The next hike.

The next hike will be on Saturday, 29th October.

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

Last week it was a little foggy on the nearby mountains, but we decided to head for the top of Mt. Pocahontas as we figured the mist would be gone by the time we got to the lunchspot.  We drove up to the High Road and along to the start of the hike route that includes the George Lechner Trail.  It was a bit damp at the start where we had to push our way through knee high wet grass then much nicer going up through the forest.  By the time we reached the towers the sun had come out and we sat by the Gillies Bay Internet Society shed at the base of their tower.  After lunch we wandered along the road to take a look at the other towers, each decorated with a great variety of communications antennas and dishes. 

My photo this week is not from a hike this time, but instead it's a photo I took today of an adult Bald Eagle with a salmon that it had just dragged out of the sea onto the dry sand.  I don't think the eagle was all that hungry as after it had taken a few bites from the carcass it flew off to the creek and took a bath in the fresh water.  Meanwhile some gulls and crows took the opportunity to feast on some very fresh fish.

JD.

An adult Bald Eagle with a good sized salmon on the beach at Gillies Bay.  Coho and chum are moving up our creeks now.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 22nd October.
We will meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am

Last week we were lucky to have a short break in the rainy weather just in time for our hike. Even the wind died down and it was quite pleasant as we hiked from our Eagle Creek parking place down to the sea at the north end of Davie Bay. The rain and wind was forecast to start again in the early afternoon so we kept the hike a little shorter than usual. I noticed as we left the lunchspot near Bun Island that there were plenty of whitecaps way out to sea as the southeast wind increased. I believe the island gets it's name from the shape, and this is something I was told by a Texada old-timer who camped nearby as a girl before the first World War.
JD.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 15th October.

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

We seem to be in the middle of a series of weather systems coming through with lots of rain and periods of very high winds.  On Saturday morning there may be an interlude when the winds and rain might be somewhat less, but it all depends on how fast the systems are moving and the track they actually take.  As there is a chance we may have a few hours for hiking in comfort I will not say the hike is cancelled, so we can wait and see how things look in the morning and take it from there. As we learned last year on a hike on the High Road it can be quite unpleasant to be caught in the open when trees and branches start to fall and the vehicles are still quite a long way away. 

Last week we met in Van Anda and drove to Blubber Bay to hike in the area to the east between the quarry and the coastline.  It was not the greatest weather for hiking as we had light rain just about the entire time.  This is an area of the island where the Giant Chain Fern is found in abundance, and this year in particular the fronds were looking particularly green and healthy.

My photo for this week was taken on a hike in August when we got slighly lost in the forest near Shingle Beach, but ended up for lunch on a seaside bluff with a great view. Thank you Brian for including us all in your selfie-stick photo. 

JD.

Happy hikers at Shingle Beach, August 2016.

Next Hike from Van Anda

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

We meet at the Canadian Legion in Van Anda at 10:00am.

Last week we were faced with a dull day that looked unlikely to change much for quite some time.  It made sense to stay low down so we headed up to Bell Road taking the left fork onto the Hydro East Rd at Bell Farm.  The high ground was fog-bound and very damp, but when we reached the parking area at Hydro East we were well below the fog and the rain was quite light. We started off by walking north on the old logging road, but someone was camping in the middle of the road, perhaps hunters or maybe not, so we decided to head south instead.  We ended up doing a circular hike that took us under the Hydro lines higher up the right of way, and the rain was never much of a problem.  Mushrooms were found here and there, but after the recent rains I would have expected more than we actually saw.  

JD.

Lunching in the rain at a spot in the forest not far above Hydro East.