Three groups of four walkers each set off at intervals to make up our city walk this week. In Griffith Woods, autumn surrounded us: dried grass, bare trees, traces of old snow, hidden animals. Only tiny Wood Violets twinkled spring colour. The excellent path, groomed but natural, cherished our feet for most of the way west along multiple strands of the Elbow River. The still water shone with reflections of treed vistas and sculptural bushes. Everywhere Red Osier Dogwoods shared their bright red branches. In the quiet reaches of the river, mallards slowly drifted and dipped for underwater plant-life. For indiscernible reasons, park maintenance entailed the felling of many trees, some for making the path, but others for purposes left to our imaginations and mildly curious conversation. The trees were left to disintegrate naturally, undoubtedly making ... read more

Summer came to welcome our out-of-city venture in Chestermere by the irrigation canal. We met for a brisk walk in this prairie environment. The fields shone golden, and the cloudless sky reflected blue in the canal along our path. The water level was low, before the snow melt in the mountains fills the irrigation system later in the year. Thus, the bright orange url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_(navigational_barrier)#:~:text=A%20boom%20or%20a%20chain,to%20control%20or%20block%20navigation.booms before and after the dangerous weir seemed to be redundant, although signs warned sternly about portage. At first, birds were elusive. A trio of horses substituted interest. At last, we spied a Canada Goose tr... read more

On this bright (almost) spring morning, a large group of walkers met at the Weaselhead . Divided into two groups of nine, we headed off towards the Elbow River. The morning light transformed twisted oxbow bends into sculptures of ice and water defined by the low-covered marsh. The Weaselhead Flats to the west shone more brightly than the hazy mountains. Poplar trees in North Glenmore Park reflected the light, revealing the slightest tinges of new green. As the morning warmed, and we stuffed garments into backpacks, the river ice melted into blue pools, which disappeared under the heavier ice of the dam. Cars rushed along the causeway, oblivious to the relaxed joy of our group and the many other walkers gladly escaping their homes. Returning to the starting point, our two groups kept thei... read more

The storminess of the day held off long enough to give us a picturesque walk along the Bow River and into the Inglewood district. We met at Pearce Estate Park and immediately headed down to the Bow River. The delightful smell and sound of crunched leaves accompanied us through the wooded part of the path. The clear blue river was calm enough to act as a mirror for the trees and high rises in the distance. Bridges were geometric exclamations: Nose Creek (CPR) bridge, the Zoo bridge, the George C King bridge, and the memorial to the St George’s Island bridge. We paused at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, talking about the First Nation... read more

Our meet-up in Edworthy Park brought together 17 C hikers for a brisk day draped in vibrant fall colours. Following our leader, Dee, we warmed up in the sunshine as we walked through the park’s playground out to the pathway along the Bow River. The deep yellow grasses were punctuated with sparse, bright-red leaves on Saskatoon bushes, mostly stripped of their dark-blue berries by now. At a different life-stage, bunches of red berries adorned Elder bushes, still draped in pale green leaves. Suddenly our reveries were startled by the blaring horn of a freight train that roared and rattled close beside the walking path. At the bottom of the escarpment, we meandered through nameless woods. Golden leaf-litter led us into magical scenes of reds, oranges, and yellows affixed to dark branches and light popla... read more