EXECUTIVE CORNER

Seeking Ideas for Courses

The CORE executive is currently looking for ideas from the members about educational courses they would like to see in the future. If you have a suggestion for a course or courses that could be funded by the legacy Branko Peterman fund, please send your idea(s) to mailbox@corehike. org.

Stories are Coming in for Chicken Mountain Award (the CMA)

We now have two stories that have been submitted via mailbox@corehike.org for the Chicken Mountain Award. These, and other stories submitted to the mailbox over the year, will be revealed at the club’s AGM in May, where a winner of the award will be selected.

Progress is being made on On-line Membership Sign-up and Payment Capabilities

As announced at our August meeting, the executive is working to set up an on-line membership form and payment system to make membership renewal easier and more convenient. Stay tuned for further details!

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ACTIVITY SCOREBOARD

August/September 2017

Between August 19 and September 10, CORE’s calendar featured four different cycling events (mountain biking, road biking to the Gopher Hole Museum, urban biking around the entire city and city pathway biking through various parks). Also on the calendar were seven hikes in the mountains, two urban hikes, and a social dining evening.  Thanks to the following coordinators for posting these events: Lynn, Harvey, Julia, Anne-Marie, Dave V., Carol, and Cathie.

Here are a few highlights. Please visit the CORE photo albums for more pictures from recent activities.

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SEPTEMBER MONTHLY MEETING

Scarboro Community Centre

1727 14th Avenue S.W.

TUESDAY. 26 September, 2017, 7:00 pm

Presentation: Authors and hikers Gillean and Tony Daffern – Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Series

Join us at 7:00 p.m. at the Scarboro Community Centre for a presentation by experienced hikers and authors Gillean and Tony Daffern. Gillean and Tony are the popular and well-known writers and publishers of the series, Kananaskis Country Trail Guides. Tony has also penned, Popular Dayhikes 2: Canadian Rockies as well as Backcountry Avalanche Safety. The presentation will include a review of the new Trailfinder on-line application, that Tony and Gillean have developed. Following that, Gillean will answer any questions we may have or discuss issues regarding the Kananaskis trails that we would like to raise. Here’s your chance to interact with the experts on K-Country.

The meeting will also include club announcements and updates.

Our October meeting, Tuesday, October 31, will land right on Hallowe’en night. Watch for announcements regarding the possibility of pumpkins and potluck!

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“NATURE” NEWS & NOTES

Add Raw Cacao to Your Trail Mix

Did you know that you can add unroasted broken cacao beans (also known as cacao nibs) to trail mixes or as toppings on dishes and desserts? According to an article in Rockies Health (Summer 2017 edition), cacao in its unprocessed, unroasted state has 119 times more antioxidant content than bananas, 20 times more than blueberries and four times more than its processed counterpart, dark chocolate. In addition, raw cacao powder can be blended into smoothies and other beverages (such as hot chocolate). To find out where to buy these products just Google them. It looks like Amazon, Walmart, Bulk Barn may be potential sources.

Banff and Canmore’s Bear 148

For those of you who have been following the saga of Bear 148 over the summer, here’s an update. This well-known grizzly was relocated out of Canmore on July 28 following several encounters with people in a heavily-used area, and moved 450 kilometres to a remote area of northwestern Alberta. According to the Rocky Mountain Outlook (Canmore’s weekly newspaper), a new GPS collar tracking 148’s movements shows that she has been criss-crossing back and forth between drainages in Alberta and B.C. but generally staying in the same area where she was released. She is most likely foraging on huckleberries in those drainages, according to provincial government sources.

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A BIRD’S EYE VIEW

Hiking in an extreme fire ban area – A new experience for CORE members

The CORE group who participated in the recent Waterton Hiking Weekend quickly found out what it’s like to hike in an area being shut down and restricted hour by hour, initially due to extreme fire hazard and tinder dry conditions, and later due to an actual fire west of the national park – the Kenow Mountain Wildfire. We knew that certain trails would be closed before we left, but by the time we arrived in Waterton on Friday evening, the closure list had grown substantially. With limited trails still open, we were lucky to find two great hikes to do on Saturday (although one of them, Wall Lake, had a closure sign by the time we finished the hike, and the second one was closed the following day).

On Sunday, we were worried that no trails would be open and we’d end up renting paddle boards and eating ice cream along with the rest of the tourists. Fortunately, we had all brought our passports, so we hopped on a tour boat heading to Goat Haunt on the U.S. side of Waterton Lake. When we arrived back from the long hike along the shoreline, there was a letter attached to our motel door. Although not an evacuation alert per se, the letter warned us of a potential alert in the future. Despite the many challenges that the group faced, it ended up being a great weekend. Thanks to Anne-Marie for organizing it!

The fire recently spread into Waterton National Park, burned down the park’s visitor centre, and many people have been evacuated from southern Alberta communities.

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ARTICLES & BOOKS WORTH NOTING

New Book Tackles the Complex Subject of Geology – Without Being Full of Technical Jargon

For those struggling to understand how the Rockies were made and shaped, there is a new book available that offers a friendly introduction to local geology. Primarily a driving guide, Rocks, Ridges, and Rivers: Geological Wonders of Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks is a 216-page guidebook, published by Broken Poplars, and written by Calgary geologist Dale Leckie. Launched in Calgary at Shelf-Life Books on July 26, Leckie’s book focuses on the geology of the main highways of Banff, Yoho, and Jasper: specifically, the Trans-Canada from Banff to Field and the Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93 north) from Lake Louise to Jasper.

Leckie begins with the big picture, reaching back in time to explain how the Rockies developed, before moving on to the eight colour-coded geological road trips, which are accompanied by full-colour maps, diagrams and photographs (and some art work). Along with the geology, Leckie apparently touches on the history, as well as the natural history, of each site.

It is well-written, easy-to-use, informative and jargon-free. Watch for it in local bookstores such as Chapters or Shelf-Life Books, or on Amazon.

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….see you on the trails ….

CM