1st day of Spring 2011, a walk in the Canyon

The rains stopped, the sun came out and the birds started to chirp. It was Sunday morning, the first day of a new season and there was warmth in the air . Unless there is some 2-wheeled event going on, I don't usually ride on Sundays. Instead we go out for brunch and sometimes a ride into the country to exercise my cameras. Today was no different. We had our brunch and ended up in Capilano Canyon over in North Vancouver


(Chinook Salmon:Sigma 10-22mm UWA EF mount)

There are many trails in this area and it had been a while since I walked to the 2nd viewpoint. There is a parking area near the fish hatchery (No parking charges = FREE)



This facility is located along the banks of the Capilano river and at the bottom of a narrow slot canyon. You take a self guided tour to see the displays and read the posted placards. At the end you come to the tanks where the fishlings are nourished until their release into the open ocean. There are fish ladders for them to bypass the rapids caused by the rushing waters and jagged rocks



At the start of the trail there is an elevated walkway



As it would get very messy having to walk on the muddy ground below . You soon come to a pedestrian bridge



which transverses the Capilano River and brings you to the trail on the west side . It is a mainly flat trail but would be considered a mountain if you compared to the highest point down in KW FL



The trail starts out with a thick canopy and soon you come to what looks like a rain forest with green moss. I would imagine that there is not much sunlight down in the Canyon which keeps the vegetation wet and moist



I like the green moss and it reminds me of my trip to Haida Qwai'i a few years ago



It feels good to get back to nature and enjoy the solitude of being alone with just the trees around you. During the summer the trails are very crowded, today was the exception and I had the place nearly to myself

Before long, we get to the end



There is a double platform with a northward view of the Cleveland Dam straight ahead. I remember a time on a hot summer day when they let excess water down the spillway and there was a heavy cloud of mist. So thick that it was hard to photograph without getting all your camera gear wet. Today it was just a trickle

After we left the park I decided to drive up to the Dam and get the view from up there, looking down at the platform



The flowing water has a hypnotic effect of drawing your eyes and you feel as if you should just jump over and "go with the flow". It reminds me of that Harrison Ford movie "The Fugitive" in the scene where he comes out and has to jump down the dam in order to escape. I tried to get rid of the queasy feeling and stepped back from the cement wall. I don't have a great fear of heights but I am not comfortable when it comes to looking far down from high above.

I mounted my telephoto lens and took this shot of the 2nd viewpoint below, where we were a short time earlier


(Canon EF-s 55-250 is)

Which brings me to my favourite scene of the day


(Capilano Canyon)

With the exception of the 2nd from the last photo, all images were shot with a Sigma UWA 10-22 mm lens