There's just something about the mountains in the East Kootenays; they're a little more impressive and imposing than what we have around the Rossland Range. Combining that with the couple hundred kilometres of forest service roads up the Bull River (including Tanglefoot, Galbraith and Quinn Creeks), it made for an easy choice when Kelsey and I decided we needed to break out of the routine and escape for 24 hours.
Only a few kilometres off the paved road, we were already lucky enough to see a few mule deer, a nesting osprey and a herd of bighorn sheep. From a wildlife perspective, the trip was already a success: any other sightings would be a bonus.
We decided to stick along the Bull River and see how far we could get. The maps indicate that the Bull River FSR connects to White River FSR (which is inline with Lussier Hot Springs and Canal Flats). We tried last year connecting up to White River through Quinn Creek Rd but found the deactivation to be a little more intense than we wanted to push through. This year we got to nearly the 90km marker before snow turned us around and heading back down, we found a nice little spot around 66k.
After being in the vehicle all day, a little walk to stretch the legs was in order. We weren't even out of the campsite and see three elk in the river staring up at us (thanks to me pressing the lock button on the FOB one too many times). Luckily there was a little window through the trees and I was able to get one nice shot before they decided they didn't like our company.
The next morning, with two cups of coffee down the hatch, we hiked up to the top of Hornaday Pass, accessible a stone's throw from the Norboe Creek Rec Site. A beautiful trail with mountains all around, the full trail connects over to Highway 43 up to Elkford, near Grave Lake. Though there we didn't see any animals on the hike, there were plenty of droppings and other signs, including some pretty fresh rubs. A nice end to the trip (save for the two ticks we found when we got back).
Full gallery below.
Thanks Jackie! We were pretty fortunate to see the herd that close up. Luckily the ticks weren't on us. One on a sweatshirt and another on a pillow in the truck.
Awesome Mitch! Those are all super cool! I've only ever seen Horn Sheep like that in movies. Very cool...now the most asked question, where did you find the ticks!? On you?!