Burnaby Lake Walk

Sometimes we forget about the beautiful things that lie just around the corner and over the hill. Burnaby Lake is one of those places, where the crowding is also usually on the lesser side (unlike the Grouse Grind for instance), which is a rare thing to find within a city. One can walk all around the lake, which is about an 11 km trek. I've always been meaning to do it, and this August I finally made the time.

As a newcomer to wild harvesting, I would suggest bringing along some plant guides for any hike in the Lower Mainland. As indicated in Last Child in the Woods, most kids know the names of many cartoon characters, but barely can recognize any species of plants. This probably applies to most adults too! Even a small pocket guide will be helpful to identify plants that are edible or otherwise useful. Just remember, if in doubt, don't eat it! That is particularly true for mushrooms. Below, David is looking up one specimen.


A few edible species can be found around the shores of Burnaby Lake. For instance huckleberries (they look like red blueberries) are abundant in many woodland areas. They often grow out of rotting stumps or nurse logs. If you can find ripe berries, they can be made into pies, jams and jellies. Or you can just munch a bunch along your walk.


Once you learn how to identify hazlenut trees, and their tasty bounty, it will be hard not to spot them. As the squirrels will attest, wild hazlenuts are a healhty and tasty treat. We tried some but, it being August they were a little bit green! One year I would like to go out and harvest a fair amount and try some new hazlenut recipes.


Last but not least....blackberries.


Prolific all through the Lower Mainland, blackberries--if you can navigate their thorns--are one of the tastiest berries to be wild harvested. They make delicious jams, jellies, crumbles, wine, gelato... you name it, we've tried it! Retailing at about $10 for a small container, it is well worth it to take a hike and harvest a few in August when they reach their peak season. Here is a crumble I made from some blackberries (albeit not harvested at Burnaby Lake).


Aside from enjoying wild nuts and berries, we also took in the sites around Burnaby Lake. Below are some more images of the journey.

An amazing peek-a-boo gnarled root mass. Likely left after a nurse log decomposed.

The East end of the Lake, highlighting how large the Lake is.

The South path (many hazelnut trees and blackberries along the right here).

Lovely bird house vista.

Poplar trees that line the West side of Burnaby Lake.

Wild geese came down for a landing as I took this shot before leaving for the day.

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