A Hike to Mystic Lake of the Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.



The Hills we'll be going into.

 I have been trying to get to this hike for a while, but have been held up by procrastination and trying decide what to include. For those who have followed the blog for a while you have seen other hikes and the wildlife that I encounter. I generally prefer to hike at least in the beginning on abandoned RR tracks because they take you through wetlands, and isolate you at least a bit from the wildlife. It's not fun to turn a corner and find yourself in the centre of a blueberry patch that a black bear and her cubs consider theirs. The RR roadbed gives her a retreat and me, a retreat, and everybody is easy. The RR roadbed also tend to avoid hills. This time we won't be doing that. We're going into the hills shown opposite, although we're going from the side rather than the front. The elevation is about 70 feet, and the trail at times will run up a narrow incline of 45 to 60 degrees. So my heart will be running on high. I did the trip in late November over two days, one dull and one bright. It was intensely cold. I did this for several reasons. I had never been on the trail before and I wanted the trail free of a heavy tree canopy to facilitate vision. I also wanted to see if I could snowshoe the area in snow and the answer was no. Boom did not accompany me as it was still hunting season, legal or otherwise, and the area is littered with wolf tracks. The wildlife shown is not necessarily active in November but was all taken in the area.

My usual disclaimer: Remember this is not a park. It is a wilderness, and I'm on my own. Mystic Lake is another uninhabited area.

No trip is complete without Hugin our guide.



Even in flight they watch over us.



The trail is not only high, but laden with traps.

These kind of rock traps are not common, but water seepage makes fissures in the rock, so you have to watch your footing. Going off trail is somewhat dangerous as we're on the rim of the cliff and the forest makes a good over winter spot for bears who are cranky when awakened.

Pine squirrels are abundant in the area.



Fungus growth on dead birch.

You not only have to watch out for the rock traps, but the area is filled with birch, aspen and black spruce which have short life spans. That means you watch the trees so one doesn't fall on you. Over turned trees also make great dens for bears.


Cedar Waxwing

Because the berry crop is so heavy, these guys are summer dwellers and fun to see.


This forest is a regenerating forest which was virtually destroyed by mining. It's also been burnt over.



Northern Flicker, a ground woodpecker that feeds on ants.



Red Fox




Sun's reflection but it's really cold.




The wetlands of Mystic Lake are home to Blue Heron.




Wild Mink




A Young Black Bear probably his first year away from Mom.



I'll continue the Hike on Sky Watch Friday. Hope you're enjoying it so far, and we haven't even reached the lake yet.

A Post to WBW @ http://pinereviewreview.blogspot.com/