Adventures for Wilderness, Lesueur Creek – Sep. 23, 2023

September 23, 2023

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Text by Kennedy Halverson

Photos by Kennedy Halverson and Heinz Unger

Led by Heinz and Kris Unger 

On a beautiful, warm fall day at the end of September, Heinz and Kris Unger led eager participants along Lesueur Creek. Located within the Ghost Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ), the trailhead can be found just over an hour northwest of Calgary. Many outdoor activities are permitted within PLUZs, and adventurers shared the trail with riders on horseback and dirt bikes – hunters could also be heard firing shots in the distance, signalling the onset of hunting season.

The creek and surrounding wetlands have been shaped by the industrious activity of beavers, fellow ecosystem engineers whose work was readily apparent along the 10 km route. Old dams could be found well away from the current creek’s borders, evidence of the valley’s continuously changing topography. Participants even spotted a beaver (or potentially a muskrat), busying itself away in one of the creek’s distant pools.

Further transformations were evident in the surrounding forests. Heinz pointed out that sun-loving aspens and shade-seeking spruce can typically demarcate south and north facing slopes, but many young spruce-lings were sprouting up within the aspen stands, well-along in the process of forest succession.

Seasonal changes were also abundant throughout the hike; yellows, oranges, browns, and occasional maroons characteristic of autumn leaves were a highlight of the route. A few worn wildflowers still held on, reverberating the last echoes of summer as temperatures cool and life along Lesueur Creek prepares for its winter slumber.