Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 30th August.

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

Last week we had visitors so decided to take them to the Twin Peaks trail, a long drive and a fairly short steep hike with very fine views both to the east and west.  It was certainly good weather for hiking, but the view to the west was limited by a thick haze so nothing could be seen beyond the nearby Lasqueti Island. My photo shows that the view east was better, but still not great.  We thought the visibility might be partly reduced by the smoke of distant forest fires

Diana wishes me to mention that hikers are welcome to her house on Blair Road at the Oasis for tea and light refreshments after the hike this Saturday. 

JD.

Lunching on the south summit of Twin Peaks.  The distant views of the mainland were not very clear due to a smoky looking haze.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 23rd August.

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

Last Saturday we picked a hike that would not be too long or too strenuous and so we headed south to the spot where the gas pipline right of way crosses a road on the south side of Bobs Lake.  Some of us had done a very long hike up to Dome Rock and Cathedral Lake just two days earlier and welcomed a hike with few steep up and down sections and the gently undulating roads in the Angel Lake area were just perfect.  I think I have often spoken about the fact that our island is home to an unusually large number of rare plants and animals and so it should come as no surprise to learn that a couple of the plants we saw on the hike are quite rare in BC.  One is an uncommon species of Grapefern, but I have seen it a few times already and it was first collected by a visiting botanist about 15 years ago.  The other rare plant was a kind of water lily growing in Angel Lake close by the spot where we had lunch. I had never seen it before and no botanist has ever reported finding it on Texada or the Sunshine Coast.  It has however been collected a few times in the lower mainland area and on southern Vancouver Island.  I think I was lucky it had a single flower that was close enough to the shore for me to get a good photograph.  The common name is Water Shield, and the world distribution includes Canada, the US and Central and South America, even in the tropics.  There is just the one species in this genus.

JD.

  

Water Shield in flower in Angel Lake.  Brasenia schreberi is an aquatic plant found only in a few locations in south western BC. 

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 16th August.

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

Last week we met in Van Anda and drove over to the west coast of the island just as we had done a week earlier.  However, this time we reached the coastline more to the south of Crescent Bay and hiked to windswept Favada Point and secluded Cabin Cove. We were on the lookout for marine mammals as usual, but were disappointed to find only four or five Harbour Seal on the rocky islets to the north of the headland.  With perfect weather and a particularly rugged, but beautiful area of forest, grassy bluffs and cliffs everyone had an enjoyable and interesting day.   

JD.

Happy hikers at the end of the hike to Favada Point and Cabin Cove.

Next hike from Van Anda again.

The next hike will be on Saturday, 9th August.

We meet at the Royal Canadian Legion parking in Van Anda at 10:00am.

Last Saturday we drove over to the west side of the island parking at the end of the road that branches off Crescent Bay Rd on the right shortly soon after you pass the golf course.  There is now a clear beach access that makes it possible for the public to reach the very south end of Crescent Beach.  The tide was far enough out that we were able to walk the full length of this rather rocky beach stopping for lunch about three quarters of the way along going north.  For the return to our vehicles we headed inland to the gas line right of way for an easy walk soth, turning right at the first major logging road which connects the main Blubber Bay Highway to the western part of Crescent Bay Rd.

In the photo I'm explaining the volcanic origin of this rock outcrop near the south end of Crescent Beach.  The liquid lava probably flowed out of the volcano with lots of darker chunks of solid lava mixed up with it.  Other chunks may have been blasted out of the cone, falling from above onto the lava flows moving down the slopes all around. The lighter material is very fine grained which means it cooled very rapidly. Now, after millions of years, we get to see the result of an ancient eruption, but much more safely than going to visit an active modern volcano in a distant part of the world.

JD. 

PS.  Pam has invited the hikers back to her place, 30 Tyler Road, for refreshments after the hike.

In case you did not know:— Texada Artists Studio Tour takes place this weekend, Aug. 9 & 10. Studios are open from 10 am to 4 pm and admission is free. Tour guides/maps are available at the Ravenous Raven in Gillies Bay and the Holtenwood Gallery. Please stop by and pick one up. You can also pick one up at the TACT Centre in Van Anda during the two days of the tour. It can be downloaded by visiting the art tour website at www.texadaart.com. A total of 19 Texada artists are participating.

JD explaining the origin of this fine outcrop of volcanic rock on Crescent Bay beach.