If there was an all-season hiking/walking trail in the Kootenay Lake/Creston area, I would say it is the Pilot Peninsula Trail. The trail head for this popular hike is located near the south end of the road that proceeds south from the Kootenay Bay ferry landing at Crawford Bay, B.C. It can be a 2.5 to 3 hour hike, one way, to the end of the trail at Cape Horn. However, one can do shorter hikes, over the Pilot Peninsula Trail, to the Campground Trail, Sawmill Bay or to Boomer’s Landing, all reached by trails that take 10 minutes or less to hike. For some, to do this hike, or part of it might mean driving an hour and a bit more. It may also mean a little planning to take in the hike as a separate activity or in conjunction with a trip on the ferry.
The Pilot Peninsula trail is very scenic, even at close range. It skirts the shores of Kootenay Lake, passing through various natural landscapes Sometimes it’s down at almost lake-level while other sections are high above, topping steep slopes where one needs to be a bit extra cautious. Strategically located over-looks give opportunity to view the lake and surrounding shorelines and land and water- scapes.
It’s an up and down, humpty dumpty trail, with several short, steep pitches. Of course there are about as many descents, all with protruding rocks in several locations. A couple of brooks pass under sturdy, rustic bridges. I usually stop at these and check out the lush brook-side vegetation or to just listen to the sound effects, often, in spring, augmented by the long warble of a Pacific Wren, aka Winter Wren.
Unless there is wet snow or rain on the trail it is usually dry with, in most places, excepting a couple of gravelly spots, good traction. Several seeps along the trail make the trail a bit muddy, especially in spring. Like along the brooks, these areas support very lush vegetation, including some moisture loving flowers. Off trail, the woods are very dry in summer and only with the humid air moving off the lake are some plants, such as Maidenhair Spleenwort Fern, not characteristic to dry forests, able to survive.
Evergreens dominate the forest cover. Interspersed are a few deciduous species that not only add diversity of vegetation but, with the shoreline habitat, support diverse species of woodland and shore birds. One species I usually look for along the trail are Northern Three-toed Woodpeckers. I often see a pair of them near some yew trees. When I see one I look for that unique yellow crown and/or the horizontally striped back and sides.
The Pilot Peninsula Trail is one of my all-around, favorite trails and in my mind are almost an all-season trail. The south-west aspect and moderating climate of Kootenay Lake keep the area free of snow and ice except in persistent freezing temperatures and heavy snow falls. But with a warm spell, much of the ice and snow often disappears from the trail, especially if hikers, in winter condition, are donning their snow boots and, if necessary, ice grips and heading out on the trail. Now, for a report on another trail.
Wednesday, October 4, couldn’t have been a much better day to take to the, not an all season trail, Haystack Lakes and Haystack Mountain trail. After an hour or so drive up Sanca Creek Road we were out on the trail by about 9:30 and on the top by about 12:30 and back by 6:30. Most of the light snow covering had melted and the trail on the ridge was dry. The rocks on the ascent were dry expect for some lichen covered ones being a bit moist. Lots of sunshine and very little wind on top
The larches were golden yellow and a pica checked ink, at close range, with some of the hikers.
The road is rough up from highway 3A but later gets smoother. After the last concrete bridge about half the road was up-graded and the rest was in the process of being upgraded and may still be in that mode for the month of October. But now one doesn’t get the feeling of getting the feeling of being swallowed up by alders, which once nearly enclosed the road. Some of the boulders in the road have also been vanquished. But I still recommend a high clearance vehicle and if it snows use a snowmobile and take your snowshoes. Anyway, check it out and take a hike while the weather is hiking friendly.
Submitted by Ed Mc Mackin