History Lesson About Pacific Spirit Park

Walking in Pacific Spirit Park

Several times a week I walk in Pacific Spirit Park, which covers 860 hectares, with 55km of trails, but didn't know much about the history of it until last week. 

Ryan Regier of the Pacific Spirit Park Society gave a talk recently to some neighbourhood residents and I sat in on most of the presentation.

Douglas Fir trees are second growth

He first showed a news video of the park's official opening on April 23, 1989, with then Premier Bill Vander Zalm and his wife Lillian booed by the Musqueam people, who inhabited this land long before Europeans settled in British Columbia, but had no say about the park, let alone its name.

It didn't seem like Vander Zalm thought to consult the Musqueam, or assumed they would use the land to build casinos, and thought he would pre-empt them by declaring the area a provincial park.

As Regier tells it, trees there used to be some of the tallest in the world before settlers came; it's because the Musqueam would only harvest the bark, and then the trees would grow back the bark and become bigger.

However, after the Europeans arrived in the 1850s, they saw the forest and by the 1890s chopped down all the Douglas Fir trees in what is now the park and used the wood to build most of the houses in Vancouver. Those trees were known as the old growth forest, and the ones standing today are called second growth, which are quite tall, but very skinny.

The park covers 860 hectares

An interesting fact is the Musqueam were living in the area for at least 5,000 years, if not up to 8,000 years ago. Camosun Bog gives us a good idea of what happened to the forest because the trees develop pollen, which falls into the bog and kind of like glacier ice, you can analyse what trees existed in the forest over time. How cool is that?

There are still some old growth trees left, but they are standing on the cliff above Wreck Beach, not the best place for them to flourish.

Regier says when the loggers chopped down trees, they would pour kerosene over the blade as a lubricant... not surprisingly it caused many fires in the forest! There was a large forest fire in 1919 that burned one-quarter of the park, and thankfully because of Camosun Bog, it stopped the fire from spreading to the residential area nearby.

The bog used to be quite large, but then when the University of British Columbia was building Sedgewick Library (now Koerner Library), the dirt that was dug up for the below ground library was dumped in Camosun Bog!

There is a group of volunteers called "crazy boggers" who are trying to restore the bog every Saturday  morning for two hours. 

Mostly Douglas Fir in the forest

It's great to see so many people love the park like me (perhaps much more!) and that we have a common goal of preserving it as naturally as possible.

Hazy Day in Vancouver

The sun gave off an orange tint in the forest

Today the sun in Metro Vancouver gave off a warm burnt orange tint thanks to the smoke from the wildfires burning in Vernon, Boston Bar, and as far as Clinton, over 400km north east of Vancouver.

It's a reminder of the tragic situation residents in these areas are in, having to evacuate, sometimes at a moment's notice because of wildfires rapidly coming their way.

When that happens to you, what do you think of bringing with you? How fast can you pack? Where do you go and stay?

Not many walked outside today

It must be absolutely frightening and stressful to be in that kind of emergency situation.

In the meantime the Metro Vancouver Regional District issued an orange alert, indicating a "very high health risk", particularly for those living in the Fraser Valley, such as Agassiz, Chilliwack and Hope, warning residents in these areas to avoid outdoor activities. 

Here in Vancouver the air quality was deemed at low risk, but when I went out for a walk in Pacific Spirit Park after lunch, there weren't many people there, even though temperatures were comfortable.

Tomorrow the weather forecast is more haze and temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius. Hopefully after tomorrow night the skies will be clear again.

Picture of the Day: Magical Light

When the sun hits fog among the trees

Sometimes the forest inspires some amazing photographs and today was one of them.

This morning it was foggy, but with the forecast promising it would be sunny with a high of 10 degrees Celsius.

It was around noon when the sun hit the fog and created exciting lines of sunshine to dramatic effect.

Picture of the Day: Pileated Woodpecker

A Pileated Woodpecker pecking at a tree

Yesterday during my walk in Pacific Spirit Park, I heard a knocking kind of noise. I looked to my left and saw a woodpecker! Specifically a Pileated woodpecker which is native to North America. 

He/she was not high up on the tree but just above my head, about a metre and a half away. Unlike the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker, who would drill a hole into a tree in seconds, this one would lean back then peck at the wood, with the chips flying, then crane his neck back, turning it left and maybe right and then his beak would chisel into the wood again.

The bird with a red trim at the top followed by black and white on its head, and the black the rest of its body, continued with its task to either create a cavity to raise its young, or try to extract insects from the tree.

Pileated woodpeckers are also known for making rectangular carvings in trees and this one did too!  

Eat Those Blackberries

Eating blackberries as many health benefits

Now's the season for blackberries, and if you see big ones that you can easily pick, please do.

Pick as many as you want and you'll be doing your part to prevent blackberry bushes from proliferating.

That's because the Himalayan blackberry, also known as the Armenian blackberry is an invasive plant that has its origins in Armenia and Iran.

However, these blackberries were brought over to North America in the late 1800s and have taken over natural environments, creating thorny thickets that reduce biodiversity, including wildlife movement.

In Pacific Spirit Park along Powerline Trail, a giant patch of blackberry bushes were removed with heavy machinery over a year ago, though there are still blackberry bushes lining the outside of the park.

Rachel Tancock, known as The Nature Educator in Instagram, says the best way for people to prevent new blackberry plants from growing is to eat the berries! Each blackberry has seeds inside so eat up!

They are also packed with vitamin C which helps boost immunity and vitamin K beneficial for blood clotting and bone health, high in fibre, and manganese for bone development and manage blood sugar levels.

Picture of the Day: Feeding the Neighbourhood

Cucumber and zucchini from a neighbour

The other day I finished walking around Pacific Spirit Park and was on my way home on a street I don't usually walk on, and one of the homes has a vegetable patch in the front yard.

By the steps to the house is a cardboard box with a sign saying "Free veggies". Inside were four zucchinis!

Apparently with the warm weather we're having, many people with vegetable patches are harvesting their zucchinis.

I took the smallest one, which was already quite large and brought it home.

The next day I went back to the same street and inside were cucumbers! I took the smallest one when I got home I peeled the bumpy skin and sliced it up. It was so crisp and fresh!

Tonight I stir-fried the zucchinis with shallots, garlic, ginger and dried conpoy, and it was delicious!

I shall check for more veggies later!

Botany Lesson in the Forest

Murdoch showing off a horsetail

This morning I attended a botany walk at Pacific Spirit Park which started at the park's headquarters, just near the beginning of the 16th Avenue highway. About a dozen of us joined the stroll led by naturalist Dave Murdoch. He's a retired school teacher and admitted right away that he was not a botanist, but taught geography and has done some research on native plants in the forest.

The park on 16th Avenue is not one I have been to so it was nice to explore another part of the forest (sliced up by the highway).

Flowering thimbleberries

Murdoch walked along with two walking poles, which meant the walk would not be too arduous, though most of the participants were keen walkers.

As we wandered along the trails, he would point out interesting facts. Some of them include:

There are around 100 varieties of moss in the park;

Salmonberries always grow near Alder trees because they give off nitrogen, which helps the salmonberries develop. Indigenous people eat salmon with salmonberries. If you peel the bark of Alder trees, underneath it's red, and that is harvested and used as a dye for clothing.

Salal berries are a source of food for First Nations, with lots of Vitamin C. They are also eaten with salmon.

We also saw thimbleberries flowering, and wild blueberries. Will have to look out for the berries later in the summer.

There are also horsetails in the park, long stems with what look like bristle leaves. These plants date back over 100 million years ago because they have been discovered in fossils. Apparently they were used as toothbrushes!

Holes made by birds or animals

Sword fern is the most popular fern species in the park. There are also bracken fern, also widely found here.

Practically all the trees in Pacific Spirit Park are what's called second growth -- the first growth were cut down and new trees planted, which are about 50 to 100 years old. When the first growth trees were cut, they were dragged out of the forest by horses. 

With that, our walk was over in about an hour and 20 minutes. Neat to see there are people willing to show others what they know about the forest! And a beautiful day for a stroll. 

Picture of the Day: Smiling Tree Stump

A welcoming sign in the forest!

Earlier this week I went to another part of Pacific Spirit Park, north of 16th Avenue, to walk around the forest.

Just so I didn't wander too far, I followed a route that was an elongated loop. As I walked by a tree stump I was surprised to see it was smiling!

The things you find in the forest...

 

Picture of the Day: Pedalling Smoothies

Want to pedal for your smoothie?

Around lunchtime today I finished my long 8K trek around Pacific Spirit Park and went to Memorial Park West to see if the Dunbar Little League was playing.

They were in the midst of a game against Kerrisdale and the snack shop was open. I could get a freshly made hamburger (with lettuce, tomato and pickles) for C$7.

As I waited for my hamburger, there was a drinks stand nearby and two stationary bikes with a curious contraption. They were selling strawberry and mango smoothies -- you could make yourself!

For the same price as a burger, you could get fresh whole strawberries or mango chunks with water in a blender, which was placed in front of the handlebars. When you push the pedals, the blender starts to move. Cute DIY gimmick, but don't know if they got any takers! 

Picture of the Day: Perilous Walks on Ice

The walking path inside the forest is slippery!

Vancouver has been very chilly, with sub-zero temperatures overnight and into the early morning. Since the heavy snow over a week ago, side roads are still covered in packed snow and ice, and only today has the white stuff finally partially melted on street in front of our house to reveal patches of asphalt.

While most of the sidewalks are cleared, it's walking in Pacific Spirit Park that's become treacherous. After it had snowed, the paths were fine to walk on with some grip on your boot soles, but after the snow melting and then freezing several days in a row, the routes are very slippery -- and that's when it's flat.

That was my experience yesterday when I attempted to walk into the park and made a quick exit to get back onto stable cement. 

The other day a neighbour near the entrance of the park saw an ambulance and fire truck parked there. The paramedics and firemen had come to extricate a young woman who had fallen less than 1km into the park on a slope. It is unclear if she was trying to go up the hill or down.

Nevertheless, these rescuers had to make sure they themselves didn't fall, get the woman onto the stretcher and then carry her back (without slipping) to the ambulance.

Today the yellow metal bar at the entrance of the park is open, but today it was closed, though that didn't stop others from entering at their own risk.

Rain is expected on Saturday and temperatures finally rising above 2 degrees to 5 degrees! Maybe it will finally wash away all the snow and ice for good. It was nice when it first came down, but we're all over it already!

Photo of the Day: Snow in the Forest

Walking in a winter wonderland today

It has been snowing for the past two days and needless to say I've been shovelling each day, struggling to keep up with the deluge of the white stuff!

Students were thrilled to have no school today and stayed at home, making snow angels, or sliding down hills on toboggans, and making snowmen.

A beautiful sight in Pacific Spirit Park

This afternoon I walked to Pacific Spirit Park, expecting to have to tromp through fresh snow, but found that it was somewhat "paved", making it relatively easy to walk. 

I saw people walking their dogs, a cross-country skier, two women jogging(!) and a guy who wore shorts as he ran. His legs looked painfully red. Why try to act so macho when it's zero degrees and snow everywhere?

In any event, it was a magical sight walking along the route and seeing the trees covered in snow -- it almost felt like being on a movie set for Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

What's funny about walking in the snow is seeing yellow spots next to tree trunks or posts because dogs have left their marks! 

Picture of the Day: Dogs and their Sticks

A golden retriever carrying a large stick

Just before the rain came down this afternoon I took a walk in Pacific Spirit Park and I have a habit of counting how many dogs I encounter.

Today I managed to time my walk just as many canines and their masters were in the forest too.

He proudly sauntered ahead 

And a handful of these dogs were very proud to carry their sticks -- not twigs, but actual large branches like this golden retriever.

He had no problems carrying it in his mouth and he would saunter ahead of his master and me and then stop and turn around to make sure his owner was walking up before continuing his way ahead of the pack, so to speak.

On the way back I encountered a black shaggy dog that was lying down and resting. In front of him was a massive chunk of wood that looked very heavy and he needed a break from carrying his trophy for his master.

His owner meanwhile, praised him for his hard work and let him rest before continuing on...

Bomb Cyclone Hits Vancouver

Some fallen trees on the walking paths in Pacific Spirit Park

I have a good excuse for not being able to blog last night -- there was a bomb cyclone going through our area, which caused a blackout on various parts of Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

A bomb cyclone is not a made-up term, but one that weather forecasters have used for a while, but is rarely seen here. It's when masses of warm and cool air collide to create spiralling winds, and in this case they were swirling counter-clockwise, and there was also a rapid atmospheric pressure drop over 24 millibars (the unit to measure air pressure) in 24 hours. 

There were strong winds up to 70km/hr last night

Last night it formed around 400 km west of Tofino, BC and then went up Vancouver Island recording winds of up to 170km. It caused severe damage in terms of fallen trees and lots of electricity outages that are still ongoing as it is hard for BC Hydro crews to get to these areas (with the fallen trees on roads and highways).

Winds of up to 70km/h blew into Vancouver. Last night we had an early dinner in a restaurant, and when we came out just after 8pm there were strong gusts and some rain, but we didn't think too much of it. However, when we got closer to home we could see blocks of completely dark homes, and one of them was ours.

There wasn't much we could do except light up some candles, turn on flashlights and go to bed, around 10pm.

The power went back on at 1.15am... how do I know? Because a neighbour's house alarm went off, and was not immediately turned off... and then it went off again 30 minutes later. 

A lot of twigs and branches on the ground

Needless to say this morning I didn't get enough sleep!

I ventured out late morning to Pacific Spirit Park to survey the damage and while there were lots of twigs and branches on the ground, it was sad to see several trees had fallen overnight -- the ones along the walking paths. It will take the park rangers a few days to clear these routes.

Surprising Facts about Slugs

Came across this giant specimen yesterday

On my walks in Pacific Spirit Park I've been coming across a lot of slugs lately.

Probably because there's a lot of precipitation these days, but there are some interesting facts about them!

* They like to live underground or under damp vegetation

* Slugs have both male and female genitalia, so if they don't find any suitable mates, they can impregnate themselves! If two slugs mate, they impregnate each other with sperm. The result is each slug can lay up to 100 eggs several times a year, so a slug could have some 90,000 descendants during its lifetime!

* They have 27,000 teeth, which they use to basically grate their food to eat it. Slugs also regularly lose and replace teeth.

* Slugs can eat 40 times their weight in one day! 

Mushroom Spotting in the Forest

Spotted more of these mushrooms today

With fall in full swing in Vancouver, meaning lots of precipitation, mushrooms are popping up on lawns and especially in Pacific Spirit Park.

Each time I walk along the trails I see more mushrooms particularly growing on nurse logs, trees that have fallen and still have nutrients.

A vertical growth of fungi

Today I saw some people proudly showing off some big fungi they had picked, but no one should be harvesting any mushrooms from any provincial parks; while some might be edible, some may be poisonous!

Foragers don't like to disclose where they find their mushrooms, but I heard from a Vancouver chef that he finds matsutake mushrooms, as well as porcinis near Penticton and Hope. 

And if you see those big bright red mushrooms that look like they belong in a Super Mario game, don't pick them or eat them! They're definitely toxic!

Picture of the Day: The Northern Lights Show Again

Ethereal-looking colours in the sky tonight

Tonight we were able to see the northern lights again after seeing them in May.

It turns out there is a severe geomagnetic storm happening these few days and since tonight was clear, I took the opportunity to check it out.

At first I drove to the outskirts of Pacific Spirit Park, a forest that has no lights. But while it was relatively dark, the trees were in the way!

A colleague took this in Scotland

So I drove to a park and even though there was some light pollution, I was still able to get some decent pictures, including some with the moon hovering very low.

The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center says storm watches this far south are rare, so it's worth trying to see it.

The northern lights are not visible with the naked eye -- you need to use your smartphone or digital camera to be able to see it. People in the UK seem to have more vibrant colours than in Vancouver, or perhaps I need to go to a darker place?

Will try again in the next day or so!

Picture of the Day: Slugs Surfacing

Moving ever so slowly along the ground...

The last few days have been overcast with showers and last night lots of rain, which is a relief to trees and gardens that are severely parched this summer.

Yesterday I went for a walk in Pacific Spirit Park and like the previous two days I encountered many slugs!

They make their way across the trails at a glacial pace, as people pass them by while walking, running or cycling.

Spotted a green one too!

I had to look up online why I was seeing so many slugs and came across this answer:

"Both snails and slugs rely on moisture to survive. Their bodies dry out quickly when they are active without moisture to support them. 

"This is why they only become active when it rains or when you've recently watered your garden. In addition, most slugs are typically active at night because it's cooler and more humid (plus there are fewer predators to hunt them)."

It's interesting I haven't come across this many slugs before in the forest!

While I was walking, a family crossed paths with me, and the mother said her daughter wanted me to watch out for a slug up ahead! Kids really do care about nature!

Spotting Black Bears in the Ketchikan Rainforest

Looking up at the many trees in the rainforest

This morning we arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska, the last port of call on our cruise. It's known as the salmon capital of the world because five species of salmon can be found here: chum, sockeye, king, silver and pink. Apparently chum is nicknamed "dog salmon" because it's only good for mushing dogs to eat.

And we are one month away from the start of the salmon run, where the fish return to their birthplace to spawn and then sadly die... 

Black vertical bear claw marks

The town is also known for having the most totem poles in the world and you do see them around town, though they seem to be much smaller than the ones found in Vancouver. They are made of cedar too, the wood of choice for carving.

Ketchikan's population is around 8,000, while the entire island is 14,000. When it's tourist season the population doubles to service thousands of tourists who come daily. That's right. Today there were five cruise ships docked in Ketchikan. 

I signed up for a walk in a rainforest, named the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, which was about a 20-minute ride from the pier. Both our drivers to and from the sanctuary were funny and entertaining with their stories of living in the town. Almost all the young people I've encountered here are in Alaska to earn money, but also some genuinely love the outdoors and the lifestyle. 

Our guide for the rainforest walk wasn't a local but from Montana. Nevertheless, she seemed to know what she was doing as she took a dozen of us on a 1 mile walk around the trail. We were told this area gets 13-16ft of rain per year, which compares to Seattle at 5-7ft of rain. In addition Ketchikan only gets 2-3ft of snow per year, so it's more wet than cold.

The rainforest, which is part of the Tongass National Forest, reminded me of Pacific Spirit Park but with a lot more moss and narrower trails. The guide told us interesting facts about things we saw along the way, such as skunk cabbage grown on the ground are eaten by bears as a laxative, and there are berries grown here such as salmonberry, huckleberry, and blackberry. The blackberry's leaves have medicinal uses too.

A tree that grew from a nurse log

She told us 90 percent of this rainforest's trees are either the western hemlock or the sitka spruce. How can you tell the difference between the two? The western hemlock has stripey bark like bacon, whereas the sitka spruce's bark are shaped like fish scales. 

The forest floor is not deep when it comes to soil, so the roots spread out, or in some cases, young trees will gain its nutrients from fallen or dead trees called nurse logs. They can have up to 100 years' worth of nutrients stored up for "baby" trees. 

Our guide showed us a tiny sapling and explained it was 5-7 years old, and a "teenager" was about 50 years old. A mature tree could be up to 500 years old or even 1,000 years old. And the moss hanging on many of the trees? They are called "old man beards" and they are sterile enough to be used to bandage wounds; I was told a while ago that they make good toilet paper!

She also showed us a tree trunk that had bear claw marks on it, as the bear had climbed up the tree!

Not long after we saw a live black bear in front of us which was quite the excitement. Our guide advised us to wait for a few minutes to give the bear some space to leave. And to our left we could see two cubs running around in the forest. 

See the young bear in the stream in the middle?

We spotted the bear again this time under the wooden elevated walkway we were on, and then further in the distance in a grassy area in low tide. There is a stream that leads to the salmon hatchery and this is where the bears are waiting for the salmon to return. The area gets high tide and low tide twice a day which is an interesting fact. 

There were also two bald eagles in the distance circling around in the sky. Hope they didn't think we were lunch...

All of us on the tour were so thrilled to see the black bears, while our guide was probably relieved nothing happened! She added we were so lucky to have blue skies as it had been raining for three weeks straight!

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary

4085 Tongass Avenue

Ketchikan, Alaska

Picture of the Day: Miniature Pony

Just a woman with mobility issues walking her pony

There was a curious sight in the neighbourhood the other day. A woman in a wheelchair was walking her miniature pony on the street. 

She saw three of us staring and quickly turned the corner trying to act like nothing was strange.

But actually about two months ago I had seen her and her partner take this miniature pony to the entrance to Pacific Spirit Park to let the animal feed on fresh grass. Hard to hide a pony that needs to exercise in an area bigger than a backyard.

Many questions! Hope to bump into her again and have a chat.

Picture of the Day: Cold-temperature Walk

This morning was a lovely but very cold day!

Yesterday was a beautiful winter day in Vancouver, blue skies and radiant sunshine that so many were in disbelief when it started to snow around 2pm.

I was watching the four-hour documentary I reviewed in the previous post so when we emerged from the theatre at 5pm, it was dark and there was snow on the ground.

Even though there was only 2cm of snow on the ground, it was somewhat perilous driving home. My relative and I went south on Granville Street and turned right onto 12th Avenue going west. Not long afterwards our car began to slide which left us unsettled and drove in silence. And the car in front of us had just bumped into the one in front of it.

To avoid further traffic woes, my relative dropped me off and I walked a short distance back home. 

An invigorating walk in the forest

It was already dinnertime when I got back so we ate and after washing up, I put on some warm clothes and headed outside to shovel the sidewalk. But the snow had already stuck to the concrete so I tried to remove as much as I could and threw salt on it in the hopes it would melt somewhat.

Overnight it was -12 degrees Celsius.

This morning was a beautifully sunny day, but highs of -8 degrees!

After breakfast I bundled up again wearing long johns and fleece-lined waterproof trousers along with sweater, scarf, puffy jacket, hat and gloves, and headed out for a walk. The roads were very quiet with students at school and some people opted to stay home to work. I headed to Pacific Spirit Park and enjoyed hearing the crunch of the snow under my boots. 

I did a 52-minute walk and my face was very cold. I stopped around half way to take sips of hot water from my thermos and it warmed my face and throat up right away. My only complaint was that I wished I had worn mittens, but after a while my hands warmed up nicely. I saw a Chinese couple not wearing gloves and wondered why they didn't wear any. The woman was rubbing her hands constantly...

When I got back home my cheeks were ruddy red! Next time wearing a mask would keep my face warmer!

Tonight it's -14 degrees, and tomorrow's high is -6 degrees! It won't be 1 degree until Tuesday!