Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 28th June.
We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

We drove towards Bobs Lake and then started our hike from the road junction just south of the Vancouver Island hydro line. Hiking south along the gas line for a while we then branched off along our winding trail that links the gasline to the north end of Bobs Lake and followed the main road as if going to Mt. Flicker. This old logging road that runs just north of Flicker is a long one that does eventually go right down to Hydro East, but part of it is too overgrown to use and we always have lunch at a viewpoint with gaps in the trees that gives us a glympse of Nelson Island, Jervis Inlet and some of the mountains beyond.

At the lunch spot Wayne noticed some dainty wild flowers and asked me what they were. I guessed they were a species of winter-green and took a few photos of them so that I could do a proper ID later. There are several similar species of plants belonging to several different genera that have been given this common name, but this particular one is the more rare Chimaphila menziesii and I was surprised to learn that it is not at all common anywhere in BC. There are a few records of it on southern Vancouver Island and along the US border, but only three official sightings in the Powell River and Texada area. What an exquisite little beauty!
JD.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 21st June.
We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week we hiked from a road junction part-way down Cook Bay Road south and east to a large beaver swamp not very far from Angel Lake. The weather was a little cooler than one would expect in early June, but proved to be reasonably comfortable as the morning was spent gaining quite a lot of elevation along the older logging road.

My photo this week is of Dragonfly Lake, a fairly large body of water that feeds Russ Creek on the east side of Texada. This is the creek that is crossed by a very high loggers bridge at the White Pine forestry test area. In the foreground of my picture you can see a few of the large round waterlily leaves and it was not far from the spot where I got a very nice photo of one of the large bright yellow flowers.

I think this lake at the north end might be a pleasant place for a swim as the lake is deep and free from sunken logs there, but I've not given it a try yet. The water was certainly clear and warm the day of the hike.
JD.

Next Hike

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

Last Saturday we had a lovely summer day for our hike. We drove along Bell Rd to the Hydro East tunoff, then left again along the road that goes down to Russ Creek, parking at roadside gravel pit not too far along. The air was warm especially in the open recently planted areas, but the open areas also offered a pleasant cooling breeze and in the sections with forest shade it was comfortable as well. Our destination was Dragonfly Lake and the small low bluff at the north end was just perfect for lunch. The trail along the eastern shore of the lake was mostly in good shape, but the last part was partially blocked by a few windfalls. We did a little cutting on the way in and again going out making it quite nice for next time.

A few bright yellow flowers of waterlily dotted the water near the lunch spot and one made a good subject for my weekly photo.
JD.

Next Hike

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

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

Last Saturday we decided to revisit a beach on the east side of the island that we only discovered one day last year.  The location is not very far to the south of Pocahontas Bay but the hike to it along old logging roads takes about one and a half hours.  It was quite a warm day and it was pleasant to be walking in the shade of the forest for much of the way, less comfortable in the full sun where the road crossed a recent clearcut area.  The view from the beach where we sat on the logs for lunch looks across Malaspina Strait to Stillwater with the very distintive surge tower on the old hydro generating station penstock.  The massive pipe running down from the dam on Lois Lake can be seen where it passes under the main road between Westview and Saltery Bay. 

My photo was taken at our new beach, Tower Beach, and has one of the adult eagle pair guarding the very large nest near the top of a big snag.

JD.

    

Eagle on top of nest tree at Tower Beach.