The Next Hike

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

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

Last week we drove a short distance up the airport road and parked at the small sandpit on the left. From there we started our regular circular hike that takes us down to the beach below the airport then along that to the Sandbanks and back through the various forest roads and trail to the parking place. The tide was going out, the wind quite light and visibility very good, but we saw no Harbour Porpoise this time although we usually do, especially in summer.  

My photo this week shows the fairly common mistletoe that grows as a parasite on our native Jack or Shore Pine.  At any time of the year you can see the swellings on the younger branches that indicate the presence of the parasite inside the tree and then in the summer the flower stems appear from the bark and first the clusters of small yellowish flowers followed by the pale green seed pods. The name of the genus is Arceuthobium, but I'm not too sure which species this is and there at least three found in BC.

JD.

Mistletoe [Arceuthobium sp.] flowering from branches of Jack Pine in which it lives as a parasite.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we hiked up onto the bluffs above Kirk Lake and enjoyed the views to the west towards Vancouver Island. As usual with this particular hike we did get lost in the forest a couple of times, but added some more flagging to sections of the trail where we had got lost before!

The photo this week is of a very young deer fawn hiding from predators while it's mother is off somewhere not far away.  The youngster was keeping perfectly still with head down and eyes open and had not been abandonded by the mother who was no doubt busy feeding on vegetation with a higher than usual moisture content this summer.

Thanks Jim for this lovely photo.  

JD.

A very young deer fawn pretending to be dead near Cap Sheaf Lake. The mother was probably feeding not very far away. J. Mason photo. 

Next hike from Van Anda

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

We meet at the Canadian Legion parking at 10:00am.

Last week hiked from the gravel pit on the road down to Hydro East.  The route we followed branches off the Hydro East Rd. a short distance down the hill and then climbs almost continuously, passes under the Vancouver Island power lines after about half an hour of walking then reaches a junction not long after that. It was not a good day for distant views because of low clouds and some fog so we took the turn on the left and decided to do some trail clearing to continue along an old logging road we had started on many months ago.  Eventually it will become a forest trail leading all the way up to Bobs Lake, but it will require a little more effort on another day.

My photo is from a recent hike to Angel Lake.

JD.

 

Hiking through a carpet of white daisies growing on the gasline right of way north of Angel Lake.

Next hike

The next hike will be on Saturday the 9th July.

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

Last week we had quite decent weather for hiking and headed up to the high ground.  This year there seems to be an extra abundance of wild white daisies which have spread in recent years much more away from the highway verges than before.  One area in particular is the Bell Road hill where the view on both side covers vast areas of white and purple, both daisy and foxglove in full bloom.  Parking on the gasline just south of Bobs Lake we hiked south along the right of way to the point where it runs next to the Anderson Bay Rd. There we left the pipeline walking instead on the road until we reached the short side road that took us into that small lake shore picnic spot used sometimes by those in search of tasty fresh trout.

My photo this week shows the small area of open water at the northern end of the Cap Sheaf wetland.  This was our destination on a recent hike that started from Gillies Bay Ballpark.

JD.

At the northern end of Cap Sheaf Lake the steep mossy cliff provides a nice spot to sit down and eat lunch.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 2nd July.

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

Last week we were lucky enough to have pleasant weather for our hike.  Instead of driving off to more distant trails we left the vehicles at the Ballpark and set off hiking from there along the lower part of School Rd.  Keeping left at the first Y junction and right at the next we started the steady uphill climb towards Cap Sheaf Lake.  Walking perhaps a little faster than usual we decided to walk through the fairly open forest on the east side of the wetland instead of lunching at the south end of the open water.  This took us to the steep grassy bluff at the north end that overlooks the other area of open water held in place by the well maintained beaver dam.

JD.

The curiously attractive limb of a mature Arbutus tree shedding it's parchment like bark.   Coastal trail north of Shingle Beach.