Leon Turnbull Photography

After spending Christmas at my folks’ place in Rossland BC, we drove over to the East Kootenays, to Cranbrook to visit my sister and family. They have two girls about the same age as our two kids, and it is always very special for the cousins to see each other. Their girl Mya said we are her favourite of all her many cousins. Take that Doerksen family! (kidding) Most of the time, we did not even see the four of them as they were all off somewhere playing together. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, I suppose.

Anyway on Friday after Christmas, I got up early to do a little hike. Unfortunately my dumb weather app got me up an hour too early. There is a one hour time difference between Rossland and Cranbrook, thus I thought it very odd that there would only be a five minute difference in sunrise time. But then again it didn’t seem right that sunrise would be after 8:30AM in Cranbrook either. Yeah right. Well at least there was a Tim Hortons in town where I could sit and wait until after 8:30 (and have a coffee and donut too of course).

My goal was Moyie Falls just south of Cranbrook. When we were last here in Autumn, I vaguely remember trying to get to this waterfall with Tara, but for some reason we never got there. I have no idea why. My memory is fleeting in old age. All I remember is that we drove up the dirt road from Lumberton, but I know we never even got close to the falls. Maybe we made a wrong turn somewhere? The thing of it is, even if we did not make a wrong turn, we probably could not have gotten to the waterfall anyway.

It is interesting that this road is plowed in the winter. Indeed, I found that many such logging roads in BC were plowed. It is odd. If this was California, there is no way in a cat’s meow the road would be plowed, though I wish it were different in California. It would open up some amazing winter recreational opportunities. Sigh.

Well I found the turnoff that I somehow missed the last time I was here, and started walking down the road to the Moyie River. I had my snowshoes on just in case I needed them, but I did not. The trail was well packed and well trodden. It seems to be a popular hike in the winter, but there was no one here this day (too close to sunrise? It is sure tough getting up at 8:30 eh). It is an easy trek down to the river, and from there the trail continues up stream to the falls. You cannot see or hear the waterfall. In fact, the river is so flat and so peaceful and meandering down here, you think there is no way there could be a waterfall. I was not really sure what to expect either, I thought there might be a 20 foot waterfall, but more likely it would be just 10 feet or even less. But as I rounded a corner, I could see it, and it was a dandy. Not just a 10 footer, but a 46 ft high beauty as the river drops over a hidden cliff in a tight gorge.

I could also see something else. This waterfall is not possible to get to without crossing the river. In the spring, I think it would be impossible. In the cold freezing winter though, it is different. Ice bridges allow passage across the river. I was a bit hesitant, but the path I was following was secure and strong. That extra spaghetti I ate at the Colander Restaurant was not enough to break this ice bridge. The path led over the river, then up the other side to the falls. A big snowy rock right in front of the waterfall I climbed up on top of, to enjoy the view and take my photographs. Notice also the old mine shaft beside the waterfall. It is a very fascinating and beautiful place.

It was about two years ago I first learned of this waterfall. It is Bear Creek Falls in Trail BC, so close to civilization and the city, and yet so remote at the same time. You won’t find this one posted or documented anywhere else. It is a locals only type of waterfall, but fortunately I am in the know with the locals. At that time I examined the descent from the road. It looked very steep and especially very brushy. It did not really even look possible and I did not make an attempt. However, then my mom told me that she and dad had gone down to the waterfall about 40+ years ago. It probably was much less brushy back then but the gauntlet was thrown down. I had to get to this waterfall now. No holding back.

This winter I finally had the chance. In winter it would be easier on the one hand because the brush would be covered by snow. But on the other hand it might be much more dangerous to traverse the cliffs in the snow. There was about two feet on the ground. I did not think it would be too feasible, but it was time to make a go of it anyway. No holding back, right? How steep can it really be anyway?

You can see the falls from the road (in winter) but this is private property and not the best place to descend to the creek anyway. I started further down the road where there is a parking pullout and the terrain is easier. A bit easier. The first part, though, starts off steep right away as you need to descend into a gully and cross it. After this though it was actually quite easy. I did not bring snowshoes thinking it would be too difficult to use them on the steep terrain. So I just trudged through the two feet of snow. There seemed to be a trail I was following but I could not tell for sure under the snow cover. There were lots of animal prints too from deer and other critters. Once you get closer to the waterfall the terrain gets much more cliffy. It was not really too bad but in the snow it could be dangerous. I did not really want to slide down the mountain into the creek far below me, though it could be exciting; however the snow was very solid and I had no worries. I could not see the waterfall yet as I traversed the mountain but I could see where it would be, hidden behind the cliff ahead of me. I finally got closer and could see the falls. Now the trouble would be how to get up close to it. It was a lot more brushy close to the falls and even in winter it was very difficult making my way up to the waterfall but after crawling under a log, sliding down some icy rocks, and doing the hokey pokey, I finally made it to the bottom, getting right down to creek level at the base of the falls. It is an absolutely gorgeous 63 ft high horsetail shaped waterfall. So very beautiful in the snow and ice. Bear Creek Falls is finally bagged. Take that mom! 🙂 Now I’ll have to see about getting back to this one in the spring sometime. Oh yeah bring it on.

I grew up in Rossland, British Columbia. I never once saw a moose there. I never once even heard of moose being around here (though my memory is rapidly fading in my old age).

So here we are, my brother in law and I, driving out to Nancy Greene Lake one day to do some mtn biking. As we passed the lake I saw a big animal off in a marshy area which sure as heck looked like a moose. Impossible, I thought. He was driving pretty fast, however, and I did not get a good look. Yet I could not think of what else it possibly could have been. Both Lynal and my mom confirmed that there is moose in the area. What? Is this a recent development? Could this really be possible?

The next morning I pulled my wife out of bed and dragged her up to the same area. Sure enough the moose was there. Three big boys in fact were there. We walked as quietly as we could down to the marshy area (which was not too quiet on the loose gravel road) and managed to get very close to them, within a hundred feet or so. They were watching us very closely but they did not move off and we stayed there a long time watching them with me shooting tons of pics. It was a fantastic experience, one of the best moose experiences I’ve had (second only to the ones we paddled past very closely to on the Bowron Lakes). After quite awhile, we decided to finally leave them alone and went back to the car, pleased as punch.

So why are there moose in Rossland now? My unconfirmed theory is that moose (and grizzly bears as well) have moved back into this area now after a long absence. It makes sense. With moose there will be grizzly bears also. There are grizzly and moose now back in northern Oregon as well. I love it. Now if only these animals would move back into northern California I would be ecstatic. Maybe some day.