We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am
Last week we had another rainy day again, it was quite a windy day as well and we did not hike quite as far as we usually do. At the lunch stop we were out of the wind with a view out over Mouat Bay where the regular Alaska barge was fully loaded and heading north quite fast with the strong south-easterly pushing it from behind.
My photo is of a common grasshopper, an insect that we don't often get to see in closeup. This is not a cricket, they are normally black in colour and quite fat. Some of our grasshoppers snap their hindwings rapidly as they fly, and make that distinct crackling sound when they are disturbed. Other kinds of grasshoppers have a row of pegs along the inside of the hind leg that acts as a file, or rasp. The grasshopper rubs this leg surface against the thickened forewing, causing a vibration and thus a sound.
On a recent hike I was asked what a geocache is. I tried to explain a bit about it and I do know where a few are hidden on Texada. However, I do think it's an outdoor activity that needs to have a bit more publicity if only to encourage more visitors to rural areas such as Texada Island. It's something that young people are more likely to enjoy and if that means getting more adults outdoors so much the better. Here is a link to a video that young Alec Fischer produced that will explain everthing you wanted to know, and more, about this high-tech hobby.
Alec is, I think, the most enthusiastic promoter of hiking I have ever come across! Enjoy!
JD.
A closeup view of a brown grasshopper at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay. The hind leg is much larger than the other legs and has V-shaped rows of dots.
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