Be Happy For This Moment. This Moment Is Your Life.

I woke up at 7:30 to find that I had slept the whole night through and didn't wake up in the middle of the night like I usually do. It was one of the best sleeps I had so far on this trip.  It was very peaceful, and no bears. 

I found a feather of a Barred Owl on the ground.  Barred Owls are one of my favourite owls. 

We got packed up and on the trail by 9 a.m.  Today we are headed for Lower Brush Lake, where we will be staying for 2 nights. 

We continued our project of clearing deadfall from the trails whenever we could and as much as we could. It had just sort of become an automatic thing to do now since we had been doing it so much. 

I came across a patch of Creeping Snowberry that looked almost like it belonged in someone's garden rather than all the way out here in the bush. 

I noticed a stone that had become encompassed by moss so that the whole thig was green. Since it was green and because of the shape of it, this rock made me think of a turtle's head coming out of the ground. 

Not too far away from the camp we just left there was a creek that you have to cross. 

And just a little further after that there was a second one.  I called them The  Twin Creeks.  Nothing official; I just made it up.  ​It was really lovely where The Twin Creeks are. 

The water flowed down into a ravine; possibly we guessed, into Lower Brush Lake.  We presume this is why Lower and Upper Brush Lakes on the map are not where you would expect them to be. Our theory is that although Upper Brush Lake is below Lower Brush Lake on the map, Upper Brush Lake is probably higher in altitude and feeds into Lower Brush Lake down below. 

On multiple occasions on this trip we came across rock formations that had a bunch of small stones embedded in it.  There were boulders like this in unexpected places on the trail. 

Here is what the internet had to say on the formation of these rocks: 

Pressure solution at work in a clastic rock. While material dissolves at places where grains are in contact, that material may recrystallize from the solution and act as cement in open pore spaces. As a result, there is a net flow of material from areas under high stress to those under low stress, producing a sedimentary rock that is harder and more compact. Loose sand can become sandstone in this way.

The morning had been mostly overcast, but eventually we did get some sunshine, but it wasn't overly hot. This made the trail more inviting to travel on . 

With the exception of a few minor hills, most of the trail in this section was either flat or down hill. 

The other nice thing about this section of the trail was that a good portion of it was walking along the side of Lower Brush Lake. 

We enjoyed this section of the trail immensely.  It was so lovely and peaceful to look at. The water was crystal clear and you could see everything on the bottom. 

We took a number of breaks, but not because we were tired. It was because we just wanted to sit and enjoy the scenery.  We didn't have far to go today, and we were in no real rush, and the weather was perfect, so why not just take our time and take it all in.

On the other side of the lake we could see Bear Mountain. In a couple of days we would be climbing to the top of that rocky hill to the lookout as we moved on to Helenbar Lake.  But that was not a goal for today. Today we just get to look at it from a distance. 

There were a few maples starting to change colour. Most were still green, but the ones that were changing had the most vibrant and interesting colours and patterns. Simply gorgeous!

Even plants that were all green had beautiful patterns as they were slowly becoming yellow. 

The last part of this days hike got a bit rough and unkept, which was a bit unexpected after having relatively good trail earlier that day. We thought we had passed the worst of the blow downs and over growth, but we were wrong. 

Despite the blow downs, we were still able to find our way through the trail and didn't get lost like we had yesterday.  It wasn't long before we came to the sign that showed the side trail to the Lower Brush Lake campsite.  Almost there! 

Oh but you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?  Of course not!  Just meters away from reaching our destination there was a large fallen pine tree right smack dab in the middle of the trail. There were so many branches on it that we could not climb over or under it.  We had to go off the trail a bit and find a spot where we could get around the tree.  

Once we got around that tree though, we were there!  We arrived at about 11 in the morning. It had taken us about 2 hours to get here. 

And we were super happy with this site!  Lots of wide open flat space for tents. It was beautiful to look at and it had a wonderful welcoming feel to it. We were so happy to be spending 2 nights on this site instead of the last site that we were on.  This one was like a little slice of heaven. 

Before setting up we just sat and enjoyed the view of the lake and marveled at how wonderful it was here. 

This campsite had everything that the other site did not. It had a grill for the fire pit. Sure the grill was in bad shape but it was still usable. 

It had a clothes line of twine that someone had left behind. The fire pit was big and clean and the logs for seats had a nice view of the lake. 

​And the best part... no bear poop! 

I would like to say that no one left garbage behind, but unfortunately that was not the case. We were disappointed to see that someone had left some broken frying pans and some empty propane cylinders behind in a pile under a tree.  Shame on whoever left these behind.  We did have a tiny bit of good out of it though. We were able to use a broken handle from one of the frying pans as a weight for throwing our rope over a tree limb in order to get our food up into a tree for the night. 

The other thing we thought was questionable was someone had built a second fire place down by the edge of the water. It was not a designated fire pit and it was literally right amongst a bush. However, I don't think it posed too much danger considering the only other things around it was the lake and rocks. 

I guess we just questioned why anyone would want to build a fire here in the first place when they have a perfectly good fireplace only 50 feet away.  Did someone have to share this site with other hikers at one point? Did they have an argument with their hiking buddies and split up? Did someone arrive in the dark and not know there was already a firepit available? Or maybe it was just someone thought it was nice or romantic to be closer to the lake under the stars? Who knows. 

From this spot you could see how clear the water  was even with the reflection of the trees on the glassy still surface. 

The other nice thing about this site was that, unlike the other 2 sites, this one had easy access to water. By that I mean that you didn't have to get your feet wet to get water. There were plenty of rocks to stand on to be able to reach the water without wading in. 

We could also see the top of Bear Mountain from here. We were practically right beside it.  We considered the idea of perhaps climbing it the next day with no packs on just for something to do and to see what we could expect for trail conditions. But we figured we would see how we feel in the morning and make up our minds then. 

Right now though, we had work to do. We set about getting our tents up. Carsten found a spot near a huge fallen tree that fit his tent perfectly. 

Mine was in a little grove of cedars just up past the fire place.  As I was putting up my tent I could hear sounds coming from a nearby pine tree. The sound was like that of something chewing the tree from the inside. Closer inspection showed that there was indeed some holes with a pile of sawdust on the ground below it. I have heard this sound before both at Esker Lakes Park and at Kettle Lakes Park. I know it must be an insect of some kind but I don't know what kind.  The chewing noise is actually quite loud. 

We looked around but we hadn't seen any Thunder Box. So, we figured we had better make ourselves a bathroom. Once again we found a log at a good height and dug a hole under it. As usual, we were sure to build it far enough away from the lake. 

After the site was set up we sat and had lunch. Then I remembered that I had wanted to wash some of my clothes in the lake. I didn't have laundry soap or anything, I just figured I would give them a rinse to get some of the stink out of them.  So I took the opportunity to soak my feet in the water while I rinsed off my clothes.  It felt great to just sit there with my feet in the water and know that I didn't have to go anywhere. 

As I was wringing out my socks and T-shirts, Carsten pointed to something way out in the lake that was swimming towards shore. It looked almost like a ripple that a fish would make when it comes to the surface, only it was not a single splash and then down. It was moving.  A turtle we wondered? It was too far away to tell what it was. 

Then all of a sudden, right behind the swimming thing a loon popped up and broke the surface behind it. We could then see a couple more small things like the first one also fleeing the scene. Now we began to think that maybe it was a frog that was swimming away and trying not to be eaten. But it was pretty deep water for a frog to be in. And why would there be a bunch of frogs out there together?  Perhaps it was a school of fish and some of them were coming closer to the surface in order to outwit the loon? We never did find out exactly what they were. The loon quickly dove back down into the water again and again and resurfaced a little later in the same direction that the swimming things were going. Eventually they rounded a bend and we couldn't see them anymore.  

A little while later, as I was hanging my clothes up to dry, we heard an unusual sound that I can only describe as resembling a jet plane. When I turned my head to look I saw a dark object fly by very fast only about  50 feet away from us. It was so loud and I said "What in the world is that?".  

We watched the flying thing until it landed in an old tree along the shoreline not too far away from camp. It wasn't until it landed that I realized what it was. It was a King Fisher!  
I had no idea that a King Fisher could fly that fast or make that kind of noise while it flew. I didn't even know it was a bird until it landed. I honestly had thought maybe it was a drone or something. 

We watched as every once in awhile it would dive into the water with a big splash and then fly back up to the tree again as it fished. Then it would fly over to a new tree and try its luck there. I am betting, with the water so clear and the height it could get sitting in the trees above the lake, that it probably could see its target easily from wherever it was. 

I was delighted to see the King Fisher. I hadn't seen one in years. 

Of course it is Murphy's Law that came into effect when I went to hang my wet clothes up to dry.  That is when we started to lose the sunshine behind a veil of clouds. The rest of the day remained overcast. 
We were starting to notice how little sunshine we were getting on this trip. 

Carsten had mentioned at one point that he had seen more bugs and insects on this trail that he had never ever seen before than anywhere else he had been. 

I was beginning to see what he meant.  Along came a fly that looked like a cross between a house fly and a dragon fly. I have never seen anything like it and I was in awe.  Apparently this is an Eastern Band-winged Hover Fly. Completely harmless and ever so cute!  There were 3 or 4 of them hanging out with us at our site. God makes such amazing creatures! 

Later in the afternoon, Carsten and I both decided it would be great to take a nap. It had been forever since I had been able to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon. This was as good a time as any.

So, I headed to my tent.  A little Forest Locust was hanging out just above my door.  I like the contrasting stripes on the sides of this little guy. 

A Spur-throated Grasshopper was also hanging out near the door of my tent.  ​Grasshoppers seem to be attracted to my green tent. 

We napped until about 5:30 pm. When I got up the temperature had dropped and it was starting to get chilly. This was a good time to start a fire to both warm up and to cook supper. 

I had just began to light the fire and the flames had not yet gotten too high when all of a sudden Carsten pointed out that there was a toad in the firepit!  We rushed into action and immediately grabbed up the toad and rescued it before anyone got burnt, injured or killed.  It was a close call for that toad! 

Just as we were cleaning up from supper it started to rain. Just a sprinkle, but enough for us to gather up our stuff and get them to dry places.  Then we gathered some wood and kindling and put them in a bag under a tree. We also gathered up some larger pieces and stuffed them under the fallen tree beside Carsten's tent. At least if it rained heavily during the night we would have some dry wood for a fire the next day.

As soon as we had gathered up all the wood and stored it away, the rain stopped. So. we took the opportunity to put our food up in the tree. The nice thing about this tree we had chosen was the food was hanging out over the lake. ​If a bear wanted it, he would have to go swimming for it. 

Once the food was up in the tree it started raining again. And then it stopped. And then it started again, It just kept starting and stopping. We stood by the lake talking in the rain for awhile until the mosquitoes started to come out. That's when we decided to head for our tents for the night. Rain was one thing but couple that mosquitoes and it makes for a miserable combination. 

Despite being inside the tent, sheltered from the rain and the mosquitoes, I couldn't go to sleep. It was only 8:30 and I wasn't tired. Having a nap earlier meant I was wide awake now.  I sat and listened to the sound of the bugs chewing in the tree nearby. They seemed louder now and almost sounded as though they were calling to one another like mating  calls or something. (I later looked it up online and it seems that these chewing bugs are actually Pine Sawyer Beetles and their larva. Who knew! ) I could also hear the loud droning noise of the mosquitoes outside my tent as they were attracted to the light of my flashlight.  The noises didn't bother me at all. They became white noise to me as I wrote in my journal and attempted to finish a particularly difficult Sudoku puzzle (even though it claimed to be an easy one). 

It had been a really good day and I was happy to be here. I eventually fell asleep knowing that we get to spend another whole day here tomorrow in this little slice of paradise.