Christmas Eve Ramble
Wednesday morning I woke up, as did most of us, to a blanket of white draped over everything. I’d read that a Northern Hawk Owl had been seen up around the McKee area early in December, so it looked like a perfect place to go for a holiday excursion – accessible by car and not something that would take up my entire day (I had to work and run some errands yet that day). I hadn’t, however, counted on this much snow.
Getting up McKee was a difficult drive; the snow was still fresh and it’s essentially one big hill. It’s called McKee Peak for a reason. If I thought the drive was difficult, finding parking was another story altogether, as all the roadsides were no more than deep snowdrifts. Eventually I parked, somewhat dangerously, on the shoulder but a little too close to traffic for my liking.
Open Woods
The hike itself was fairly short, but stunningly beautiful. There were “private property – no trespassing” signs everywhere, but I was fairly certain that this was in fact a legitimate mountain bike trail, so I kept on marching.
Perhaps marching isn’t the world. Galumphing might be more appropriate. Stopping and starting with my head pointed straight upwards, scanning treetops for owls. So far only the persistent din of a flock of Black-Capped Chickadees, and a Downy Woodpecker. Somebody had been here already this morning, as there were some partly snowed in tracks leading the way. Some fourty-five minutes in, I turned around, only because by now I was afraid that somebody would call a towing company over my park job, and I hot-footed it down at breakneck speed, knowing that in my desperation to find a parking spot, I’d probably pushed the limits a little bit. I really need a jeep.
On the way down, I decided I wanted a shot of snow-covered Abbotsford from the viewpoint on Mckee Road, which again necessitated the finding of a parking spot. This involved much driving and spinning and verging on getting stuck in snowdrifts, after which I gave up and and drove down the hill a ways and parked on a sidestreet, from where I found a trail heading back up the hill. Halfway up this trail I found the following gem:
Giant Rhododendron
By the time I reached the top, heavy flurries had re-started and the view had disappeared. It hadn’t really been a view of Abbotsford at all; more Matsqui Prairie, but exquisite all the same. While there, I decided to visit the rhododendron grove at the corner of McKee and Whatcom. Not many people know about this patch; here there are 100 year old rhododendrons that were planted by Dr. McKee. They have trunks up to 60 cm across and tower over your head. I’ve never been here in the winter before; only in summer and fall. Neither have I ever visited the grove in bloom.
Inside the rhododendron grove
These rhodos are threatened by development; there are plans to develop either housing or commercial on the site, something I’ve fought against, but to date the city has only agreed to move one or two of these amazing plants, citing cost and previous decisions by council.
And no, I never did see the Northern Hawk Owl.
