Police say fishing line strung up in public spaces is difficult to spot and poses an extreme safety hazard. (Victoria Police Department)
Victoria police are asking the public to be mindful of their surroundings while walking or cycling in the Vic West and Burnside areas of the city, after trip wire was discovered in multiple locations over the past week.
On Aug. 20, police discovered semi-transparent fishing line set across a staircase in Cecilia Ravine Park near the Galloping Goose trail, hanging about a foot from the ground. Last Wednesday, police received another report of fishing line set two inches off the ground deliberately tied across a dock ramp at Regatta Landing.
Conservation officers will try to trap the bear on the Coquitlam Crunch
Chad Pawson · CBC News · Posted: Aug 30, 2020 11:30 AM PT
This screen grab from a video shot by Sam Abdullah on Saturday shows a black bear approaching a runner on the Coquitlam Crunch trail. The woman was able to get past the bear. (Sam Abdullah)
Conservation officers say they will try to trap a black bear that was filmed on Saturday tapping a runner with its paw on a popular trail in Coquitlam, B.C.
The encounter, which happened just after 11 a.m. on Saturday, was filmed by Sam Abdullah, who climbs the popular Coquitlam Crunch up to four times a week. The trail is a steep 2.2-kilometre climb located in a green corridor of the city.
Abdullah said he was nearing the top on Saturday when a woman descending in front of him froze as a black bear emerged from the bushes.
He began filming the encounter on his cellphone, and the video shows the bear getting closer to the woman and eventually extending a paw to her leg before jumping back.
"I think she was in shock and she just froze there, you know," said Abdullah, who carries bear spray when he climbs the trail.
WATCH | Bear taps at woman on Coquitlam Crunch trail:
Watch
Bear taps at woman on Coquitlam Crunch trail
2 days ago
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The encounter, which happened just after 11 a.m. on Saturday, was filmed by Sam Abdullah, who climbs the popular Coquitlam Crunch up to four times a week. 0:51
Eventually the woman was able to get past the bear, and she can be seen running past Abdullah and looking at the camera.
Plan calls for reducing unofficial trail network, conserving sensitive habitats, ecosystems
CBC News · Posted: Aug 30, 2020 12:00 PM ET
Taking in the fall foliage from a lookout in Gatineau Park, Que. (Submitted by Vee Robillard)
The National Capital Commission's (NCC) newly released draft master plan for Gatineau Park emphasizes conservation, while at the same time encouraging park users to engage in outdoor activities that are environmentally friendly.
The plan, released Friday, calls for reducing the number of unofficial hiking trails and limiting development to protect sensitive habitats and ecosystems.
It also outlines a strategy to expand the park's boundaries by integrating adjacent NCC-owned land into its territory.
The draft plan was developed after a three-year consultation process where the NCC sought feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including the park's users, representatives from local Indigenous communities, elected officials and special interest groups.
If the plan is approved by the commission's board, it will guide the long-term planning, use, and management of the sprawling green space for at least the next decade.
A previous version of this story misstated the number of kilometres of unofficial trails in Gatineau Park. There are approximately 330 km of unofficial trails in Gatineau Park.Aug 31, 2020 5:12 PM ET
Jackson Morton’s paddle travelled hundreds of kilometres before washing up onshore
CBC News · Posted: Aug 30, 2020 5:00 AM ET
Jackson Morton, seen here canoeing in the Moisie River in Quebec, where he would later lose his favourite paddle. (Submitted by Jackson Morton)
Jackson Morton loves taking long canoe trips in the Canadian wilderness, but it turns out his favourite paddle has an even bigger appetite for adventure.
The outdoor education major at Queen's University was working for Camp Hurontario and leading a canoe trip on the Moisie River in Quebec last year when the paddle got away from him during a stretch of rough water.
He "ended up tipping over into a rapid," he told Ismaila Alfa, host of CBC Radio's Metro Morning.
"When we popped up the paddle was gone."
'I sort of expected it was gone'
A lengthy search failed to turn it up, and as the weeks and months went by, Morton lost hope that anyone would find it.
"Once tripping season was over I sort of expected it was gone," he said.
After tripping season ended last summer, Morton didn't expect to see his paddle again. (Submitted by Jackson Morton)
It was made in the style of legendary Ontario paddle-maker Ray Kettlewell, with the "perfect balance between the blade and the shaft." That made it special, Morton said.
But while he mourned the loss, the paddle was on the move, travelling down the Moisie and into the St. Lawrence River.
Paddle found
One year later, Parks Canada employee Kent Baylis was on vacation with his family about 30 kilometres east of Baie Comeau, Quebec.
His girlfriend came back from a walk with some news: she had found a paddle that had washed up on the beach.
That Baylis and his family were the ones who found the paddle is a special stroke of luck, Morton explained to Alfa.
Though he lives in Quebec, Baylis grew up in Ontario, and is "one of the few people who would have recognized what it was," he said.
The paddle as it looked when it washed up near Baie-Comeau, where Kent Baylis found it while on vacation. (Submitted by Kent Baylis )
Baylis saw Morton's name and the Fishell Paddles mark, and contacted the company, who posted it on Instagram.
Morton had just popped out of the water after a swim when friends alerted him to post, and "within five minutes I was on the phone with Kent."
While the paddle remains in Quebec, Baylis hopes to hand-deliver it to Morton the next time he visits family in southern Ontario, and Morton says he'll be happy to have it back.
Baylis, who has lived in Quebec for a decade, recognized the distinctive Ray Kettlewell-style paddle from his summers in northern Ontario. (Submitted by Kent Baylis )
The enduring mystery? Where the paddle went during its year away.
"It must have come out of the mouth of the Moisie somewhere near Sept-Iles. Then it would have had to survive the winter," said Baylis.
"Then it made its way about 150 kilometres further west along the coastline [of the St. Lawrence]," he added.
"It's pretty rugged terrain… I'm quite surprised it ended up where it did."
For avid Calgary-based hiker Sarah Kuindersma, the tempest began with a coffee cup.
In June, she set out for the Devil’s Thumb, a protuberance of rock that looms above the iconic blue waters of Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Kuindersma had heard that people were flocking to the Rocky Mountains, so she brought extra garbage bags in anticipation she’d find litter.
She was stunned by what she saw: granola bars and wrappers, masks and single-use water bottles dotted the dirt trail. She stuffed four grocery bags as she made her way up the path.
