Crest Mountain Trail Creek

One year I decided to hike the Crest Mountain Trail in Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island which is only a short distance from Gold River.  Even though I had lived in Gold River for over 20 years, I had never hiked this trail. I loaded 50lbs into a backpack and grabbed my walking stick and climbed to the top (well almost to the top, ran out of daylight).

I set up my tent near the top and climbed into bed as I was exhausted. I must say it was more difficult than I thought and I wasn't in as good of shape as I thought either. I also should have left a few hours earlier as it took me 6 hours to get to where I was when it should have only took 3-4 hours.

As I was only going to stay one night, I decide to stay where I was instead of hiking the rest of the way to the top. Even so, the views were amazing.  I could see 180 degrees to all the high peaks in the area of Strathcona Park. The morning fog filled all the valleys from Upper Campbell Lake to Gold River and I set up my tripod and took some outstanding photos of the surrounding area.

I walked around the mountain side where I set up my tent and there was a couple good sized bodies of water which had some beautiful reflections which I shot also.  Later I went back to my tent and had a bite to eat before retiring for the night.

In the morning I packed up everything, making sure I left no trace of my visit and started heading back down the trail.  Along the way I heard the sound of running water and decided to head in that direction to see what it was.

After about 5 minutes I came across a small creek cascading down the mountain side surrounded in a lush vibrant green moss.  I just had to get some photos so I set p my tripod and took a number of photos.  This one I took with a ND4 filter to give the water a creamy effect and make the forest colors even more vibrant.

This has been one of my most popular sellers because of those colors and the natural beauty of the area.