, with someone who hadn’t been there.
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