BM's Boggy Adventure & BG Pix! Updated 9/28/'25!

[Boggy Man]

My June 24'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 1!

After my season ended last September, I waited all winter and all spring for a chance to finally begin my season the earliest I had in years! I was originally planning on going to Harris Creek in mid-June, but I was too occupied with working around the farm, such as putting in a garden, and pulling weeds. But, I finally put my feet down and decided that I wanted to go before a "heat dome" was forecast to move over us, bringing record heat, which would make conditions too hot to go to Harris Creek, which was at a relatively low elevation. So, I chose Thursday, June 24th, just after we had some rain, with things warm but not hot. I reserve hotter weather for higher elevation outings, where it is cooler in the mountains.

I was anxious to see if my slide area still had any quicksilt, although we had our driest spring on record, and even if there was any available in March/April after snowmelt, likely things would have long dried out. I also wanted to check for the colony of Mountain Lady Slipper orchids which were growing on the western end of the debris field, in damp silt, although they would had bloomed in mid June, the reason I originally wanted to go at that time but didn't, and would have likely finished by now. I also wanted to check out the "moose" pond (actually a small lake), to see if there was any mud exposed where two streams entered it. I also wanted to check out a trail that had a spring in it, with clay, but also choked with rocks. It had been years, so I wondered if it could have changed for the better at all.

My dad was initially hesitant about taking me when I first asked him the day before, but he finally conceded, and told me that was the last time he would take me to Harris Creek, because it was too far, although he could take me in the fall time during Hunting Season, when he could go off on an atv around the area. But I am leery of going on adventures at that time of year, although I sometimes do.

Heading up Harris Creek Road, I was shocked to see side trails lower down that I used to go down having "Private Property No Trespassing" signs! It used to be much further back where the private properties were! But, other trails I mainly went on more often in the past, further up, were publicly accessible, so my slide area was safe. He took me up Mosquito Lake Road (a turnoff just before the slide area on Harris Creek Road), which was extremely steep, and dropped me off at the entrance to the road that headed eastward and would pass by the north side of the "moose" pond, and I was on my way!

I noticed that beside the entrance to the road, was a pile of mashed up culverts, meaning that the road had been deactivated, meaning that the only traffic on that road would be that of the four-legged variety! I had to get off and walk my bike through each of the ditches that were left by the removed culverts before getting on my bike again. I had looked at Google Earth and then Apple Maps the night before, and determined that a turnoff onto a parallel road to the south would lead to a clearcut that would be even closer to the pond, saving me time! So, after continuing a little ways on the main road first to see if some muddy patches were still by the road, but finding nothing, I headed back and turned onto the other road that headed eastward south of the road I had been on, until it finally ended in the clearcut. Along the way there, I took a picture of an orange and yellow Hawkweeds:

2021 06 24 1A Orange Hawkweed.jpg

2021 06 24 1B Yellow Hawkweed.jpg

I then took off on foot, heading eastward through the debris-covered clearcut, taking a picture of a wild lily:

2021 06 24 1C Tiger Lily.jpg

I remembered the clearcut would become narrower, with me having to head north to pass through it, to get to the rest of the clearcut that would be just to the northwest of the pond. When I reached the southeast corner of the clearcut, I couldn't see any sign of any break in the forest where the pond would be. It seemed as though the pond had vanished!

I headed southward into the forest, looking for the clearing with the pond, but found nothing. I then came across a small creek in a small gulley, full of ferns and other moisture loving plants, and figured that that stream would lead me to the pond! I noticed that the water was flowing westward, so I headed in that direction. I took pix of the ferns and an orchid with greenish flowers:

2021 06 24 1D Lady Ferns Around Stream.jpg

2021 06 24 1E Green Bog Orchid.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My June 24'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 2 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

Just like all the hiking I had done so far that day, it was a bit of an obstacle course with me having to go over or around fallen trees, and climbing up and down and along an embankment. What caught my eye was a fallen tree with silt that appeared to have poured over the ground on the embankment. I stomped on it, and the silt seemed to move, but its sponginess wasn't due to it being quicksilt, but due to it sitting on top of the mossy forest ground. I kept on heading down the stream, thinking that I could see a break in the trees, only for it to be nothing. The stream turned southward, and after heading just a tiny bit further, I decided to give up. Knowing that the clearcut was to the north, I headed straight north through the wooded obstacle course, and came across the road, and heading eastward down the road, I was at my bike within a minute!

I decided to head back to the other main road just to the north, to see if I could at least locate the spring down the embankment from the south side of the road, which fed a stream that led to the pond, my usual route. But, I could find nothing. No spring. The clearcut had changed so much over the years, with the forest growing back, that it was like being in a whole new area! I checked out part of the road on foot as well. Finally, the road turned northward, and looking to the southeast, the terrain was hilly, with no sign of the pond. I was really getting frustrated, because I had wasted all my morning searching for that pond! But, I did snack on my lunch (Pizza Pops). Along the way, I had taken a picture of a Shrubby Penstemon:

2021 06 24 1F Shrubby Penstemon.jpg

But then, I had a idea! Perhaps I had the roads confused, and the road/clearcut to the SOUTH was the ACTUAL road that had the spring to the south of it! So, I headed back to the fork and headed back eastward down that road to the south, looking for a sign of the spring. Then, next thing I knew, I could hear the sound of running water, and investigated. Sure enough, there was the spring, water coming out of the embankment! The stream was a bit boggy just below the spring, but since the surrounding area was rocky, it wasn't going to be deep, and if it was, I would have known about it years ago. I continued down through the forest, following the stream. It likely merged with the other stream I had been following earlier, meaning if I had kept on following it, I would have reached the pond after all!

Finally, I reached the moose pond, but no moose, just ducks! There wasn't any mud exposed where the first stream entered the pond on the northeast part, but I still had a second stream on the northwestern part to check out, which was where I used to do some sinking ages ago when the water was low, although the exposed mud was rather stiff and needed to be worked then. The water was currently too high, since it was still early in the season. I had to make my way through more fallen trees on an embankment on the north side of the pond, following something of a trail. I took some pictures of the lake:

2021 06 24 1G Moose Lake Looking Westward.jpg

2021 06 24 1H Moose Lake Looking Southward.jpg

2021 06 24 1I Moose Lake Looking Eastward.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My June 24'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 3 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

When I reached the marshy area where the second stream entered from the west, there was black mud exposed in patches in the bushes and grass. I headed across the marshy area, trying not to get my shoes wet, and also headed to the edge of the pond, noticing that there wasn't really any mud exposed beyond the grass, although when I came across the second branch of the stream entering the pond, there was a small patch of mud exposed there. I had changed the memory cards in my camera, and took pix of the mud, as well as other patches of mud heading back. On the east side, I probed the mud with a stick, and found it to be roughly thigh deep. It was something that I could have worked nicely to wallow in, but it was getting too late, and I needed to check out the slide area before the day was out. It looked like my search for the trail lower down with the rocky clay spring was out of the question.

Finally, some mud pix!

2021 06 24 1J Moose Lake Mud At Incoming Stream.jpg

2021 06 24 1K Moose Lake Mud By Incoming Stream.jpg

2021 06 24 1L Moose Lake Mud By Incoming Stream.jpg

2021 06 24 1M Moose Lake Mud By Incoming Stream.jpg

2021 06 24 1N Moose Lake Mud By Incoming Stream.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My June 24'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 4 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

Switching my memory cards back again, I headed back uphill, taking a photo of a Bead Lily, and a clump of Spotted Coralroot Orchids:

2021 06 24 1O Bead Lily.jpg

2021 06 24 1P Spotted Coralroot Orchids.jpg

Then, I quickly reached a small clearcut, which was the one I had been ORIGINALLY looking for! I passed the clearcut, and through the bushes, I reached the road again, and my bike. I headed back, finally noticing the turnoff that would have led me to the other clearcut to the south, the one I was ORIGINALLY supposed to be searching for! Along the way, I noticed a muddy low area to the north of the road, which looked interesting. I switched my memory cards again, and took more photos of the mud there. A bit of it was stiff enough for me to walk on top of, and it had lots of cattle tracks. To the east, was some water in that tiny pond. Perhaps that was the muddy area by the road that I had remembered years ago and was looking for earlier:

2021 06 24 1Q Mud Around Tiny Pond.jpg

2021 06 24 1R Mud Around Tiny Pond.jpg

2021 06 24 1S Mud Around Tiny Pond.jpg

To Be Concluded...

[Boggy Man]

My June 24'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 5, The Conclusion (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

2021 06 24 1T Mud Around Tiny Pond.jpg

I then returned to my bike, again swapping memory cards. I got back to Mosquito Lake Road some time around 4 PM, and after a fast descent, I was back at Harris Creek Road at around 4:15 PM, ready to check out my slide area to see if there was any quicksilt left, or if any new slides occurred creating new opportunities!

I eagerly headed eastward to the clearing overlooking the slide area, hoping that the trees that were growing along the edge had grown larger, to make it more hidden from view. That clearing was my entrance point with my bike into the forest to the west of the clearing, where I would drop it off, grab my things, and head further west along the top of the cliff to where the silt cliffs ended and the embankment began, where I would head down to what used to be my sinking area, something I hadn't been to since 2012, 9 years ago!

When I finally reached the clearing, I was horrified to discover that it was full of people camping, with some trucks and a couple of tents set up! My one favorite spot in the middle of nowhere, and there had to be a bunch of people there! I continued past them a ways, before pausing out of sight and turning back. But, all hope was not lost! That clearing was over the eastern part of the slide area, and the slide is so large, that my more interesting spot was quite a ways to the west, mostly out of sight, although I didn't want to take any chances with any sinking in sight of the cliffs if I found anything. But, at least I could still check things out.

Away from the campers, I walked my bike from the road southward into the bush, which was an alternate entry/exit spot I had used numerous times before. I laid my bike down on an old trail in the forest, gathered my stuff together, and headed to the top of the cliffs. The view of the slide area below was unrecognizable! The cliffs looked different, and there was a narrow band of bare silt between the cliff/embankment, and a new forest on the debris field itself! I carefully made my way down the embankment on the west side of the cliffs, and reached the slide area. The silt was dry with damp spots, but solid. No quicksilt anywhere to be seen. I felt a bit disoriented, because it looked sooo different. I headed westward, to the area near the western toe of the slide to see if I could locate the Mountain Lady Slipper Orchids. When I reached the edge, I had to go into the new forest to search, but there was no sign of the orchids. Either I had not checked the correct spot, or the new forest had made the conditions too unfavorable for them to grow anymore. I then slowly headed back eastward, uphill through the northern edge of the debris field, wandering through the bushes, trying to identify any features that I had remembered last time I was there. I also turned around and headed back westward through the new forest to look for familiar landmarks. But, it had changed too much. Time went by too fast for me to explore the rest of the slide that was out of sight of the campers, and for all I knew there could have been some sinking areas around another part of the fringe (toe) of the slide further to the south. I managed to identify my main exit point, where I was able to retrace my original path years ago up the steep silty embankment to the steep intact forested embankment, finally reaching the top again. I switched memory cards again, and took a photo of the slide area from the clifftop. The main sinking area was definitely dead, although it looked that way in previous years after being alive early in the spring.

2021 06 24 1U West End Of Harris Creek Slide.jpg

I returned to my bike, and headed back down the road, phoning my mom when I got a clear signal, discovering that my dad was already on his way. I then met my dad at a junction in the road, just as he was arriving there to wait for me (couldn't have timed it better), and we returned home.

It was great to finally touch base with a place I hadn't been to in 9 years, but I was disappointed that I had wasted so much time looking for the moose pond in the wrong places! I never had a chance to check out that rocky clay spring in the middle of a trail. Years ago, when I pumped my legs in it, it would shift beneath my feet and I would start to sink, but the rocks grinding against my legs made it too painful to continue. I wondered if it had changed at all. I also never had a chance to fully check out the entirety of the slide, either, and there was a trail along the south side of Harris Creek Road further to the east that had a marshy area that was fenced in, making me wonder if it had any spots that were treacherous and therefore too hazardous for cattle. It also had morel mushrooms in the past, something I was keeping an eye out for all day for my mom. So many things I wanted to check out, but never had the time.

After my bikeride, the heat dome moved in, bringing record breaking heat to much of BC, with some places feeling more like DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA! Back on July 5'th, 1937, Midale and Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan had set Canada's all time historical high temperature of 45˚C, or 113˚F. But, that record finally fell when Lytton, BC exceeded that temperature three days in a row, with each day getting hotter and hotter, with the peak temperature reaching 49.6˚C, or 121˚F! Kamloops BC peaked at 47.3˚C, or 117˚F. For a few days, our thermometer peaked at 42˚C, or 108˚F, with it hotter in the valley, with it being 43.9˚C, or 111˚F in Vernon on June 30'th.

But, Lytton receiving top honors as Canada's new all time hot spot came at a horrific price! A wildfire swept through, and destroyed 90% of the village! They believe it was sparked by a train! After the heat dome finally moved away, we got back to more typical heat, with temperatures in the lower to mid 30's (mid 80's to mid 90's). But, more forest fires started sparking all over the place, most caused by lightning.

My next adventure would be to my Crescent Road pond area, to see if our record heat after my first bikeride, not to mention our record dry spring, lowered water levels enough to expose my sinking spot weeks earlier than usual! Last year, it was submerged most of the summer (it was kinda exposed the first time on August 4'th due to bloating with swamp gas and water underneath, which was released with my sink, lowering the mud below the water level), with no signs of it being completely exposed until mid September, during Hunting Season! Looking at our drought situation, this year looks to be shaping up to be the best since 2017, the year my neck pain started up (at least it has settled down since then)!

[Boggy Man]

My July 5'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 1!

After my June 24'th outing, I couldn't wait for the next outing, where I would check out my Crescent Road pond sinking spot! I had to wait until after the heat dome, which brought unprecedented heat to BC, had finally moved away. My mom was due for left knee replacement surgery on Tuesday, July 6'th for her osteoarthritis (she had her right knee done years ago), and after that, my dad would have to stick around to help her with things for the next few weeks. So, since my dad wouldn't be able to give me a lift into the mountains for a few weeks after that, I planned on going on Monday, July 5'th, the day before her surgery. After my dad not wanting to take me to the Harris Creek area anymore, he was also reluctant to take me up to Crescent Road, but he gave in, since I had done so much work around the farm. The weather was still fairly warm, and over the past several days, they kept on forecasting afternoon or evening thunderstorms, but nothing ever materialized. I just hoped that this day would be no different, although the satellite photo showed a bunch of cloud that was going to brush by us early in the day, and be gone by afternoon.

On our way up, my dad was complaining about how rough the road was, more washboard than usual, as well as potholes. He didn't like shaking his truck up. When we got further up into the mountains, I was shocked to see so many new logging roads turning off the main road, including one going replacing an old dirt road where I used to bike and hike years ago, which led to a meadow with some very shallow, but wallow-able, clay mud on the north side back then. With all the new logging activity, I was a bit concerned about the ribbons I saw last year on trees at my drop-off point on Crescent Road, and hoped that it was still undisturbed. The last thing I wanted was for a lot of logging activity to happen on the road, just down from, and the opposite side of, the turnoff to my pond! But, I was relieved to see that Crescent Road showed no new activity, and when my dad dropped me off, the grassy clearing there was still the same as last year. I got my things, and tested my bike to make certain it was functioning well before my dad took off, leaving me on the plateau, in the woods, ready to begin checking things out!

I headed straight to my pond, having to go over a small fallen tree on the dirt sideroad, and an extra, slightly larger fallen tree than before on the side trail from that road, to get to the clearing north of the pond, where I would drop my bike off. But, the spot in the woods down an old trail where I would usually drop my bike off was blocked by yet another fallen tree, a really big one, forcing me to drop my bike off on the north side of smaller trees at the entrance to the patch of woods (it continued through the trees briefly before coming into a grassy area to the west). I gathered my things, and headed southward through the alders to the pond, noticing how many White Bog Orchids were sprouting up all over the place! I never seen so many there! I took some photos:

2021 07 05 2A White Bog Orchids.jpg

2021 07 05 2B White Bog Orchid Closeup.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My July 5'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 2 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

Then, I headed straight for my sinking spot to see what it looked like for the first time this year, and mud was already exposed! However, the water around it was still a little high, and parts of the edges of the mud were also underwater, which meant that the bog would likely sink under the water once I took the fateful plunge! I dropped my stuff off at my usual spot in the shadow of some trees to the west, swapped memory cards in my camera, and took photos of the bog, surrounded by my wall of sticks to prevent animals from falling in! I decided to show full-sized 4320 x 3240 photos to really show you a good view of the treacherous mire!

2021 07 05 2C Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2D Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2E Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2F Crescent.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My July 5'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 3 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

I then headed to the north side of the pond, and took some photos of the mud exposed there, and then took photos of the mud exposed on the south side. This time I am using the usual smaller 1600x1200 size photos:

2021 07 05 2G Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2H Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2I Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2J Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2K Crescent.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My July 5'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 4 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

Keeping to the west side, I then headed to the south side, and took more pix of the mud exposed there, taking care not to stumble into any soft spots, since many spots seemed to be floating on water:

2021 07 05 2L Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2M Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2N Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2O Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2P Crescent.jpg

To Be Continued...

[Boggy Man]

My July 5'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 5 (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!

2021 07 05 2Q Crescent.jpg

Around that time, as I was heading back, I began to feel raindrops! The first raindrops I felt in ages! It started to shower but then fortunately stopped. When I got back to my things my my sinking spot, I put my camera away, and proceeded to remove the sticks that surrounded the patch of treacherous ooze! But, it kept on starting to rain again with large drops, and would stop, and start up again! I finally managed to get all the sticks removed from around my bog, and wanted to take a photo, but I wanted the rain to stop first. I waited by my things, occasionally hearing thunder. When the rain finally seemed to ease off, I took a few steps towards the bog to take a picture, when BOOM! A crack of thunder had filled the air, which caused me to back away from the water again. Too dangerous to be around water when there is lightning present! The rain then got heavier , making me decide to head back to my bike to have lunch while waiting for this rain to stop.

Leaving most of my things there, I returned to my bike, put on a gray hoodie for extra warmth, grabbed my lunch, and headed into the woods where the trees were largest, and provided the best shelter from the rain. Then, as I snacked on two Pizza Pops, I watched to the southeast the rain falling in the clearing east of where I was sitting, and the downpour seemed to last forever. I watched as it seemed to get heavier and lighter, and heavier again, before it finally started to taper off, and after a while it finally stopped!

Everything was wet, and the air felt a bit cool, but since I knew that we were in a warm airmass, I knew that things would quickly warm up soon (the chill would be localized to the area with the shower). While I was waiting for things and for me to warm up, I walked back to the sideroad, and walked northward, up the road from my Crescent pond, towards the third pond (my Crescent Road pond is to the west of another pond the sideroad passes by), with the ring bog, stopping to probe some shallow clay an inch or so deep in ruts (with fresh rainwater) in the road, wishing that I could find deep clay like that. Continuing on down the road, I never bothered to hike down to the pond to the east, but instead walked as far as where the road turned east, and where an old overgrown trail leads up north, which I would take to access meadows to the north, but not at this time. I looked at some porous lava rocks in the clearing on the west side of the road, and glanced around for the entrance to an old trail to the west, that looped around to connect with the trail to the north, finally locating it. I then headed back to my pond, sun coming out, noticing how the grass was all wet, and water in the grass was feeling cold.

Back at my bog, I was dismayed to see that the pelting rainstorm had filled the low spots between the tiny bumps on the surface of the mud with water, and the surrounding water was slightly higher as well! But, I was finally able to take photos of the mire, in the open without all the sticks. I am showing the full size 4320 x 3240 versions for greatest detail:

2021 07 05 2R Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2S Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2T Crescent.jpg

2021 07 05 2U Crescent.jpg

To Be Concluded...