WTD#29 - Lyle Lakes and More

The fall is always a busy time but the dawg and I managed to get in one last jaunt to the high country. I'd never hiked the Lyle Lakes trail but we finally got around to it in mid-September.

The trail-head is on the Rossiter Creek Forest Service Road near Retallack.  This is a view from the trail and the waterfall is Lyle Creek which comes out of the lakes in the basin above.

It was late in the season and the fireweed seeds had been mostly blown away on the wind, but this one still had a couple of stubborn blossoms left.

After about a three hour climb, we emerged in the Lyle basin, where the lakes are nestled among lush alpine meadows.

Lyle Creek flows through the wetland between the lakes and here, for some reason, was a small aquamarine pool on the edge of the stream.

The seedheads of this patch of western anenome were glowing in the afternoon sunlight.

Most of the meadows had already made the transition to autumn, but we found this one small, sheltered basin with paintbrush and arnica still in bloom.

 There were lots of insects still flitting about, including this butterfly (a fritillary of some kind) foraging on the mountain arnica flowers.

A bee or bee-mimicker also feeding on the arnica.

I believe these are seedheads of the purple monkey flower (not sure though)

It was a hot day and the dawg was happy to be able to cool down in the cold water of the lakes at every opportunity.

We picked the perfect day for our outing.  The route to the summit of Mt. Brennan is through the valley in the centre of the photo.

This is broad-leaved willow herb, which we found growing along a gravelly streambank of Lyle Creek.

Interesting looking seedheads, but I have no idea what it is :)

This American dipper was foraging in the icy water of Lyle Creek.

A "stitched" panorama of the Lyle Lakes basin, with Mt. Brennan in the background.

Meanwhile, back in the valley bottom, the elderberries were ripening,

As were the chokecherries.

A checkered white butterfly on a chickory flower on the rail trail near South Slocan.

The fall-blooming Douglas asters are among the last flowers to be seen before another winter sets in.

Winter!?  That's not for a while yet is it?