Dogs No Dogs
Features
Birding · Fall Colors · Views · Wildlife
Need to Know
There is free parking and in winter the fully serviced chalet is open. Snowshoe trail passes are required. The is no cost for off season trail use, although donations are appreciated.
Runner Notes
The trail surface is still somewhat littered by fallen dead trees in places so this would not be an ideal trail for running.
Description
After following the basic B1 route from the chalet across the ravine to end up at
Gosling View ski trail, turn left onto B1 Loop. The run around B1 Loop is easy and relaxing, with gorgeous scenery in all directions.
Contemplate the legacy of glaciation while viewing the rugged landscape hosting Birch Brook's network of ski and snowshoe trails. The escarpment which B1 Loop follows is a deep sandy plateau through which Birch Brook (the stream) has carved a steep-sided ravine. This anomaly was likely caused by out wash from melting glaciers, perhaps a delta at the mouth of a larger stream that was exposed after land rebounded when freed from the tremendous weight of ice.
The trail takes a moderate rise as it approaches
Gosling View Trail again. Follow markers through a patch of spruce, cross
Gosling View, and run to the top of the ridge. From the ridge, look down to see the tracks just made.
Flora & Fauna
The escarpment was burnt in the forest fire thirty years ago and very few trees survived. The new regeneration of widely spaced spruce, some fir, and birch has resulted in trees tall enough to create a winter wonderland but not tall enough to obscure the views. The sandy soil supports caribou moss (lichen) and each summer this becomes a field of blueberries. In the winter, it is common to see white willow ptarmigan, particularly on the coldest most blustery days when snow is swirling.
Shared By:
Betty Anne Fequet
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