Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 29th November.
We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

After many rainy days we were very lucky to have the sun back for our hike last week. It was quite mild too as we drove south towards Davie Bay and turned off and up towards Thompson Road. The destination was Thompson Bluffs and the view to the west proved to be quite dramatic as the low sun reflected from the ocean and more rain clouds began to gather above the Vancouver Island mountains. It did rain that night and we have had rain, sometimes very heavy rain, everyday since.
JD.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 22nd November.

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

Last week we chose a circular route we had hiked a few months ago, but this time did it in the reverse direction.  In the morning the route we took started from the Ballpark in Gillies Bay and headed north up through the lovely forest that covers the fairly steep slopes just to the north of the community. It follows one of the recently built bike trails in the area and reaches a high spot overlooking the old logging road trail to Cap Sheaf Lake. There we sat in the warm sun and ate lunch before returning to our starting point along one of my old trails, older logging roads and part of School Road.

My photo shows some hikers on a very neat part of the bike trail not far from it's highest point.   

JD.

On a rustic bike trail through the forest not far north of Gillies Bay. 

Next Hike

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

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

Last Saturday we drove south on Bell, turned off onto Hydro East road and headed part-way down to park at the roadside rock quarry just after the hairpin bend.  The weather was good and the walk going downhill to the beach at the end of a steep ATV trail was very pleasant and very easy.  We sat on the logs to eat lunch. We saw vehicles parked here and there along the way and wondered if they were hunters or mushroom pickers.  A couple of hunters in camouflage came riding past us on a single ATV and we speculated about them being more likely to shoot each other than a deer.  I  believe deer to be colour blind like most mammals so the hunters might just as well wear high visibility jackets and hats and be safer.  Most of the hikers started back up the trail as soon as they finished lunch but a few explored a short side trail running south and found it ended at a neat little campsite with a picnic table, a curious little rustic kitchen and a toilet with a view out to sea! 

The climb up the trail and along the winding logging road back to the vehicles was a gain in elevation of 290 metres [ just short of 1,000ft ], so not quite as easy as the one down in the morning.

JD.   

       

A neat little kitchen at a brush collector's camp on Long Beach.  The sink tap even has running water piped from a nearby creek. 

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 8th November.

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

Last week we drove along the road to Masck Farm and parked at the second gravel pit on the right after the farm turnoff . We started by hiking along an old abandoned logging road that we used regularly until a severe winter storm dropped masses of trees across it and we used a longer route to get around the blockages.  First stop of interest on our way to the lunch spot was the large lake, created by a substantial beaver dam built several decades ago I believe, that we used to call Trailer Lake.  Then somehow it got blown up in what I assume to be a propane gas explosion and the trailer now only exists as a debris field of thousands of pieces large and small. 

Close by the trail is the short but quite high beaver dam.  It's in good shape and the water level was at the highest possible level.  Not far away the beaver are clearly in residence as since our visit last year they have added greatly to the pile of sticks that forms their lodge.

JD.

     

An extra large beaver lodge at the edge of Blown Up Trailer Lake.