It’s a Grind heading up Boucherie
What a week, what a spring, what a great group of friends.
The Sheriff and Constant Companion Carmen weren’t officially on the Okanagan Rail Trail from Oyama to Vernon and back on Tuesday. But last weekend, we were officially hiking Mt. Boucherie and doing the next best thing to the rail trail, kayaking Wood Lake from Oyama to Lake Country.
And then, we kayaked Okanagan Lake from Okanagan Centre Safe Harbour to Kopje Regional Park in Lake Country on Wednesday.
Since we weren’t on the Okanagan Rail Trail, we can’t tell you how many dozens of women with strollers, plus hikers and cyclists, were using the closed Kalamalka Lake portion. But the Sheriff wondered aloud: “Is this the Okanagan Rail Trail Day Care?” They laughed, quietly.
Hike leader Pauline with the Central Okanagan Outdoors Club, met us at the East Boundary Road trailhead of Mt. Boucherie in West Kelowna (still not enough vehicle parking) and we headed up the Andesite Grinder Trail instead of the endless switchbacks of the popular Boucherie Rush Trail.
Andesite Grinder is officially only one kilometre but it has a black diamond or most challenging rating thanks to a 144-metre elevation gain straight up the hill (and deep erosion channel/wet conditions). By comparison, Boucherie Rush is rated blue and is three kilometres to the summit.
Warning: there are numerous side trails along Andesite Grinder (as well as new residential development) so watch for trail signs and arrows.
It was the first time we have paddled the complete east side of Wood Lake from Oyama to Lake Country and parallel to the lakeside section of the Okanagan Rail Trail. The Sheriff is an incurable shoreline kayaker, cruising close enough to exchange “morning” with the many hikers and cyclists on the rail trail and listening to the many songbirds in the trees hanging over the water. A longnecked, long-legged heron or crane accompanied the Sheriff. Must bring the bird book.
We faced a steady northern breeze on Okanagan Lake, but it soon dissipated and we had mirror-like water all the way back. It was a long paddle but we’re getting in shape for a Wells Gray Provincial Park trip.
——— Hiking and cycling buddies have been asking for it for weeks. So here is Tick Talk 101: Timing Is Everything.
As soon as you see buttercups on Okanagan hillsides, chances are excellent that warmblooded creatures will attract blood-sucking insects. And it’s crucial to safely remove them as soon as possible from yourself, your children and your pets.
From bccdc.ca: You can remove a tick yourself or have someone do it for you if the tick is not buried deep into your skin. When a tick has burrowed deep, it is very hard to remove the tick without leaving some mouth parts behind, which can cause an infection. For safe removal, follow these instructions: • Do not do anything that can stress or crush the tick’s body. You cannot remove a tick by covering it with grease, gasoline or cooking oil, or by holding a match or cigarette against the tick. This may cause it to regurgitate its stomach contents (which contain the bacteria) into your blood.
• Try to wear disposable gloves when handling an swollen (blood-filled) tick.
• Use needle-nosed tweezers or forceps to grab the tick as close to the head (near the skin) as possible. Don’t use your fingers to remove a tick.
• Without squeezing the tick, gently lift it straight off the skin. Do not jerk, unscrew or twist the tick because this may separate the head from the body. It is very important to make sure that all of the tick, including the mouth parts buried in your skin, is removed.
• Once the tick has been removed, clean the bite area with soap and water, then apply an antiseptic cream. Wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand rub. If you find one tick, check very carefully for others. Make sure the lighting is good so you do not miss seeing the tick.
• If possible, save the tick in a container with a tight-fitting top (e.g., a pill bottle). If the tick is alive (live ticks can be tested for Lyme disease), dampen a small cotton ball with water and put it in the container to keep the tick alive. Do not use rubbing alcohol or any other liquid. The container with the tick can be stored briefly in a refrigerator.
• Label the container with date shipped, the name and address of person bitten or what Boucherie Rush Trail on the south side of Mt. Boucherie in West Kelowna, above, is three kilometres of switchbacks to the summit but in the spring, arrowleaf balsamroot or Okanagan sunflowers are in full bloom. It’s perfect for families, seniors and joggers who like a workout. The trailhead is located on East Boundary Road but lacks adequate parking. type of animal the tick was from, what part of the body was bitten, and what part of the province the tick probably came from. Also include the name and address of your family physician.
• For laboratory testing, the tick should be sent through a health professional. The tick container should be sent to:
Parasitology Section, Laboratory Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, 655 West 12th Ave, Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4R4
Fortunately, a number of precautions can be taken to prevent tick bites and tick-related illnesses. For example, you should:
• Walk on cleared trails when in tall grass or wooded areas.
• Cover up by wearing a hat, long sleeves and pants. Wear light-coloured clothing to help spot ticks easily.
• Tuck your shirt into your pants and tuck your pants into your boots or socks.
• Apply insect repellent containing DEET on uncovered skin. Re-apply as frequently as directed on the containers. See BCCDC’s Insect Repellant Poster. For more information about insect repellents and DEET, see HealthLinkBC File #96 Insect Repellent and DEET.
• Check clothing and scalp (covered or not) when leaving an area where ticks may live. Ask someone to help check hard-to-reach areas. Check in folds of skin. Have someone help you check young children. Tip: ticks like hairy spots where they can hide.
• Have a shower after returning from areas where ticks may live. Clothing dryers on hot will kill ticks.
• Regularly check household pets which go into tall grass and wooded areas.
In 2008-09, UBC Vancouver doctoral candidate Jack Teng spent two years collecting 5,500 ticks in the Valley, especially from the South Okanagan, in conducting a citizenbased tick survey to determine the distribution and abundance of ticks.
His study was aimed at determining the infection risk to humans for tick-borne diseases in the Okanagan. Teng can say that from the ticks he collected, he did not find evidence of Lyme disease.
“However, this does not mean that the disease isn’t present, simply that it is rare since we did not encounter it. And we spent many many hours looking for ticks that may carry it,” he said.
“We only found a species (Dermacentor andersoni) that isn’t believed to transmit Lyme disease, but can transmit other diseases (e.g. Rocky Mountain spotted fever) though our analysis didn’t show any evidence of those diseases either.”
One of Teng’s main goals was making the public aware of where ticks are and where they should be more careful. He found that wildlife tends to congregate in natural areas that are unnaturally small and close to human habitation, so those areas have a very high density of ticks.
“Things like deer and mice like going to those places because they don’t have predators like coyotes. Farmers tend to shoot at coyotes to try to get rid of them, so you have this perfect storm of events. We end up potentially causing problems for ourselves in the long run,” he said. “You can’t get rid of ticks really. If you go to a place that doesn’t have ticks, it’s probably not a very healthy place.”
Anyone in the Okanagan who works in the outdoors gets ticks all the time, he said.
“Ticks are quite tolerant critters; you find them everywhere essentially. You can even find them in the sub-Arctic. In Russia, they have a whole bunch of different types of ticks that do just fine in really, really cold areas. They are incredibly tough buggers. It’s just a part of life. Knowing how to deal with it is the main issue. A good proper tick check will usually get rid of ticks.”
Teng is hoping to make people more aware of tick habitat: grassy areas and thigh-high brush where ticks are waiting for a potential host to brush past. In the Okanagan, ticks are not more likely to be found in wooded areas. And they don’t fall from trees or jump at their prey, he said.
“They are very fast crawlers and they crawl to a place where they think you won’t scratch them off. So they tend to crawl all the way from your legs to your hair (on your head), thinking you’re not going to find them there.”
Tick season isn’t just April-June. There are fewer ticks around in July and August because of the heat but they become active again in the fall, he said.
“They like moisture and a certain amount of heat but they don’t like dryness. If you are really afraid that you might have a tick somewhere on your clothes, the easiest thing to do is to toss your clothes in the dryer and the ticks are going to die for sure.”
——— A reminder that the Go Fish program starts this weekend after fish stocking on Friday at the Hall Road fishing pond in Mission Creek Regional Park in Kelowna and at Shannon Lake Regional Park in West Kelowna.
Staff from the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC and Summerland Trout Hatchery added 1,250 young rainbow trout with the grand opening 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday.
Regional parks staff and staff from the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC will be at the Hall Road pond. Regional parks staff , along with volunteers from the Peachland Sportsmenís Association, will barbecue hotdogs and have refreshments by donation (if possible) at Shannon Lake. In order to reduce waste and garbage footprint, bring your own water bottles/containers.
Then, each weekend 10 a.m.-3 p.m. through Father’s Day, June 17, youngsters 15 years of age and under can fish at each location for 25- to 30-centimetre long rainbow trout and keep one each day without a fishing license. Equipment and expert fishing guidance for youngsters will be available Saturdays and Sundays.
Volunteers from Peachland Sportsmen’s Association and staff from the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC will be at the fishing locations each Saturday while on Sundays, staff from RDCO parks services and Freshwater Fisheries Society will be on hand.
If you plan to participate in any of the Go Fish or special fishing event weekends, organizers ask you to park in the designated areas or where directed by staff. While participants age 15 and under are not required to have a fishing license for this program, they should bring their own fishing equipment if possible as a limited number of rods and reels are available to borrow.
——— Rising spring runoff water levels have forced the closure of the underpass and Mission Creek Greenway trail under the Casorso Road bridge in Kelowna until further notice.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan is urging Greenway users to respect barricades and signs posted at this location. Pedestrians and cyclists are asked to use caution and only cross Casorso Road when it is safe. Motorists should watch for Greenway users crossing the road while the underpasses are closed. Trails under the Gordon Drive and Lakeshore Road bridges remain open but may be closed on short notice should flooding occur.
Regional parks staff are monitoring creek levels along the entire length of the Mission Creek Greenway recreational corridor. With creeks expected to continue rising throughout spring runoff, people are reminded that they, children and pets should stay safely back from creek banks which may be slippery or subject to erosion from the spring runoff. As well, water levels may rise unexpectedly.
Boaters and those using Okanagan Lake boat launches are advised to watch for floating debris entering the lake as a result of the runoff.
J.P. Squire is an avid outdoors enthusiast. His column appears every Saturday. You can contact him with your outdoor news at his new email address: jp.squire@telus.net.