Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 28th February.

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

Last week we had perfect weather for a visit to the high ground and headed up to Bobs Lake, parking on the south side where the gasline crosses the logging road. Following the pipeline right of way south, crossing the Anderson Bay Rd and then swinging off at the next junction headed downhill into an area we have never explored before.  These days, with Google Earth maps for free, it's so easy to view and print off a map with roads and logged areas clearly depicted we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Even so it was a bit of a surprise to find the clearcut we picked for lunch so very steep.  After lunch we split into two groups with half going for the scramble up to the upper road and the other group playing it safe and taking the longer less steep route back.

My photo is from an earlier hike this year when we passed a beaver dam close to the road and this alder with fresh beaver teeth marks.  It will be interesting to see if the job has been finished next time we drive that way. 

JD. 

http://texadatrekkers.blogspot.ca/

  

Caution: Beavers at Work!   The teeth marks of a beaver close to a new beaver dam on Pocahontas Rd.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 21st February.

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

Last week we had a good day for hiking and decided to head up onto the high ground not knowing for sure if there was fog at higher elevations.  It was difficult to know if some of our hiking trails would be passable at this time, not because of possible snow patches which are often on the high ground in February, but because the recent rains meant some smaller creeks might be to deep and wide to cross.  We managed to cross several on the first trail, but then were almost forced to turn back by one creek that was both deep and a bit too wide.  No one was keen to do that and so rocks and a big chunk of tree trunk were gathered up and a causeway quickly created.  Lunch was in a sunny spot on Thompson Rd. and we returned to the vehicles by a different, and drier, route past the Hydro Reactor station.

My photo is one I took when on a hike last month.  I don't ever remember seeing such an odd natural mass of the foam that is often seen on our fast flowing creeks.  I believe there are organic oils in the water derived from rotting vegetation and these produce a white foam when mixed in fast flowing water in rocky creeks.  This circular mass was floating, rotating and trapped in a small pool. 

JD.

  

     

A curious natural donut floating and rotating in a pool in Mouat Creek. The foam is a natural feature of fast flowing creeks.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 14th February.

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

Last week we were faced with yet another dull and rather overcast day and started walking from the Ballpark through the forest and swampy area directly north of Gillies Bay.  We did run into much more water on the ground than expected, but managed to avoid the deeper spots and more or less followed the overgrown route of the old nature trail that was cut many years ago. Leaving the trail after it crosses Cranby Creek on a very large fallen tree we came out on the logging road that links to School Rd, and walked west and then started on a new long bike trail winding through some very mature forest.  This took us to a grassy bluff to the east of the highway Gravel Pit where we stopped for lunch at a high spot with just a glimpse of the sea through some trees.

JD.

   

An extra large bracket fungus on the trunk of a dead but still upright tree on Gillies Bay Nature Trail.

The Next Hike

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

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

Last week we had perfect weather for a hike once we had driven nearly to Bobs Lake and got above the thick blanket of fog that covered the lower terrain.  We took a route that avoided the main logging roads and enjoyed the grassy lanes through the forest. Heading south towards Angel Lake, but then turning west along a road that we used once or twice until the beaver added to the height of their dam on Gentian Lake and flooded a short section of the road.  We could not cross without wading, but it was a pleasant spot to have lunch.  The dogs thought it great fun when work started on a rock and logs causeway for the next time we head down this old road.  It is quite a long one and eventually joins the Cook Bay Road, but I believe it may be badly overgrown in some sections. 

JD. 

Gentian Lake has a ford towards the south end and a log causeway will be needed to cross dry-shod.