Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 27th October.

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

Last week we drove part way up from Davie Bay Rd. towards Thompson Rd. and parked just past the old sandpit. From here the old logging roads take us quite steeply up through the forest onto Thompson Rd. where it runs quite level towards the south. At the next junction we turned south onto the road we had been driving on  before we parked, then right again onto the fairly new logging road that climbs very steeply to the top of Eagle Mountain.  We used the usual grassy bluff for lunch, but then later discovered that there was a much better viewpoint on a grassy bluff that we could reach by going through a narrow belt of trees to the north of where we had been sitting. 

My photo taken from that viewpoint is a long telephoto shot that really compresses the scene.  In the foreground is Gillies Bay with the Lafarge Quarry beyond it in the middle distance. The black pile on the beach below the quarry workings is coal awaiting shipment to the Far East. This is brought over from the coal mines on Vancouver Island on barges that are loaded in Campbell River. The peak on the right is Surprise Mountain and beyond it and just visible in the far distance is Comox Airport.

JD.

     

   

   The fine view from the new viewpoint on Eagle Mountain.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 20th October.

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

Last week we were lucky we had no rain again while we were hiking, but there was thick fog on the higher ground and clouds everywhere.  We drove up into the fog on Bell Road then headed north and down to the White Pine test area where we parked just before the Russ Creek bridge.  The forest along the old logging roads is quite impressive in this area and there were hikers that recall that in recent years they have collected some fine mushrooms from the forest floor.  This year the long dry spell in the summer has meant that fungi of all kinds are almost nowhere to be seen, at least not yet, but the heavy rain this week may get things moving along underground and produce the above ground fruiting bodies we love to gather. Our lunch spot was on Taylor Bluff where we could just make out part of the mainland coast line where it was not covered in fog.

My photo this week is of another edible product of the forest on Texada, the berries of Evergreen Huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum.   This year they seem to be especially juicy and sweet and should be good to pick and eat for quite a few weeks.  I find it curious that not many birds eat these berries, but where the fruit is growing on branches close to the ground the racoons do consume quite a lot of them.  Grouse no doubt pick off ones growing low enough for them to reach, but deer seem to avoid them. 

JD.

A cluster of the fruit of the Evergreen Huckleberry, a tasty treat at this time of the year.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 13th October.

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

Last week we had a wonderful dry sunny day for the hike and chose to revist Mt. Grant knowing that the various viewpoints would offer clear views in all directions. This year we had so many rainy days in spring and well into summer that it seemed as if our regular dry warm days would never arrive. Eventually the normal summer weather did start, but much later than usual and then continued on and on right through September and into October. Finally, as I write this the weather has changed, the sun is behind a thick cloud cover and the forecast is for some rainy days soon. Dig out the rain gear and start dressing more warmly!  

JD.

At one of the viewpoints on the Mt. Grant Trail on a lovely dry sunny day early in October. 

Next hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 6th October.

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

Last week we decided to do some exploring again and headed south up onto the high ground and all the way down the Cook Bay Road finally parking at the gated entrance to the large private property. Taking the road to the beach that starts at the gate we hiked downhill to a pont where we seemed to be close to the extensive area of open bluffs I knew extended between the road and the coastline to the south west.  At first we were following winding deer trails through open forest that eventually opened out onto grassy areas and we found if easy to climb to a high spot we could see on the GPS.  None of us had been into this area ever before and it was very pleasant to sit in the sun to eating lunch and looking down on Lasqueti Island from a different viewpoint. 

 

Instead of returning by the same route we used to reach the high point we decided to return to the road a different way and found we had problems with steep cliffs and patches of dense vegetation.  My photo shows just how hard it can be to make a new trail through dense evergreen huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum.  This is not to be confused with the related red huckleberry, Vaccinium parvifolium, which is a smaller deciduous shrub not nearly as common on Texada as the evergreen species. Both have edible berries and both are tasty, but the black ones are less tart than the red.

JD.  

Cutting a new trail though a particularly tall patch of Evergreen Huckleberry.