Gavin, this photo essay is a visual masterpiece and such medicine for the soul. Thank you for sharing your sacred moments in such an exquisite place with the rest of us. I’m going to return again to this post and slowly soak in the beauty and peace each photo offers. It’s always incredible to see what flourishes where we don’t extract. All of the plants, trees, and animal kin you noticed there and were in communion with are so stunning.
Thanks Amanda, I really appreciate the kind comment and I am so glad you will enjoy exploring this place along side of me through the pics and clips :)
These photos are glorious! I'm not sure if you meant to tag me, or a different Francesca, but I am glad to see them nonetheless! Thank you for sharing!
Oh I had meant to tag another person, sorry about that, but I am glad you enjoyed the pics! :) perhaps you were intended to be guided here by forces beyond me ;)
Many many years ago I was in Banff. Your country (and mine!) really does have exquisite Nature! Lol the birds… the seagulls in Michigan used to surround us when trying to picnic on the beaches. 😳
Thanks for coming along on the hike with me sister :)
For now the park is closed (has been since 2023) as a fire took out a bridge and made the roads/trails impassible to most people. But I will not let that stop me, if need be i`ll traverse over the peaks from the neighboring valley so I can get in there next time I am out west :)
Matilda hehe, I love it.
At those campsites it is the Whiskey Jacks that run the place, they are birds that come swooping in and steal your lunch right out of your hands. It keeps you on your toes.
Thanks! You know if they ever open up the park again it has a full service lodge up there and they drive you right up to the first lake (comfy beds and great service). Great chef, wood heated hot tubs and a nice library by the fire (it includes a copy of my book which the owner of the lodge purchased and placed there). I just prefer to tent myself to be in touch with nature as much as possible but sometimes when I lived out there I would treat myself to a stay at the lodge by trading some homegrown produce with the owner/chef for a bed, a meal and a cold beer. The lodge was able to survive the forest fire in 2023, so should theoretically be able to open up again once people make the roads and trails usable.
breathtaking beauty everywhere! After going through all the pictures and video's it feels like having been on vacation myself and no need to go anywhere else, the next few years..
There is this one thing, many dead trees.. Although the skies look pretty clean and blue, but geoengineering might be getting there too??
Minimal stratospheric aerosol injection operations up there (maybe they target more agriculturally active and high population density areas with many of those programs?).
The many dead trees you see in this park are Spruce trees and that is the work of Dendroctonus rufipennis (the spruce bark beetle). Clearcut logging in the lower valley and replanting with monocultures of spruce in decades prior created a breeding ground and buffet for the creatures and so they made their way up the mountain and wiped out about 90% of the spruce up there. There are some that survived by growing way up at the tree line above where the beetles like to hang out but mostly the forest was in the process of becoming Larch dominant with balsam fir here and there. The beetles do make some really interesting patterns on the wood though, check it out:
Since there was so much dead wood the forest fire in 2023 got some serious momentum and got right up near the tree line. From a broader ecological perspective, it was needed and will help nudge the ecology into a direction of more balance and resilience as the forest regenerates with all that new mineral ash and biochar in the soil. Also, on the bright side, at least the animals up there could flee to high ground above the tree line and escape the blaze when they smelled it coming.
If people were to get in there with chainsaws, take down the burned trees near the road, trails and lakes (ideally throwing some through a chipper as well) and get them in contact with the soil. The char on those logs would become biochar and super charge the plant life up there (building permanently enriched soil that holds more water for the future). Even without people helping things in that direction all that ash and char on the ground is gonna make for some spectacular regeneration in the next few years.
Even if the park is closed officially, i`ll just hike around from the next mountain range off trail so I can get in there.
THANK You for the pictures of the burned out forest! The nature is amazing!
Also the beetles pest is incredible, apparently it is connected with the sprayings and changed pH of the soil and waters, aluminum, barium and other metals in the ground, making them easier to thrive in the trees...
That was absolutely amazing. Thank you. I spent 5 seasons in the back country in Wyoming. Those mountains and that terrain is so similar. These were the times I felt the most at peace in my own skin. Did I see a Pika? Not sure if that was one. The were all over in the rocks up high near one of our camps. They'd call to me....Steve.......Steve.......Steve. Such a cool critter. I'm gonna hang on to this email and look at it a couple more times. Makes me happy.
ya me too brother, I think the government here only lets their Parks employees do that stuff and does not do independent contracting (which really bottlenecks this kind of work to a standstill) otherwise I might have offered my own hands, tools and time for the task as well.
Having lived in the Washington state Okanogan for almost 40 years, I could literally smell the clean, fresh air while viewing your pictures. The place is near and dear to my heart also--the best place I ever lived...
When I am on the road on my motorcycle I will take time to find a spot to camp by rushing water if I can find it. Or the ocean if there happens to be one nearby.
When I am at home I play water on my computer while I sleep.
I have three or four streams in the hundred acre wood and some waterfalls. I think most are seasonal, it's not all discovered yet but I'd like a dwelling by rushing water.
You seem to get along fabulously with the critters Gavin.
I liked that pic of the water worn rocks a hundred feet above the treetops.
Ahh yes I am the same for finding (and building) my campsites.
I built a secret campsite in the back country up above one of the lakes in this area in the pics, it is tucked against at cliff face that has two perfect seat ledges carved into it by ten thousand rain, snow and hail storms where you can lean your back against the cliff and put your feet up. It is about 200 feet above the tree line so no risk for having a fire (though getting firewood is a work out) and I built a solid rock fire pit that was dug 2 feet into the ground, with a large flat rock foundation underneath and shielding on the valley side with an open side facing the cliff for flame watching and cooking. There is a spring nearby you can hear from the tent spot and fields of blueberries within 100 feet.
I created another camp in an ancient canyon in the Okanagan valley down lower that is near rushing water, I planted moss near an elder tree on flat ground (covered in thin stones) which grew to be 2 inches thick and served as a natural mattress. I planted asparagus next to the camp which came up reliably and could be fried over the fire with my morning trout catch. If I dig up some pics in my old harddrive this year i`ll share pics.
Your property sounds amazing man, I am looking forward to checking it out myself.
Ya those animals up there are unique in general as they have not been shot at my people for a few generations now, so there is no knee jerk fear reaction in them.
I'm looking forward to having you check it out too!
I could exit now if I had to but it would be nice to have something comfortable built before I make the move.
I just bought a lumber mill. Lots of downed wood, finding firewood won't be a problem any time this century, I am going to have to clear to have a garden.
I have tasks up the ying yang, so no shortage of things to do, but I don't know what I'm going to build for a house or where yet.
I do have a spot for the sauna towards the back and near a beautiful stream that I don't think is seasonal. Plan is to build a cabana with it that would serve as a bunkie until dwelling is constructed.
Forest says I should build the sauna so I can pick it up with the tractor and move it. OK.
Need a garden. Thoughts are about an acre in the middle of a south facing slope. I was thinking I would leave the stumps for any trees I have to clear and slate them for mushroom plugs. The land has never been farmed, of course, so the lovely organic soil is alive and I certainly won't be tilling it.
The dwelling should have the garden as close to the door as possible and it needs to be near rushing water. For the soil, I think it should be in an area where hardwoods grow, not where the the trees are mostly coniferous. (?)
I believe a spot can be found in the NW corner, I need to explore there more.
There are big black raspberries (?) near the finger lakes at the NE corner but no blueberries that we have found! Gotta have blueberries. Maybe you could bring me some black currant seeds? I could look them up. I figure they would be happy growing alongside my roads. Maybe some cranberries too. I have pretty diverse terrain that includes ponds and bogs.
Mushrooms all over the place. Don't know anything about them. No shortage of them though. I like mushrooms.
Cheers Gavin. Thanks for the pictures. I need to take more of them.
Thanks for the update on the property and your goals.
I have seen people do some pretty cools things with those shipping containers for building tiny homes fast that can stand the test of time. Some even elevated above the forest floor so that one can minimize impacting a rare ecosystem out west in the old growth.
Ya clearing trees in a healthy forest to be able to grow sun loving annuals/perennials would be a challenge for me though I know my wife wants those plants to be part of our diet so I would have to make the hard call and carefully select which ones to cut down (making use of the trees in multiple ways and thanking them for their gift of wood by propagating their seeds). I would likely take stock of the species distribution and look at if there are any areas in earlier successional stages (from previous disturbances) and clear those if I had to open up the canopy (rather than cut down old growth habitat trees if that was what they were). Yes it would be easier to clear deciduous hardwoods with regards to how compatible the soil would be for most sun loving plants in a garden afterwards, thought at the same time, deciduous old growth is rare in Canada so i would weigh that against the extra work I might have to do amending soil from an area previously forested with coniferous trees if it was me. It is hard to gauge what my approach would be without extensively surveying the land and species present.
Yes depending on the species of tree, stumps can be used to grow mushrooms for up to a decade in some cases.
If you scroll about half way down there are detailed lists on ideal tree and fungi species for inoculating stumps with plug spawn. Using spore infused chainsaw oil is another great way to stack functions for applicable species (inoculating while cutting).
Here are links to a few pertinent images from that review/book:
Ya man I can likely bring up some black current seeds or seedlings. Cranberries is a cool idea, and there are some other acid loving plants that would be fun to grow, perhaps carnivorous plants like Pitcher plants.
That is a good sign you see lots of mushrooms, if they have lots of food to eat underground that means the soil food web is thriving.
Cheers buddy I look forward to more pics when you can get them
Gavin, this photo essay is a visual masterpiece and such medicine for the soul. Thank you for sharing your sacred moments in such an exquisite place with the rest of us. I’m going to return again to this post and slowly soak in the beauty and peace each photo offers. It’s always incredible to see what flourishes where we don’t extract. All of the plants, trees, and animal kin you noticed there and were in communion with are so stunning.
Thanks Amanda, I really appreciate the kind comment and I am so glad you will enjoy exploring this place along side of me through the pics and clips :)
These photos are glorious! I'm not sure if you meant to tag me, or a different Francesca, but I am glad to see them nonetheless! Thank you for sharing!
Oh I had meant to tag another person, sorry about that, but I am glad you enjoyed the pics! :) perhaps you were intended to be guided here by forces beyond me ;)
💚 🍃
So so beautiful! It's even more special when it's a place you can return to time and again. Thanks for sharing the beauty, Gavin. 💚
P.S. Those lil red squirrels are stinkers! There's one who comes around here who thinks she runs the place. Her name is Matilda.
Many many years ago I was in Banff. Your country (and mine!) really does have exquisite Nature! Lol the birds… the seagulls in Michigan used to surround us when trying to picnic on the beaches. 😳
Thanks for coming along on the hike with me sister :)
For now the park is closed (has been since 2023) as a fire took out a bridge and made the roads/trails impassible to most people. But I will not let that stop me, if need be i`ll traverse over the peaks from the neighboring valley so I can get in there next time I am out west :)
Matilda hehe, I love it.
At those campsites it is the Whiskey Jacks that run the place, they are birds that come swooping in and steal your lunch right out of your hands. It keeps you on your toes.
What a truly magical place.
I agree :)
what a wonderful wonderful voyage to a place I am now too old to reach..through your eyes which see magic....thank you profoundly.
Thanks! You know if they ever open up the park again it has a full service lodge up there and they drive you right up to the first lake (comfy beds and great service). Great chef, wood heated hot tubs and a nice library by the fire (it includes a copy of my book which the owner of the lodge purchased and placed there). I just prefer to tent myself to be in touch with nature as much as possible but sometimes when I lived out there I would treat myself to a stay at the lodge by trading some homegrown produce with the owner/chef for a bed, a meal and a cold beer. The lodge was able to survive the forest fire in 2023, so should theoretically be able to open up again once people make the roads and trails usable.
breathtaking beauty everywhere! After going through all the pictures and video's it feels like having been on vacation myself and no need to go anywhere else, the next few years..
There is this one thing, many dead trees.. Although the skies look pretty clean and blue, but geoengineering might be getting there too??
Thank you for seeding more trees down there!
So glad you enjoyed the pics.
Minimal stratospheric aerosol injection operations up there (maybe they target more agriculturally active and high population density areas with many of those programs?).
The many dead trees you see in this park are Spruce trees and that is the work of Dendroctonus rufipennis (the spruce bark beetle). Clearcut logging in the lower valley and replanting with monocultures of spruce in decades prior created a breeding ground and buffet for the creatures and so they made their way up the mountain and wiped out about 90% of the spruce up there. There are some that survived by growing way up at the tree line above where the beetles like to hang out but mostly the forest was in the process of becoming Larch dominant with balsam fir here and there. The beetles do make some really interesting patterns on the wood though, check it out:
- https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6b1f7ba1-bc80-43d2-b3de-6ed39f25c300_4896x3248.jpeg
- https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd60b163-b74a-4c6c-8285-fe4fb8b48134_4864x3210.jpeg
Since there was so much dead wood the forest fire in 2023 got some serious momentum and got right up near the tree line. From a broader ecological perspective, it was needed and will help nudge the ecology into a direction of more balance and resilience as the forest regenerates with all that new mineral ash and biochar in the soil. Also, on the bright side, at least the animals up there could flee to high ground above the tree line and escape the blaze when they smelled it coming.
Here is what it looked like after the fire:
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=789028859899546&set=pb.100063773160695.-2207520000
- https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=775013381301094&set=pb.100063773160695.-2207520000
If people were to get in there with chainsaws, take down the burned trees near the road, trails and lakes (ideally throwing some through a chipper as well) and get them in contact with the soil. The char on those logs would become biochar and super charge the plant life up there (building permanently enriched soil that holds more water for the future). Even without people helping things in that direction all that ash and char on the ground is gonna make for some spectacular regeneration in the next few years.
Even if the park is closed officially, i`ll just hike around from the next mountain range off trail so I can get in there.
THANK You for the pictures of the burned out forest! The nature is amazing!
Also the beetles pest is incredible, apparently it is connected with the sprayings and changed pH of the soil and waters, aluminum, barium and other metals in the ground, making them easier to thrive in the trees...
That was absolutely amazing. Thank you. I spent 5 seasons in the back country in Wyoming. Those mountains and that terrain is so similar. These were the times I felt the most at peace in my own skin. Did I see a Pika? Not sure if that was one. The were all over in the rocks up high near one of our camps. They'd call to me....Steve.......Steve.......Steve. Such a cool critter. I'm gonna hang on to this email and look at it a couple more times. Makes me happy.
Thanks Steve! haha yes that was a Pika, I love those guys too.
Glad you enjoyed the pics my friend. The fire up there in 2023 did change things drastically ( for pics: https://www.facebook.com/cathedrallakeslodge/posts/pfbid02gmUPhA2HEorafvgEwhBMP5dZX5XkABdVYhGZJHkAMuAvLeqEWWCpcjJt8uiqkKpnl ) but with some skilled arborists taking down structurally compromised trees on the road and paths it could be amazing to hike up there and see the vibrant growth as everything regenerates.
I’d enjoy a project like that.
ya me too brother, I think the government here only lets their Parks employees do that stuff and does not do independent contracting (which really bottlenecks this kind of work to a standstill) otherwise I might have offered my own hands, tools and time for the task as well.
Having lived in the Washington state Okanogan for almost 40 years, I could literally smell the clean, fresh air while viewing your pictures. The place is near and dear to my heart also--the best place I ever lived...
Yes the air! It is so nourishing, truly worth more to me than any amount of money.
Thanks for the comment.
When I am on the road on my motorcycle I will take time to find a spot to camp by rushing water if I can find it. Or the ocean if there happens to be one nearby.
When I am at home I play water on my computer while I sleep.
I have three or four streams in the hundred acre wood and some waterfalls. I think most are seasonal, it's not all discovered yet but I'd like a dwelling by rushing water.
You seem to get along fabulously with the critters Gavin.
I liked that pic of the water worn rocks a hundred feet above the treetops.
I just love water.
Ahh yes I am the same for finding (and building) my campsites.
I built a secret campsite in the back country up above one of the lakes in this area in the pics, it is tucked against at cliff face that has two perfect seat ledges carved into it by ten thousand rain, snow and hail storms where you can lean your back against the cliff and put your feet up. It is about 200 feet above the tree line so no risk for having a fire (though getting firewood is a work out) and I built a solid rock fire pit that was dug 2 feet into the ground, with a large flat rock foundation underneath and shielding on the valley side with an open side facing the cliff for flame watching and cooking. There is a spring nearby you can hear from the tent spot and fields of blueberries within 100 feet.
I created another camp in an ancient canyon in the Okanagan valley down lower that is near rushing water, I planted moss near an elder tree on flat ground (covered in thin stones) which grew to be 2 inches thick and served as a natural mattress. I planted asparagus next to the camp which came up reliably and could be fried over the fire with my morning trout catch. If I dig up some pics in my old harddrive this year i`ll share pics.
Your property sounds amazing man, I am looking forward to checking it out myself.
Ya those animals up there are unique in general as they have not been shot at my people for a few generations now, so there is no knee jerk fear reaction in them.
Thanks for the comment.
I'm looking forward to having you check it out too!
I could exit now if I had to but it would be nice to have something comfortable built before I make the move.
I just bought a lumber mill. Lots of downed wood, finding firewood won't be a problem any time this century, I am going to have to clear to have a garden.
I have tasks up the ying yang, so no shortage of things to do, but I don't know what I'm going to build for a house or where yet.
I do have a spot for the sauna towards the back and near a beautiful stream that I don't think is seasonal. Plan is to build a cabana with it that would serve as a bunkie until dwelling is constructed.
Forest says I should build the sauna so I can pick it up with the tractor and move it. OK.
Need a garden. Thoughts are about an acre in the middle of a south facing slope. I was thinking I would leave the stumps for any trees I have to clear and slate them for mushroom plugs. The land has never been farmed, of course, so the lovely organic soil is alive and I certainly won't be tilling it.
The dwelling should have the garden as close to the door as possible and it needs to be near rushing water. For the soil, I think it should be in an area where hardwoods grow, not where the the trees are mostly coniferous. (?)
I believe a spot can be found in the NW corner, I need to explore there more.
There are big black raspberries (?) near the finger lakes at the NE corner but no blueberries that we have found! Gotta have blueberries. Maybe you could bring me some black currant seeds? I could look them up. I figure they would be happy growing alongside my roads. Maybe some cranberries too. I have pretty diverse terrain that includes ponds and bogs.
Mushrooms all over the place. Don't know anything about them. No shortage of them though. I like mushrooms.
Cheers Gavin. Thanks for the pictures. I need to take more of them.
Thanks for the update on the property and your goals.
I have seen people do some pretty cools things with those shipping containers for building tiny homes fast that can stand the test of time. Some even elevated above the forest floor so that one can minimize impacting a rare ecosystem out west in the old growth.
Ya clearing trees in a healthy forest to be able to grow sun loving annuals/perennials would be a challenge for me though I know my wife wants those plants to be part of our diet so I would have to make the hard call and carefully select which ones to cut down (making use of the trees in multiple ways and thanking them for their gift of wood by propagating their seeds). I would likely take stock of the species distribution and look at if there are any areas in earlier successional stages (from previous disturbances) and clear those if I had to open up the canopy (rather than cut down old growth habitat trees if that was what they were). Yes it would be easier to clear deciduous hardwoods with regards to how compatible the soil would be for most sun loving plants in a garden afterwards, thought at the same time, deciduous old growth is rare in Canada so i would weigh that against the extra work I might have to do amending soil from an area previously forested with coniferous trees if it was me. It is hard to gauge what my approach would be without extensively surveying the land and species present.
Yes depending on the species of tree, stumps can be used to grow mushrooms for up to a decade in some cases.
That book I just reviewed has info on that: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/november-december-and-januarys-book
If you scroll about half way down there are detailed lists on ideal tree and fungi species for inoculating stumps with plug spawn. Using spore infused chainsaw oil is another great way to stack functions for applicable species (inoculating while cutting).
Here are links to a few pertinent images from that review/book:
- https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8bd11e4b-314a-4687-a1be-3f48af40ff55_3264x2448.jpeg
- https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa013bfda-d1e5-49b3-9f8f-45f6324c3ffd_3264x2448.jpeg
- https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5d19a4d-6733-4099-8023-ff6da60ede88_3264x2448.jpeg
Sauna sounds great.
Ya man I can likely bring up some black current seeds or seedlings. Cranberries is a cool idea, and there are some other acid loving plants that would be fun to grow, perhaps carnivorous plants like Pitcher plants.
That is a good sign you see lots of mushrooms, if they have lots of food to eat underground that means the soil food web is thriving.
Cheers buddy I look forward to more pics when you can get them
Gavin, if I cut a tree down, I hug it first.