Kaleden Boot Hike Blues: Monday, January 11th!

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. -Abraham Joshua Heschel, rabbi and professor (11 Jan 1907-1972) 

 
Global BC From the Global BC archives: David Bowie played the newly opened BC Place on August 9, 1983, during his successful 'Serious Moonlight' tour. Our cameras took in the sights, sounds and security along with 54'000 excited fans.

Alan Waldron I was there! Remember it as being a fantastic show and double bonus was first show in the stadium as I recall and I had worked on the stadium building the iron work from beginning to end..great memories. Thanks David..we'll miss you

Hello Bootstrap People! Just wanted to say how very, very much I enjoyed Monday's outing, the terrain, the company, the camaraderie. Let me echo Big Al's thanks to the Kaleden Dog and Pony Show, (It seems to me that Paolo is so tireless that he might as well be one of the wild horses we are privileged to see, every so often!), softened and enhanced by the Fayre Roberta, whom I was more than delighted to meet.

I apologize, in advance, for any pic duplicados as my photographic eye is not nearly as honed or as exacting as Big Al's, the Official Photographer, I meekly bow before. As well, for those at all interested, I have included my thoughts and musings on our Boot Hike Extraordinaire. Any mistakes in reported natural history, per esempio, colori, direzione del vento, etc., are mine alone so I apologize, in advance, for such manglings or misinterpretations. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Boot Hikers rendezvoused at Home Hardware at 9:00 pm and then carpooled to Keleden to meet Paolo, Roberta and Luigi, at the Kaleden Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library who led us, again by car, to near the intersection of Cypress Avenue and Gage Lane. Antonio, the fearless chauffeur I was riding with, along with Otto and Norbert, parked on the narrow road and we joined the rest of the group, about 20 humans and one very energetic pooch, above-mentioned Luigi!

The hike proper started up a fairly long, steep hill so a good push from the very start. However, footing was excellent as the snow, about six to nine inches deep over much of the terrain, was crisp, although in certain spots, at certain times, where trampled by many feet, it was harder going. Nevertheless, this pattern, more or less, held for the duration of this truly phenomenal hike. Just a touch of blue sky to the northeast, with the sun vainly trying to break through the heavy, low, grey cloud cover. The wind, generally out of the southeast, at least it seemed to me, was very, very cool, bitter at times, so was pleased that I had dressed appropriately. Whenever we trekked through a sheltered spot of had the wind behind us, it was almost balmy, many of the gang taking of windbreakers, per esempio, and other heavier articles of outerwear. 

This being said, the terrain and the vistas were simply magnificent. About an hour into the hike we were almost about as high as we would eventually climb and we could look north, back over Skaha to Penticton and south to OK Falls, a slice of Vaseux beyond. The lake surfaces were simply mesmerizing, drawing one's eyes to their foreboding, blue-grey icy sheen, in stark contrast to the surrounding snow-white, black-treed hills, topped with a layer of royal blue, sometimes a sliver of white light, all held in place with field-grey, whitish cloud cover. Without question, these winter scenes are breathtaking, made even more so given the deep quiet that enveloped us. Nothing but the sound of the wind, through the trees or whipping over the crest of a hill.

At one point, I was with Al and Laxmi, the three of us a way back from the rest of the group. A few moments before, I thought that I heard a bark or a call of some kind and when I drew near to Al he motioned for silence. To our delight we could here, to Al's discerning ears, three different coyote packs, howling to one another. Al surmised that one set of calls came right across Skaha, from the east, to two other packs somewhere, below and west of us, in the valley that ran parallel to where we were hiking. Once we'd rejoined the group many others had heard the calls as well and made for some interesting chat as we stopped for a bit of a lunch break. 

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, refreshed and re-hydrated, Paolo cracked his leader's whip again, and we took off, climbing the last hill of the trek, to be rewarded, upon the ridge along the summit, with the spectacle of two bald eagles soaring effortlessly, not really all that far above us, seemingly taunting the earth-bound humans below. Taking this as a very good omen, we began the pretty steep ascent that would eventually take us close to the edge of Skaha, to the Old Kaleden Road. While the slope was very steep and pretty prolonged, at least as far as I was concerned, the snow made it much easier to negotiate, the crust cushioning each step, making the softened impact far less stressful on the knees. [In fact, in places where the sun had melted the snow to expose the underlying soil, these surfaces were far trickier as the footing was far less stable.] Once I'd discovered this, the way down was most enjoyable and I sought out untrod snow to make my way happily down, laughing to myself at my great good fortune to be able to enjoy such exercise in such pristine circumastances.

Once down to the road, the wind was at our backs so the tramp along the flat, slightly undulating snow packed surface was a piece of cake, although it was fairly icy in many spots so I had to keep my whits about me. Someone had left their car not far from the Kaleden Cemetery so all the carpool drivers split off to drive back to where we's left the other vehicles while the rest of us took a look at the various gravestones not covered with snow. Quite remarkable to think about those who had come to this part of the Okanagan near the turn of the last century and what the place had been like. 

Ten or fifteen minutes later we continued on up the road and rejoined our respective chauffeurs. Unfortunately, for me, just as I was clambering into Antonio's truck, I developed a vary painful cramp in my left groin area. Try as I might, I could not find any relief for it so the ride back to Home Hardware, about 14 km, was most uncomfortable. Probably just as uncomfortable for poor Norbert as I wedged him against the side door, trying to find some sort of relief from the relentless muscle spasms. I can tell you I was never so glad as when we reached the parking lot at HH. Gang had decided to regroup at OPUS Café Bistro, just around the corner, for java and debriefing, but I was still on tenterhooks so once back in my car I headed fo rhome. Still, the discomfort was trifling compared to the sheer magnificence of the outing so many, many thanks, again, to Paolo, Roberta and Luigi!

Stats for hike:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1011825009#.VpQgFLTo19c.email

PS: Stats are slightly off as, due to my cramping fit, I didn't switch off my odometre until we hit 97. Oops!

Patrizzio! Thank you for these great shots. They came out good. Amazing story about the coyotes. The wisdom tells us that the slowest often have the most interesting journey! See you soon, Aarturo

What a bunch of troopers you all are!! Thank you Patrick for the forward of the photos and the very entertaining and descriptive diary of your winter outing!!
I wish I could have been there to join You!! at on time I entertained the idea of winter overnight camping but I don't think so!!

I don't see that this was done with snow shoes,...I suppose too steep and too rough!!.and not enough snow!! Anyway spectacular views and great camaraderie and glad everyone made the descent safely!! Always good to get back to " Ground Zero" Hope you are feeling well after the spasmodic episode!!...you certainly do enjoy you photography!! Missed seeing your jolly smile in those photos!!...seems like you were the official photographer of the eventful day!! Cheers and Happy Healthy Living to you and the Hiking Group!! 👍�� Elle 

Hi Patrice, Great pictures! almost feel as if I was there..looks like a really nice bunch you’ve gotten in with. I admire yours and Corrine’s brave leap into the unknown although I never had any doubt that you would make many new friends where ever you decided to be. 

Things are ticking along with a few challenges re Mom as you know and I appreciate your thoughts on that, also our cat Ollie has bee n a bit of an emotional strain as he has had a feeding tube for several months and needed to make some hard decisions. We had an emotional family meeting the other day to decide what to do with Colleen thinking we should have him put down as she thinks he is suffering and the kids adamantly opposed thinking we can still do something. I was leaning towards having one more specialist look at him as the last vet figured she knew what his ailment was and it makes sense.

It looks like Ollie has something called T.M.J. which is a somewhat rare affliction of the Jaw bone joint deteriorating and causing pain which explains why he would try eating and then wince with pain although at least three inspections by the vet of his mouth and gums etc showed nothing and left us scratching our heads including the original vet. The poor little guy has gone almost 6 months without being able to eat and was literally on the brink of death. We resorted to force feeding him with a syringe at one point and it was a horrible experience for all concerned. 

We felt we could not go on any more as he was undernourished and had fatty liver disease and jaundice. As a last ditch brought in another vet who suggested a feeding tube and that it could be this T.M.J. thing but wasn’t sure. We brought him back to life after having the tube put in and he has done remarakably well but obviously can’t have a tube in him forever and that in itself has been a nightmare as it has come out several times and he is uncomfortable with it.

We finally consulted another vet a few weeks before Christmas at cats only who was wonderful and feels very confident that he has this TMJ thing and this became even more of a sure thing as his jaw became dislocated  right before Christmas and now his mouth is open most of the time. She said she could refer us to a dental specialist but that it would probably be pricey if we opted for surgery.This is when we had the family meeting to decide what to do as we had to proceed further or pull the plug.

At the meeting i said I thought we should consult the specialist to get his opinion on what if anything can be done and how much it will be as a compromise and after all the distance and emotional ups and downs we have been through with this. That vet referred us to west coast vet dental which is where we take him tomorrow morning .I’m crossing my fingers as he has brought us much joy and is still relatively young at 11 years. the prognosis from the research I have done is that it is a fairly straightforward procedure with a fairly good success rate.

Tomorrow night we go to the Aunt Leah’s dinner and of course wish you were there with us!. We will be in touch soon. Take care, love to Corriandre Cheers, Al

Carol Riera shared Fed By Threads's photo.Though I agree 100% with this statement, I know no one who knows how to do this better than Corinne Durston and Patrick James Dunn (and Corinne's parents Clara and Dusty).

Greetings and Happy New Year! Just a short note along with some pics from Christmas. Was nice to have us all present on the 25th as that hasn't happened in a few years as seems we often celebrate Christmas mid-month, mostly dependent on Lynsey's schedule. 

 

[First pic is Mia crawling around by the tree.]

 
Lynsey & Gerry arrived mid afternoon of the 24th, then left on the 27th - short but so nice to have them here. Unfortunately I think we all went through a short bout of the flu while they were here, a 24 - 48 hours version with me at least waiting until they left. Now both Leonard & I have nasty colds and coughs though I seem to be getting better. Leonard saw the doctor this morning and was put on antibiotics so perhaps that will help things clear for him.

 

[Other two are family ones as you can tell.]

 

Had a lot of fun with the girls - Emily, (almost 4) is so interested in everything and wants to help in all kinds of ways. Too bad that doesn't usually last! Mia (8 months) is crawling and moves pretty quickly at times as everything is so interesting for her. She basically makes her way to a table or chair as she just wants to stand. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if she is walking by the time she is a year old. Mind you, she does have a role model to follow and copy.

 

We are not such great picture takers, but I've sent on a few that we did take. I always mean to take more but somehow that never happens even if the camera is set out.

Family pic - Christmas Eve - of us with Lynsey, Gerry & the girls.
2nd family pic - Christmas Day:
Leonard's sister Louise, Gerry with Mia, Roma, Lynsey with Emily, Tim, Tania, Dylan, Scott & Leonard. Sounds like you are enjoying your new location though I am assuming you get more snow & cold than in Vancouver. 

 

[...and the last one with the girls being so intrigued looking at the tree reflection in the window]

We've had a mild winter up until yesterday when the temp plummeted though nothing like central Canada. Think we need to plan some sort of southern escape but haven't done so at this point.

Hope you are both well. Keep in touch. Love, Roma & Leonard