At the end of the first week of November we returned to hike a route we have done a number of times, the Upper Grasslands Track.         This old double track was originally a cart track used by homesteaders, linking the Lac du Bois community to the Pruden Pass community.    There was a homestead by one of the lakes and the Wheeler Mountain Road wound over the shoulder of the mountain down to Tranquille too.   In later years, it was used by ATVs, but the route is now in the Lac du Bois Nature Conservancy and in Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area.     It has been also been used by ranchers for managing cattle in grazing areas.    Grazing rights were grandfathered to future access, so an occasion truck still uses the track, but for the most part it is becoming grown in.    The entire route is in the upper grasslands.

We started our hike at Lac du Bois and followed the track south.

A long the way are some aspen groves, some ponds, and a few evergreens, but it is open grassland terrain all  the way.

We hiked for about 3.8 km south, then veered off track to the top of a hill for views over the Lac du Bois Grasslands and for a lunch break.

We returned the way we came.    Warmer weather and sunny skies filled the grasslands with light.

We passed the large pond (Green Pond) on the way back to Lac du Bois.

The Upper Grasslands Track is a pleasant and rewarding route for a hike in any month.