From above, on a map of the terrain, the mid-section of north Vancouver Island has the texture of crumpled paper or tinfoil, sharp-edged folds going every which way. We humans mostly crawl like insects along threads of road down in the valleys, wondering at the snowy peaks and rock faces so far above us.
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| Google map. Woss and Gold River marked in red. Campbell River is off the map, to the upper right. |
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| Snow and cloud intermingle. |
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| A light snow cover; it is spring, after all. The lower slope has been logged off; the next generation of trees is just starting out. |
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| In those high valleys, the snow lies deep. |
(I think this is Mount Abel, just over a mile high. Or it could be the Jagged Mountains; it's hard to confirm the shape from Google maps, because they travelled this road in the summer, when most of the snow was gone.)
While the sun shone in the valley below, it was warm enough this week to walk without a coat, but as soon as I stepped into the shadow of the trees, I was shivering. Old snow still lies in ditches and dark corners. There are signs on the highway warning of ice and frost; snow tires are still needed until next month.
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| Coming down the Sayward hill; I was warned not to attempt the climb when it's icy. |
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| Red catkins on an alder tree. From a distance, in sunlight, they look almost pink. |
