katzie marsh

Pitt Polder Dike Walk Part 3 – Katzie Marsh Plants

Cloudy skies make a bright background for these water plant reflections at Katzie Marsh in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada.

aquatic plants in katzie marsh

Katzie Marsh Plant Reflections (Purchase)

I split my writings here about my long walk along the Dikes near Pitt River and Pitt Lake into 3 parts – the first being the walk along the Pitt Polder Dike Trail, the second of Pitt Lake Dike Trail, and this is the third in that series. Earlier in the day I’d started my walk just expecting to quickly take a look my favourite view from the Pitt Polder Dike, but wound up walking a number of kilometers all the way to Pitt Lake. I’d been trying to outrun the onset of some clouds from the south, clear days being a tough situation to find this fall, and this location straight north of where I live turned out quite well. I initially used the sunshine to brighten the fall foliage, then the cloud cover to give some flatter light but without glare, still with some blue sky available. The remainder of my plan after I arrived at Pitt Lake was to again photograph the aquatic plants in Katzie Marsh. I had enough of them that I thought I’d give them their own post.

It seems clear I will have to to photograph these plant species in the spring or summer sometime so I can actually identify them. In the meantime, I’m left seeing how many variations on “aquatic wetland marsh plants” I can use as descriptions. It does pain me to not know a plant’s species name, but not knowing what these are at all is particularly vexing. The first photograph above shows the onset of cloud cover to the south. The reflection is very bright, and I used it to make a near white background to these aquatic leaves. It is a bit disorienting as to where the leaves themselves end and the reflections begin, but this was all meant to be somewhat abstract so I think it works.

wetland plants in katzie marsh

Wetland Plants in Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

The photograph above is a twin of sorts to one I made at Katzie Marsh (link) a few years ago. In a similar way to the image I linked to, I liked the appearance of two rows of plants in this area. From there I worked on other ideas, and using my 100-400mm lens for all of the photographs I made in all 3 of these posts, I was able to zoom in 400mm and make the photograph below. Just a few plants by themselves, but also a bit of subtle colour from the leaves of other plants now underwater.

marsh plants in katzie marsh

Wetland Plant Reflections in Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

The photograph below is from along the Pitt Lake Dike looking southeast towards Gwendoline Peak. The dike you can see running through the background here is the Swan Dike, which is the next dike one uses to complete the Katzie Marsh Loop. Some Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera were nice enough to provide some fall leaf foliage in the background as well.

fall at katzie marsh

Fall Foliage at Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

After I’d tried various compositions in the marsh I noticed from the clouds to the south it was about to rain. This was an interesting realization in light of my having left that rain jacket I mentioned in part one in the trunk of my car during my poorly planned departure. The car now sitting roughly a 3.5km (2.4 miles) walk away. I did not make any photographs on the way back to the car, and I stowed all of my equipment so I could walk with purpose back to the car. When I arrived, I could hear the rain coming, and was lucky to make it just as the rain started.

fall appearance of wetland plants in katzie marsh

Katzie Marsh in the Fall (Purchase)

For more photographs of the Pitt River/Pitt Lake area including the 28 images I published from this day please visit my Pitt Meadows gallery in the Image Library.

Pitt Polder Dike Walk Part 2 – Pitt Lake Dike Trail

Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) provide fall colors in Katzie Marsh in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada.

fall foliage in katzie marsh

Fall Foliage in Katzie Marsh Provided by Black Cottonwood and Paper Birch (Purchase)

In my previous post about walking the Pitt Polder Dike Trail I covered the area along Rannie Road from the Heron Cove area of Smohk’wa Marsh through to the boat launch parking lot at Grant Narrows. Some of this area was formerly Grant Narrows Regional Park run by Metro Vancouver Parks but is now operated by the Katzie First Nation. From what I can tell the “official” name of the stretch between the start of Grant Narrows and Grant Narrows East (next to the mountains to the east) is the Pitt Lake Dike Trail. It is occasionally referred to as the Nature Dike Trail, though that looks to be the more common name for the trail heading south from the Pitt Lake boat launch parking lot which meets up with the Swan Dike Trail. To the north of the Pitt Lake Dike Trail are great views of Pitt Lake, Osprey Mountain, Raven Peak, with Edge Peak (of the Golden Ears) and Gwendoline Peak to the east. Katzie Marsh is to the south. I previously photographed a number of fall scenes along the Katzie Marsh Loop. In a way, that post could be considered part 4 of this series, though you’ll have to wait for part 3.

Regardless of your location along any of these dike trails, there are great views of the mountain landscapes as well as a lot of wildlife. When I first walked into the area near the boat launch at Grant Narrows, I stopped to consider if I wanted to continue up the dike trail or head back to my car, which was now several kilometers behind me. Considering there was still some blue sky, it wasn’t raining (yet) and the great fall foliage – I continued on of course. While I was contemplating my next move I watched a Common Raven (Corvus corax) do pretty much the same on a piece of driftwood along the shore. It shifted around on the wood, changing directions and occasionally making some noises. It seemed to be contemplating the choices in direction I was, with probably much less concern regarding the weather.

fishing boat docked at grant narrows pitt river pitt lake

Fishing Boat Docked at Grant Narrows on the Pitt River (Purchase)

While I was near the boat launch at Grant Narrows I photographed this fishing boat at the dock. There are a number of boats docked here at any given time, and many more can be seen zipping up and down the Pitt River and Grant Narrows traveling to and from Pitt Lake. Pitt Lake itself is one of the worlds largest tidal lakes and is popular with boaters. The north end of Pitt Lake is 25km (15.5 miles) north of the Pitt Lake Dike Trail and is where the Upper Pitt River enters the lake. The Upper Pitt is one of British Columbia’s best fly fishing and steelhead rivers. This likely accounts for some of the north bound boat traffic, along with the travel to and from the community of Alvin which is approximately 8km (5 miles) further up the Upper Pitt River.

Pitt Lake is notorious for being a windy location and consequently can have some rather large waves. Grant Narrows is a much more sheltered location than the lake itself, and these two kayakers ventured across the Pitt River towards and entrance to Widegon Creek. This is a relatively popular canoeing and kayaking location due to the great scenery and wildlife viewing. The two women in this kayak were not the only ones I saw venture up towards the Widgeon area while I was there.

two kayakers crossing the pitt river

Two Kayakers Crossing the Pitt River at Grant Narrows (Purchase)

Once I had decided to continue further east from the boat launch parking lot and along the Dike Trail, I photographed the scene in the first image above. I think this is one of my favourites from this fall, at least of what I’ve processed. As I said in my previous post, this year was simply great for fall foliage, and in this first photograph that color is provided mostly by Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera). The photograph below was also made along the Pitt Lake Dike Trail but shows a viewing/lookout tower that is situated on the Swan Dike Trail which is on the east side of Katzie Marsh. This is part way through the Katzie Loop Trail and a tower I climbed last time I walked out that far (about 4.6km (2.8 miles) from the parking lot). As I recall there were several very vocal Kingfishers in the immediate area at the time and it was not a moment to enjoy any quiet!

lookout tower on the swan dike trail at katzie marsh

Lookout tower on the Swan Dike Trail on the east side of the Katzie Marsh Loop (Purchase)

The Pitt Lake Dike Trail also has a lookout tower which is about 500 meters (1600 feet) east of the parking lot. The image of a boat moving through Grant Narrows at low tide I linked to above was made from that tower (looking north), as was the photo below of two women guiding a toddler along the trail (looking west). This is a wide “trail” because it is not only the top of a dike, but also a road that cars and trucks take to the Grant Narrows East area (private) where there are a few buildings and many boats are launched from as well.

walking along the pitt lake dike trail at grant narrows pitt lake

Walking along the Pitt Lake Dike Trail at Grant Narrows on Pitt Lake (Purchase)

The last photograph here shows the view from the lookout tower on the Pitt Lake Dike Trail looking east. You can see a few buildings and the dock with boats at Grant Narrows East, as well as a number of vehicles parked there. This is a private area and not one the public can stroll into. Just before that building on the right is the beginning of the Swan Dike Trail which one should take south to continue on the Katzie Loop Trail. Looking east from the tower, or while walking the dike, one can also get a nice view of Edge Peak of the Golden Ears (Mount Blanshard) though the views are better further to the west.

people walking the pitt lake dike trail between pitt lake and katzie marsh

Walking the Pitt Lake Dike Trail between Pitt Lake and Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

Wait, can we go back to the very first image in this post? I spent a while editing this one, and it wasn’t until this evening I noticed something. What is that just above the left hand trees up on the mountain? It looks like a rock outcrop, which is what I assumed the entire time I was editing it. As part of my process to make the images for the blog, I zoomed in 100% at random, and centered on that area. Is that a GAZEBO? What the heck is a gazebo doing up the hill in that location? The hill goes straight down into a slough/creek (Eloise Creek?), and I can’t imagine where a trail could be to get to that location on the side of Gwendoline Peak unless it started at Grant Narrows East and followed a ridge to come down to that location. The last time I did the Katzie Loop I don’t think it was there, or I was distracted, which is entirely possible. I suppose it could be something to do with the UBC research forest over the peak above it, but that seems doubtful given its location.

If anyone can solve the great gazebo mystery let me know!

building on side of gwendoline peak above katzie marsh

Random Gazebo Building on the Hillside below Gwendoline Peak.

For more photographs from the city of Pitt Meadows visit my Pitt Meadows Gallery.

Random Photos Volume III

Another quick round of random photos that I wanted to share but don’t quite fit into other blog posts.

Towering Cumulus from Steveston Harbour

towering cumulus clouds drift across the sky above Steveston harbour

Towering Cumulus clouds drift across the evening sky over fishing boats in Steveston Harbour (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

Last fall when I visited a few parks in Richmond, BC I ended the day at Steveston Harbour and Garry Point Park. I liked the shapes these Towering Cumulus clouds were making in the background and I thought this phenomenon might have a specific name. It turns out, after asking on Twitter, that these are Towering Cumulus clouds which would normally be mostly vertical, but as there were stronger winds at lower elevations, the bottom sections were blown to the left. An interesting formation, and one I wouldn’t know about if a meteorologist hadn’t answered my question!

Ice on the Fraser River

ice along the fraser river in glen valley

Ice along the Fraser River in Glen Valley (Purchase)

This was not a particularly harsh winter in the Fraser Valley, but we did have a cold stretch that lasted long enough for some ice to come down the Fraser River from colder areas in the interior. Some ice formed along the shore of the river, but there were also chunks floating down from upstream. This spot is at Glen Valley in Abbotsford, BC, and shows the east end of Crescent Island and the ice buildup there. Not that common an occurrence so I do try to get out and photograph it when possible. The mountain showing through the clouds in the background made the photograph worthwhile IMO, or I might have gone for a longer lens and focused just on the ice.

Reflections at Deer Lake in Sasquatch Provincial Park

fall foliage reflections at deer lake in sasquatch provincial park

Alder trunks reflecting on the surface of Deer Lake in Sasquatch Provincial Park (Purchase)

I have photographed this location (The Point) at Deer Lake in Sasquatch Provincial Park (one of my favourite park names) on a few occasions. Strangely I’ve twice had some serious colour issues when processing images from this location. I wrestled with a few of the photos from this evening for a while, but ultimately sent two of them to my friend Alex Kunz who showed how he would develop/process them. Naturally, two photographers will probably never be in complete agreement on what to edit in a photo due to monitor calibration choices, how we individually see colour, choices that are simply a matter of taste, etc. Seeing how others would approach a problem is often useful though, and I did manage to see how Alex works with some of the tools in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)/LR which may influence how I process a few things in the future. ACR has more and more capabilities with recent updates and I need to investigate those more often to see how they rank against the methods I’ve been using in Photoshop. I’ve moved more and more processing to ACR recently including stitching panoramas, graduated neutral density filters, and some colour tweaks as ACR has better results, or is easier to use, than the Photoshop equivalent.

As for the photograph itself, I’m clearly a sucker for reflections. While these Red Alder (Alnus rubra) trees don’t show a lot of fall foliage character, their partially white trunks work well in a reflection. Some of the grasses and shoreline shrubs offer a bit of colour which still gives it an autumn feel.

Alder Trees at Katzie Marsh

sunlight on alder tree branches in pitt meadows

Sunlight touches the moss and lichen covered branches of Red Alder at Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

During a visit to Pitt Lake and the Katzie Marsh in Pitt Meadows, BC a few years ago I made this photograph of the sunlight lighting up a few branches on these Red Alder (A. rubra) trees. As the photograph above shows, Red Alder don’t really do anything interesting in the fall, and are a somewhat generic green deciduous tree during spring and summer. Their bark, however, does have some interesting patterns on it in the winter and in this location had a lot of moss and lichen that adds to the character of the branches.

More of my newer images can be found in my New Images Gallery.

Katzie Marsh Loop in the Pitt-Addington Wildlife Management Area

Fall foliage along the edge of Katzie Marsh Loop Trail in the Pitt-Addington Wildlife Management Area – Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada.

fall foliage along the katzie marsh loop trail in pitt meadows

Fall Foliage along the Katzie Marsh Loop Trail (Purchase)

The Pitt-Addington Wildlife Management Area is a 2,972 hectare nature reserve in the northern part of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. Much of the reserve used to be known as Grant Narrows Regional Park, but that was dissolved in 2011 when the Katzie First Nation were given control of the area – now called the Pitt-Addington Recreation Area. I have photographed near Pitt Lake many times, but mostly from the easy to access roadside spots. There are great views of the Pitt River, Pitt Lake, and the surrounding mountains readily available without straying too far from the car. A few weeks ago, however, I wanted to see what views could be found on the trails along the various dikes that head from the roads out into the marsh. Despite the presumption that most of the fall foliage would be gone, and the fact the midday light was filtered through a lot of smoke, I wanted to see what the area had to offer regardless.

I decided to start with the Katzie Marsh Loop. From the main parking lot, past the boat launch, there is a gravel road called the Swan Dike Trail that heads straight towards the Golden Ears Mountains. The main view on this stretch of the trail is not of the Golden Ears, however, but of Pitt Lake, the mountains to the north, and the Katzie Marsh to the south. I expect I’ll be back to photograph these mountain views again when the snow blankets them in a month or so. Along this trail I saw a number of Great Blue Herons (as one would expect) but also had a few passing Osprey, Bald Eagles, and various duck and waterfowl species. Approximately 500 meters from the parking lot there is an observation tower to climb for a better view. I also photographed the marsh plants below (likely sedges or reeds – I was unable to accurately identify them from my photograph) in this stretch of the loop trail.

plants growing in katzie marsh in pitt meadows

Wetland plants (reeds or sedges) growing in Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

On the eastern edge of this part of the Katzie Marsh Loop the road continues to a (private) boat launch and dock. The loop trail itself turns south at this point, away from Pitt Lake (approximately 2.4km from the parking lot). While the trail is no longer a well maintained gravel road, the dike is easy to walk on, and quite flat. Heading south there is a long stretch of water on the left hand side, with Katzie Marsh area on the right. There are a lot of interesting trees and patterns in the rocks along this stretch, and I think it gave a better view of the waterfowl using the marsh as well. The first photograph above shows some remaining fall foliage in the Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) trees at the base of the mountains to the east. Looking backwards to the north along this section of the loop trail also gives good views of the mountains to the north and some nice reflections.

After walking an additional 1.6km from Pitt Lake the trail turns a bit more to the southwest. This is where I found the pond below with a nice reflection of the trees behind it. There was a lot of waterfowl in this area, but many of them left as I approached (I hadn’t seen them until they flew away). There were a few cautious herons who remained, however. From this pond the trail turns even more westward and you come to another observation tower that gave a great view north towards the mountains, Pitt Lake, and gave a good overview of the Katzie Marsh itself. There were two large Kingfishers making a lot of noise in the area. They did not perch close enough to me to photograph, but they were continually on the move and if I’d had the time I likely could have made some good photographs from the cover of the tower.

fall leaves reflection in katzie marsh pond

Fall foliage reflected in a Pitt Marsh Pond (Purchase)

Near the observation tower the trail narrows and is no longer a wide dike trail. The trail for the remainder of the Katzie Loop not only was narrow with blackberries reaching out to grab all my clothing, but offered very little in terms of views of much of anything. This section of the trail is also right next to the water, and eroded in a few spots, so I had to pay attention to avoid a wet mishap. This made for a relatively uninteresting 2km trudge back to the parking lot.

autumn leaves trees foliage katzie marsh pitt meadows

A Row of tree on the edge of Katzie Marsh (Purchase)

I think if I had the time and were to walk the Katzie Loop Trail again soon, I’d turn back at the southern observation tower and go back up to Pitt Lake and then to the parking lot rather than do the whole loop. The last stretch is not interesting, maybe slightly dangerous if you aren’t paying attention, and doesn’t have much in the way of any opportunity for photography or views. All in all I walked 6.8km in completing the loop. Skipping the last stretch to the parking lot would make the “loop” a bit longer at around 9km total distance. This is likely what I will do next time I visit when the snow has arrived. Some of the trip back will be facing the mountains too which will be a great view.

For more photographs of the Pitt River and Pitt Lake area visit my Pitt Meadows Gallery.