Next hike.

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

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

Last week the hike day was again very warm, sunny and dry and a hike that was mainly in the cool forest was a good choice.  We drove to First Lake and parked as usual on the gas line by the cathodic protection site. Heading east on the old logging roads the summer flowers, mainly white and yellow  daises were abundant in the stretches of open forest.  After crossing the Hydro East road the hike route eventually reaches an open area where some replanting with more than the usual number of Red Cedar was done a few years ago.  This species which is usually planted in areas of damp soil has proved to be very vigorous in much drier conditions and the some of the saplings were doing very well indeed.  The lunch spot was on the edge of a steep hillside where the view south over Malaspina Strait is really quite spectacular and the heat was moderated by a nice breeze.

I try to get photos of any interesting plants we see on our hikes and that's what I'm doing in the photo this week. Thanks Candi.

JD.

Wildflower photographer at work! 

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 19th July.

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

Last week we drove quite a long way south along Bell Road, past Bobs Lake and then parked at the first gas pipeline crossing on the Anderson Bay Road. The hike route was south along the pipeline then on various logging roads, past the turning into Angel Lake, then onto a side road that eventually took us to the fairly long beaver dam at the big pond with a great view of Twin Peaks. It was a warm and humid day that seemed to bring out a lot more deer flies than usual, but sitting under the trees at the edge of the pond there was a little breeze and the bugs were much less of a problem than they might have been.

My photo this week is one I took recently when we hiked the lovely new Marble Bay trail along the north shoreline of Sturt (Marble) Bay. The Boat Club marina is just outside the left side of the photo and the floats you can see are all private ones. 

JD.

The view of Caesar Cove from the new Marble Bay hiking trail.  The trail starts from the main road and runs along the north shoreline of Marble or Sturt Bay, Van Anda. 

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we had very pleasant weather for a fairly long hike that took us from the gravel pit near Second Lake along forest trails that are somewhat overgrown now in several places to a bluff on Thompson Road with views of Vancouver Island in the far distance.  The return route was different as we passed along the east side of Mystery Lake and along our quite new trail that follows much of the shoreline of Third Lake.  

JD.

Bog cranberry flowers at Hydro Line Lake, Vaccinium oxycoccus.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we started off with a fairly slow drive along the bumpy roads that go down to Pocahontas Bay and beyond to the south towards Russ Creek. The hike was one that climbs almost continuously along some new and old logging roads to a rocky peak with an elevation of just under 1,500ft [450m] above sea level.  The actual elevation gain for the hikers was about 900ft, but the weather was dry and not too warm.

My flower photo this week is one I took last month of a tiny plant that is quite uncommon in our forest and often found with a much more common and larger plant called Prince's Pine.  Many people are familiar with the more common one which always has many more flowers on each plant instead of the one, two or three of the Little Prince's Pine. I think the flowers in my photo are quite curious because, to me at any rate, they look as if made of wax and hand painted!  So odd and attractive. 

JD.

Little Prince's Pine, Chimaphila menziesii, Hydro Line Lake Rd. This is a smaller relative of the much more common Prince's Pine.