OH, THE twittering of the chickadees. Oh, the rushing of Try local knee-knackering adventures. the stream. Oh, the aching of the calves. True to my promise to Ecolnfo readers, I have been scouting the local environs in an attempt to research summertime outdoor adventures. Last month I went to Bowen Island, armed with a kayak and my resident Forest Dane, a Danish nature-freak who provides Na- tional Geographic-style commen- ‘tary and the motivation necessary for these outdoorsy adventures, as they are largely foreign to my nature, This month’s excursions have ., been into the wilds of North Van-- . couver’s greenbelt, which is riddl- ed with hiking and walking trails. Over the past few weeks, Rice. *. Lake in the Seymour Demonstra- - tion | Forest has been a great swimming hole, because the water is -warm. and wharves have been ‘built: onto the water to facilitate swimming and fishing. Lately, however, the low water “levels are making the water lock a ‘little: too murky for a pleasant’. Swimming - experience. The Jake: id. its surrounding trail, though,- ¢ still an enjoyable visit. There are a-number of ways to each the area, the most obvious "Of, which is to drive past Cap Col- .cemetery, and°¢ ntinué: along. the. gravel: road‘ to: the: demonstration. F “there,” walk... -. Lynn Valiey Road and continuing ‘along: on the road through ihe orest _ parking «. lots er; cipants “on a: ieeed 9-kilometze ip)” ‘off-the-beaten-track Teel hake ECOINFO from the ‘‘we'll never learn’’ school ‘of life frolicking in the -water. below), and take the {0- ‘minute trail to the ‘demonstration forest parking lot. ‘To find the trail and a posted map, scramble up the few rocks ~- off the ‘suspension ‘bridge. It only takes about: 20 minutes to walk from the canyon parking lot to the shores of Rice Lake. «The third route to Rice Lake is. “from Lynn Headwaters Park, the “parking lot; of which can be . reached by travelling to the top of forest. : The :walk to. Rice Lake from % Lynn: ‘Headwaters. is about 20 ~ minutes long. oo, thrushés, Kinglets, ravens and a panorama’ of summer colors will = gfeet the ear and eye. ‘The 9:30-a.m.- to 3:30 p.m. ‘program ‘ihcludes a stop for lunch at the cedar grove where you can drink in the unique atmosphere.. Secret Cedar Grove is sponsored «by Greater. Vancouver Regional _ District (GVRD) Parks. The program: fee is $9 per per- - son. Fit participants who are 12 years of age and older are’ we!- come. ‘To register by phone with a ‘eredit card call GVRD Parks at “|. 432-6359 between noon and 6- p.m. today (Friday, August 14). — Is your.car.trying.to- tell you: something? Sto Includes metallic pads, machining of rotors, road test, adjustment of rear brakes and complete inspection. (Shortstop’s brake linings are: : guaranteed for as long as you own your car!) We honour ail competitors’ guarantees and coupons. that face you. directly as you step: _ Highest Quality » Lowest Price — Guaranteed! Depending on where you live, you can forgo driving entirely by tapping into the Baden Powell trail, which runs across the entire North Shore, including Lynn Headwaters and the canyon. Books such as Exploring the North Shore Mountains wil! detail the Baden Powell trail and you can find whether there is an access point near your neighborhood. Now, back to those aching calves. Giddy with my success at hun- ting out the various routes to Rice Lake, I actually agreed when my forest Dane suggested a more ma- jor hike into the headwaters last Sunday. We packed a daypack with lunch, water, first-aid essentials and a lightweight sleeping bag, donned our new hiking boots and set off, after duly signing in at the trailhead. I particularly like this safety feature, whereby bloodhounds and their ilk are sent after you if you don’t return by the time indicated on your hiker’s registration card. It was approximately 10:30 in the morning when we signed in, and I noted with a sinking heart that the Forest Dane had pencilled in 5 p.m. for our return time. Six and a half hours of hiking? Me? 1 am now pleased to report that _ I not only survived, but managed to get almost all the way to Lynn Lake, about a 25-km round trip. The first eight km take. you along a_ serviced, pleasant (i.e. flat) trail through the woods beside Lynn Creek. Along the way you'll see ample evidence of the cedar mill that operated in the area until 1927, artifacts such as oid boots, log roads, stove tops, saw blades and mere. At the eight-km mark oul reach Norvan Falls, a great place to eat lunch and soak up the neg- ative ions that waterfalls are sup- posed to provide one with. From here on, the trail is less serviced, and, as you near Lynn Lake, much rougher and steeper. It. would be very easy to turn an ‘ankle here or go for a bit of a slide in some places, so be sure you take the GVRD parks department’s advice.-and be prepared for any eventuality. This is also the area where weak knees will start protesting, as did ours, and that plus time .constr- aints turned us homeward before. we reached Lynn Lake.. Still, my pride (and my relief) ~ -knew no bounds as we returned to.’ the : parking. lot: after covering about 24 knv. For all the anti-auto taik that happens ‘in environmen- tal circles, cars are sometimes: a very welcome sight! | - Brush up on the finer details of composting your household waste oe . Now let’s talk. about some of the " MO-n0’s: | a NOW THAT you've got your compost pile up and running (you have, haven't you?), you can con- gratulate yourself for doing your part te make the province's goal of substantiafly municipal solid wyste a reality. ’ But composting takes a tiny bit more effort than tossing ' everything: willy-nilly into a bin. You need to be aware that certain items will work well only in com- _ bination with certain others, and . items such as, for example, con- crete, will simply not work at ail, All organic material is compos- ed of carbon and nitrogen, and a balance of the two is needed for effective composting. An easy way to think of this is two parts green material (nitrogez) to one part brown (carbon), Gr two parts grass clippings to one part fallen leaves. _ With that fittle lesson in mind, let’s look at some of the things that are O.K. to use. Algae, seaweed —- Fine nutrient source. If ‘from salt water, give them a spray. with the hose or leave them out in the rain before adding to the pile. : Cardboard — Why not?-The glue is probably organic. Coffee grounds —.Yes, but acidic. (The.same goes for oak leaves, by the way. y- p in-at Shortstop Brake &. Muffler and save on FRONT DISC BRAKE REPAIR. reducing. _ Whoa, Cornstalks, cobs — Yes, but must be mixed with nitrogen-rich mate- tial (those green things we talked about, plus manure, tea bags, egg shells, coffee grounds, and peels)... Dryer lint — Why are you foking at me like that? Eggshells — Crush them first; a ‘good source of calciva Grass clippings, — ‘Obvious; fight?. - Nellie! Not from lawns treated with pesticides.. Good: . _ Barbecue ashes/coal - =: nitrogen source when wet, carbon the source when dried. Manures — Farm animals ‘only, please. Horse manure is: most like-. . ly to contain weed seeds. Be sure to compost thoroughly. . Mustiroom compost .— A. good soil builder, ‘but may * contain fungicides. Low in nutrients. Newspaper — Shred before: “ad ding. Colored sheets are okay. .. - _ Peanut shells — Just to tease the squirrels. Pine cones don’t hold your breath; decompose slo-o-o-owly. they’re quite acidic. ~ Sawdust, wood shavings _ High” these — Go ahead, but. . Also, : : fy, but like: organisms...’ . Manures,; dog and cat — ‘contain ‘disease organism : ‘And: there. you: have. R ber to chop. up your ingre ‘decompose. “big enough” ° “generate er hold ir to ‘reach the. riddle. of the pile. | For: more Ret . in carbon, will use up some of the nitrogen in the pile. Weeds — Yes, if they’re green and seeds have not matured. Wood ashes — Qnly in small : amounts; highly alkaline. — ° Have you got all that? , Goold: 894 Marine Drive, North Vancouver (across from Capilano Mail) 960-9801 ~ WELCOME ABOARD! Like living on a luxury finer || '] with an unspoiled panorama of |: -~ the far shore. 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