Autumn in the Ancient Forest

On September 22, I joined the Ramblers for a hike at the Ancient Forest, which is over 100 kms east of  Prince George.  There were over 10 people who came on the hike which was led by Nowell.  The Ancient Forest has many Ancient Cedars that are over 1000 years old!  It is a very unique and special place, as it's an Interior Rainforest (Snowforest).  There are not too many places in the world where you will find them.

We started the hike by walking towards the start of the west side of the trail, the direct route to Big Tree.  After climbing a little bit, we stopped to listen to Nowell talk about the Ancient Forest.

The Ancient Forest is beautiful in all four seasons, the Autumn is no exception.  It is the most colourful time of the year here.  A big difference from the colours of winter.

When we arrived at Big Tree, we took the opportunity to have a group shot.  It is always awe inspiring to be near such ancient trees!

Ancient Cedar - Big Tree

Falls at the Ancient Forest

After hiking around the Ancient Forest loop, we stopped at the parking lot for some lunch.  Afterwards, we headed on the Universal Boardwalk.  Nowell checked the counter that has been placed there to keep track of visitor numbers.

Nowell writes some notes

We then continued on until we reached the end of the boardwalk.  We went down some stairs and continued on the Driscoll Ridge trail.  We walked on it for about 1/2 hour, to give all a taste of the hike.

Me and Nowell with my friend Dani

Aftewards, we headed back down to the parking lot.

It was a great day to get out, and I am glad that I got a chance to view the Ancient Forest in all it's Autumn beauty.  The next time that I will be there is when we are snowshoeing in the Winter.  If you are visiting the Prince George area, I really recommend checking the Ancient Forest out.  It's an easy 2 km walk around the area with a little bit of climbing.  If you are unable to walk, there is the long Universal Boardwalk that even has a proper wheelchair ramp to get on to it.