This weekend I am off to explore the Stein Valley with a few friends. I am pretty excited about it.

I think this is a great year to visit the Stein Valley. The valley follows the Stein River (or is it the other way around) meaning the elevation change is not dramatic. This is usually the opposite of what I long for but my knee is still giving me trouble on downhill terrain. If I could find something that was all uphill with a great view and then no descent (or maybe a zip line or nice paraglide exit) that would pretty much be ideal.

Also, the snow line is rather low this year meaning most higher altitude hikes still have (at least) a couple metres of snow. This place should be a bit milder.

Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park has a rich cultural heritage. I look forward to examining the petroglyphs. I bought some fresh sage at the farmers market on Wednesday. I am drying it and bundling it into a smudge so we can make an appropriate offering and blessing to the park and its inhabitants – past, present, and future.

Adding to my excitement and fueling my love for the outdoors, I recently came across this Parks Canada video montage from one of their cameras in Banff National Park (Colleen posted it to facebook). It spans one year and features deer, sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, elk, moose, crows, squirrels, cyclists, hikers, skiers, wolves, cougars, mountain goats and more. I was grinning for four and a half minutes. I love this country.