Next hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 28th May.

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

The last hike started just a short drive up the airport road in Gillies Bay. We headed around the north end of the runway and down to the beach at Coxs Lagoon. The sea was calm and there were a few seabirds on the water, but for those of the hikers that had not seen them before the small groups of visiting Harbour Porpoise were much more interesting. The tide line was well down the beach as we walked south towards Sandbanks and we stopped for lunch on some logs not far from a crab-apple tree in full flower. After lunch we found some fine clumps of Coralroot Orchid with bare red stems and small pink flowers beside the forest trail as we climbed back up to the road at the south end of the runway.

JD.

The cream coloured and lightly scented flowers of our native crab-apple tree.

Next hike and an invitation.

The next hike will be on Saturday, 21st April.

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

Last week we had a very small group of hikers and a single vehicle was sufficient to carry us to the starting point at the roadside gravel pit near Bob's Lake. From here we headed south through the forest on old logging roads and winding trails until it was time for lunch. Not a spectacular view this time, just a sunny spot beside a small beaver pond not far north of Angel Lake.

There is a general invitation from Paula and Maurice Brunelle to hikers past and present to stop by at their house on Pine Street on Saturday afternoon after the hike.

JD.

Lunch close to the dam of a quiet beaver pond not far from Angel Lake.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 14th May.
We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week the weather started off quite poor, dull and cloudy with the threat of rain. However, by the time we started walking the clouds had cleared and we had sunshine for the rest of the day. Our route was a circular one that included the old logging road that connects the Oasis to the High Road, a branch into Cap Sheaf mine, a new ATV trail and part of the gasline. We sat on the side of the gasline right-of-way for lunch and then later, when we located the start of an old hiking trail, we climb the short distance to a viewpoint with a view west to Vancouver Island. My photo was taken on the gasline where a colony of Coltsfoot, the north american kind in the Genus Petasites, was in full flower. The european plant that is also called coltsfoot has yellow daisy type flowers and belongs to a different genus.
JD.

The Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 7th May.

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

Last week we had a small group of hikers and a lovely dry sunny day, although still with a lower temperature than is usual at this time of the year. We hiked along the more level part of Thompson Road and then up onto Thompson Bluffs. The expansive view from the lunch spot was as impressive as ever and the Vancouver Island mountains seemed to have much more snow than is usual at this time in the spring. No wonder the Mount Washington ski area is predicting that skiing will go on for much longer this season.

My photo this week is one I took on the midweek hike last Tuesday. I have walked along lower School Road countless times since I came to live on Texada, but I don't recall ever seeing the Calypso Orchid there until this year. This dainty species of wild flower is quite common in areas of limestone and especially around Van Anda, but far less common where the rocks are more acid.

JD.

A dainty Calypso Orchid in a miniature forest of moss.