Next Hike

The next hike will be Saturday, 29th January.

We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week it was quite foggy at Gillies Bay so we headed for the high ground in search of some sunshine. We thought Pocahontas would be low enough to have little or no snow on the ground, but high enough to give us some clear views. The first guess proved correct, but there was still some fog about when we reached the lunch spot at the high poin of the hike.

My photo today is another shot from a recent midweek hike to Marshall Point. The headland has many rocks and a rocky island that are popular with the local harbour seals. This one did not see us at first as we were still on the trail behind some trees.

JD.

Harbour seal on rocks at Marshall Point.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 22nd January.

We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

For the hike last Saturday the weather was mostly dry, but cloudy and cool and there was still quite a lot of snow and ice about on the higher ground. We ended up hiking down Hydro East road which had been very well ploughed and totally free of ice and snow so very pleasant and safe for walking. The downside of the snow on the side roads was that we had no choice but to hike downhill before lunch, then uphill after and the uphill was quite a climb — over 1,000 ft in fact.

My photo this week was taken on the last midweek hike and captured some cormorants on the rocks at Marshall Point. One is drying it's feathers by spreading it's wings. Cormorants don't have so much of the natural oil that most waterbirds have so their feathers don't shed water so well. The trail we have used for many years was badly affected in some places by recent logging and has had to be rerouted to avoid the slash covered area. It's now in excellent shape for hiking again and some new sections are more interesting than the old ones were!

JD.

Double-crested Cormorants at Marshall Point.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 15th January.

We meet at the ballpark at Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week we hiked from the Bell Farm road junction towards First Lake then through the forest and down to a viewpoint looking towards the mainland and Nelson Island. It was quite a nice day, but the wind was cold and after a short lunch break we quickly got moving again and took a shorter route back to the vehicles.

My photo this week is another one I took on the recent hike to Davis Bay. We were on the new trail where it climbs steeply up from the shoreline and heads north towards Big Beach. The forest over a large area of steep terrain has been little affected by logging and remains almost pristine. It certainly has potential as a protected area and I hope it may one day gain park status.

JD.

The rugged northwest coastline of Texada near Davis Bay.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 8th January.

We meet at the Ballpark at Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last Saturday, New Year's Day, we had a calm and dry sunny day for our hike which turned out to be quite a bit more strenuous than usual. With more hikers than I expected and starting from James Mack's cottages near Favada Point we headed south along the old logging road all the way to the junction with the Davis Bay road. Then turning right there we headed quickly on down the hill to the bay. After an early lunch there was plenty of time to explore the coastal bluffs just south of the bay where a small pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphin were spotted quite close to the shore. It was decided to use a different route on our return, a relatively new trail that runs closer to the sea than the logging road. This is a very rugged stretch of coastline and the trail twists and turns through open woodland with Arbutus and Juniper and over grassy bluffs often heading inland to avoid the steepest slopes. In several places the trail offers access to wonderful viewpoints looking south and west towards the snow covered mountains of Vancouver Island. After a long winding descent from the highest bluffs right down to sea level at Big Beach we took the more familiar trail back up to the old logging road and were soon back to the cottages again. My photo shows the hikers eating lunch at Davis Bay.

JD.

New Years Day and the Texada Trekkers are lunching in the sun on the beach logs at tiny Davis Bay, a few kilometers south of Favada Point.