Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 12th of January.

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

Last week we decided to pick a low elevation hike to avoid running into problems with the snow on the high ground.  The tide was good for beach walking so we headed south towards Shingle Beach parking at the start of a new logging road at the top of the last hill down to the campground.  The road had been extended since our last hike in the area and it was fun to explore right to the end.  The unfinished last section proved to be very muddy and ended abruptly at a small creek.  We had noticed the original hiking route down to the beach cottages near the start of  the muddy section and used it to arrive at our intended lunch spot in good time.  One of the cottages provided a welcome windbreak and even had a useful folding camp chair for me to sit in comfort.  The return along the beach was uneventful as the tide was low enough to allow us to get past the odd fallen tree that would have been difficult to climb over had the waves been higher up the beach.

My photo is of the cut base of an old growth fir that had been growing close to the route of the new logging road.  It's a shame a tree of this age was not left standing for future generations to enjoy.  I took closeup photos and was able to count 300 growth rings.  This veteran of the forest was a sapling in 1710 when England was ruled by Queen Anne.  It was not till 50 years later in the seventeen sixties that the very first British colony was founded in Botany Bay in Australia. The tree was close to 100 years old when Capt Vancouver arrived to survey the coastline and islands of the Straits of Georgia.  We saw several old growth trees nearby and I certainly hope these will be conserved and not cut down for no valid reason. 

JD.

 

      

Counting the growth rings on an old growth Douglas Fir tree beside a new logging road at Shingle Beach.