Tomorrow (Saturday), to celebrate Environment Week, the Burke Mountain Naturalists will lead a public hike on the Woodland Walk Trail in Pinecone Burke Provincial Park.
The hike will cover 9 km with an elevation gain of 300 m to a lookout that provides views of the protected forests of the Coquitlam watershed.
The hike leaders will meet the public at the trailhead at the end of Harper Road off Coast Meridian in northeast Coquitlam for an 8 a.m. departure. All participants will be required to sign a waiver but registration is not required. Hikers can expect to return to the trailhead by 2 p.m. at the latest.
For many years, a washed-out culvert has impeded access along this otherwise easy to moderate trail. For this hike, the Burke Mountain Naturalists will install ropes to facilitate a creek crossing, which requires a few hops across boulders - the trail is not suitable for young children.
Pinecone Burke Park was declared a new provincial park as part of the Environment Week celebrations in 1995.
The Woodland Walk trail follows, in part, an old logging road to Pritchett Creek through mature second-growth forest. Along the trail, hikers will be able to view occasional stumps of the giant red cedars that once grew here and, possibly, hear the booming of sooty grouse. A majestic old growth Douglas fir marks the end of the trail at the Pritchett Creek waterfall.
Participants should wear hiking boots, bring lunch and water, and have appropriate clothing for the weather. For more information, phone 604-939-4039. For more information about the Burke Mountain Naturalists, visit www.bmn.bc.ca
