[Stefan]

Be kind! Don't run those BC folk into the ground! I love the panorama shot!

[raising3hikers]

[iron]

[iron]

we woke up to a -3 reading at the house, and after a long breakfast (like an hour) with video chatting with grandma, we boogied out to the elko, BC area to silver springs lakes. elko is about 30km south of fernie, BC, following the majestic elk river. the drive was doable in the EV, both from a range standpoint and road quality (i.e. any car can do it). we were thinking there'd be dozens of cars at the TH given the sunny forecast prior to some rainy days ahead in the forecast, but were surprised to see only 1 other car there. the trail is pretty steep for the first 10 minutes, but backs off. after very little effort, we were greeted by the lowest lake. the kids enjoyed the loud splunks from the cliffs into the lake.

from here, we followed the west edge of the lake on a talus trail that is practically touching the water of the lake. this was a mistake. while the trail was legit tread, it ended at the north end of the lake and some offtrailing was needed and not appreciated by the kids. eventually, we picked up the correct trail on the east side of the lakes.

a short break for kid food and meeting up with some friends en route, and we headed to the second lake which was similarly long, narrow, and deep like the first lake.

after a long stop at lake two, it was onto lake three. we parted ways with our friends, and headed up gentle trail. this lake was the most dramatic and has endless opportunities for cliff diving.

after the kids drew some pictures of the sites they were seeing, we headed on back, this time taking the correct, and easy trail on the east side of the lowest lake.

back at the car, we made some small aspen leaf piles and the kids enjoyed this seasonal experience.

5.2 miles, 650ft afterwards, we stopped at the jaffray pub and sunrise grill for some food (my first poutine, canada-style).

[Backpacker Joe]

Eye-Run, thank you for the wonderful pics of your beautiful family. Its so nice to see pictures of all of you getting out there. Since I lost most of my eye sight I really appreciate when I can see happy uplifting photos. I have to use a magnifying glass, but its worth it. Keep posting.

[raising3hikers]

The smiles for the leaf piles, just awesome!

[iron]

on canadian thanksgiving, our first, we headed out with some friends to an easy hill just north of cranbrook (halfway between cranbrook and fort steele). it appears there used to be two different lookouts on this hill, separated by maybe 100m horizontal. not sure of that backstory, but it was a nice hike up. the area is popular with mtb'ers and young hikers alike and you get nice views towards the lizard range and the top of the world provincial park. of course, like all local hikes, mt fisher dominates the view.

2mi, 400ft later that night, we got to observe our first canadian northern lights show. hotpantz drove a few minutes to get above the ski hill parking lot and saw lots of dancing lights (1am). by the time i went up, it was largely over. photo below is from the front porch.

[BarbE]

Great pictures, beautiful kids and scenery!

[Brushbuffalo]

I enjoy seeing your mellow trip reports with your family. You do a great job of capturing the action. Spontaneity beats posing any day. The string of elongated lakes reminds me of Lightning Lakes in Manning Provincial Park. Looking at the Google Earth view of Silver Springs Lakes, it looks like they are formed in a trench due to downslope movement ('landslides') from the trench walls. The trench itself may be related to carving by meltwater floods near the conclusion of Pleistocene glaciation, similar in origin to the 'Channeled Scablands'of Eastern Washington and the 'Missoula Floods', but this is speculation on my part.

[iron]

[iron]

headed out to dipper lake today. this is accessible via several routes (st marys lake roads, nordic center, my backyard), but we took the shortest (st marys). the road is doable for sedans, but you'll be going slow. trail was in good shape with a lot of past prime mushrooms. temps were around 1C when we entered the basin for the lake. the kids all did a good job hiking and spent some time scrambling around a boulder field. they really enjoyed the hike back to the car where they were a mix of moving trucks, cats, dogs, and wolves. we didn't do the actual lake loop (it was in the shade and the youngest kids were ready for naps). perhaps i'll go for a MTB ride this week before the weather turns or the needles start falling and bike over to the lake. larch trees are everywhere. it's kind of nuts. i'd say 50% of the forest here is larch (we understand it to be western larch, not lyall larch like in the high country of WA). because there are so many panaromic views afforded here, it's hard not to look around and just see countless hillsides of yellow mixed with green. maybe 2.3 mi, 300ft

[Brushbuffalo]

[iron]

headed down to perry creek falls today. this is located out of wycliffe (about midway between kimberley and cranbrook) and 13km up a decent FS road. the parking lot was a little confusing to find, but we did. room for 2-3 cars. no one else there today. the first half of the hike is following an old road with gentle grade above the creek; it was pleasant and good for the younger guy to walk. a few twists and turns took us to an unnamed tributary where the tree type rapidly changed from ponderosa and dryer-side firs to western red cedar. i thought it was pretty amazing to have such a localized ecosystem where the moisture allows for it, and i enjoyed the orange needles on the ground under a canopy more similar to the PNW.

the trail came to a tee and we went left. this was the wrong way, but only a 5 minute detour to some old cabin structure by the creek. we retraced our route and scampered through some somewhat exposed sections of trail along a steep slope. the waterfall was very nice. it came through a main channel and a hole in the wall. a mist allowed for a lot of moss to grow on the far wall of the creek and localized icing was taking place. i was surprise the whole area wasn't iced over given the mist and temperatures for the past 3 weeks.

all in all, a good trip and would be a nice short summer hike to find an icy spot to dip in the water. maybe 2.5 miles and a few hundred feet.

[contour5]

Great stuff! Keep reporting!

[Brushbuffalo]

Really fun to read your reports. I especially like that you have almost no posed pictures. Just life as it happens.