Stony Lake Nature Hike
On a mild April day, the upper grasslands seemed like a good area to hike. Above the fenceline on the east side of the Lac du Bois Grasslands is the Lac du Bois Grasslands Nature Conservation Area. Most people think it is part of the provincial park, but in fact the lands are now owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Reasonable public access to the lands is allowed, but not motorized use. This is the upper grasslands, on the slopes of Clapperton Hill. From the south end is an old double track first established by homesteaders, but now used by the ranchers who have grazing rights in the area. The double track leads up onto a grasslands bench area, dotted by ponds, a lake, groves and some douglas fir forested sections, mostly on the north side of hills.
On this day there were wildflowers everywhere – sagebrush buttercups, western spring beauty, yellow bells, desert parsley, arrow-leaved balsam root, upland larkspur, woodland star, and a few emerging species too.
The double track leads to a series of pothole ponds. There were ducks on them, but also a yellowlegs and some killdeer.
Right above Stony Lake was a rock cairn, a field marker from homesteading days. This L-shaped area was called the 1000-acre Lease. It was not homesteaded, but was held as a grazing lease by Cooney (1890), Curwen (1904), Clapperton (1925), Lowe (1930), Hayward (1940), and the Frolek Cattle Company (1956). It is still grazed on a seasonal basis in agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Frolek Cattle Company.
From Stony Lake. the day’s route was south along another old double track that winds down to the Long Lake area, past more ponds, and out to the steeper south-facing slopes. The double tracks run out and futher hiking in the area is a traverse across grasslands slopes.
A few images are shared here, photos taken by the author from that day of hiking. A map is included. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
