Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 31st October.

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

Last week we had quite a nice day for hiking although the sea and part of the island were covered in a thick blanket of fog.  As we usually do on days when there is fog about we simply started driving towards the high ground hoping to eventually get above the fog.  This day it worked out very nicely and we were clear of the fog when we passed Second Lake and decided to park on the gasline where the road swings away from the line. Walking uphill on the line right of way took us to the Hydro Reactor road, then past the chainlink fences and then west under the cables along the winding towers access road.  A small bluff close by the Rogers Cell Tower was a pleasant spot to rest and eat lunch and look out to the mountain tops of Vancouver Island in far distance.  Between us and them all the lower slopes of Texada and the miles of sea were hidden beneath the billowy top of the white fog.  

My photo was taken on the hike earlier in October when we hiked on the grassy bluffs to the north of Cook Bay.  On that beautiful day the views were spectacular and there was no trace of fog anywhere at all.

JD.

The view looking towards Hornby Island and Vancouver Island from near Cook Bay.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 24th October.

We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10.00am

Last week we again had a cloudy damp day for our hike and drove over to the east of island going part way down the Hydro East road to a gravel pit, the starting place for a several different hiking routes.  This time we headed uphill on the access road to the Vancouver Hydro line right of way and climbed to a spot for lunch that had a view towards Nelson Island which was partly visible through patches of low cloud and fog. On the return to the vehicles we took a side road which we knew would be overgrown in places and decided to clean it up where it needed attention and made good progress in a short time.  When I checked out the old road on Google Earth later I found we had actually gone about half way to a nice view point so we may try to reach that another day.

My photo is of an unusual brown foliose lichen that I think may be a species of Peltigera or Frog Pelt lichen. Lichens are a group of plants that always consist of a fungus and an algae living together as if they were a single organism.  It was growing that day on a steep mossy slope beside the logging road we hiked up from the parking place and it seemed to be the only specimen of that kind anywhere around.

JD. 

A curious kind of lichen growing on moss beside a logging road.  It looks like a type called Frog Pelt, a species of Peltigera perhaps.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 17th October.

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

Last week we had yet another rainy day for our hike and it was quite windy as well.  We drove up Shelter Point Road to the High Road and parked in a recent clearcut  just after the last house on the right.  Walking north along the road for a while then turned off and  started down the road to Pocahontas Bay. Taking the old logging road that goes to the Fire Lookout we turned off as soon as we got to the top of the first hill and this grassy and overgrown side road climbs steadily to a spot where you can just see an open ridge on the right that has views of Vancouver Island, but only on dry clear days of course, not in the rain the way it was this time.

On the Sunday of last week I was boating on the north west coast of Texada in perfect weather.  I was surprised at how many seals there were as I have not been seeing so many in and around Gillies Bay for the last couple of years.  Because the transient Orcas, also called Biggs Orcas, have been seen much more frequently all around our area I had assumed they had reduced the seal population quite a bit as they feed mainly on marine mammals.  I did notice that the seals tended to be quite spread out with just two or three here and there out of the water basking in the sun.  My photo is of a cute pair on smooth dark basalt at the waters edge.

JD.

     

A pair of dark brown Harbour Seals basking on the rocks near Favada Point.

The next hike.

The next hike will be on Saturday, 10th October.

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

Last week we had a long drive to the starting point of the hike.  The weather was great for hiking and we headed south along the road to Bobs Lake turning off to the right before the lake and then heading over on to the long Cook Bay Rd that runs downhill through the forest towards the coast.  Parking outside the gate that marks the boundary of the private property surrounding the bay we started off down the old logging road that eventually reaches the sea at the very southern end of Shingle Beach.  Usually we go down to the beach and lunch on some low cliffs there, but this time the plan was to revisit a trail that was flagged a few years ago, but never actually used again for a regular hike.  The first part needed some clearing and hand tools made short work of the evergreen huckleberry so we were soon on the open bluffs and working our way uphill towards the higher ground and the best viewpoints.  

JD.

A curious tree on a hiking trail near Cook Bay.

Next Hike.

The next hike will be on Saturday, 3rd October.

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

Last week I was busy with an internet service project so could not go on the hike as usual.  I do know it was great weather to be out and about with a cool gusty wind blowing from the north and sunny all day long.  I was stuck on Mt. Pocahontas doing tower work and I believe the hikers were roaming around in the forest not so very far away.

My photo is from a hike we did early in September when we drove south on Bell Road and parked near First Lake.  From there we hiked on the very pleasant old now grassy logging road that heads southwest at first and then swings around to end on the west side of Plateau Mountain.  A steep trail climbs to a high viewpoint with views towards Denman and Hornby Islands with the Vancouver Island mountains beyond.

JD.

Texada Trekkers is our website.  

If you also Google "Texada Trekkers" and then click on  'Images'  you will find most of the pictures that come up in the results as thumbnails to be ones I have featured in the weekly Hike Notice email.  Click them to view the original full size photos.

        The view fom high up on the west side of Plateau Mountain near Third Lake.