Next Hike

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

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

Last week we drove south along Bell Road and turned off onto the Masyk Farm Road driving north to the usual parking spot at the gravel pit. It's not a long hike from there to the top of Black Mountain, but the climb up through the forest after we leave the old logging roads is really quite steep in places.  Not far below the high point on the hike there are gaps in the forest that allow for views south towards Twin Peaks and I was a bit surprised to have nothing visible except a grey fog of low cloud and figured we would not have our usual fantastic view at the lunch spot.  Pure luck really, but as we stepped out of the forest the fog started to break up and very quickly the panoramic view of Malaspina Strait below and Nelson Island and the Coast Mountains in the distance was there again.

Thanks Mich for the excellent time delay group photo. I was quite worried for a minute or two that your unattended camera might roll down the cliff next to the lunch spot!

JD.

A group photo of the trekkers last week at the viewpoint near the summit of Black Mountain.  

Next Hike

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

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

Last week drove up to the high ground and parked at the road junction at the bottom of Mt. Davies.  The route of the hike started on the old loop trail that passes near Bloody Mountain and the large beaver pond where we sometimes stop for lunch. From there we had a brand new trail recently cut and flagged by some of the trekkers that took us down the south slope of the mountain through open forest until we reached a row of three small bluffs that each offer spectacular views to the west over Lasqueti and with Vancouver Island in the far distance.  

My photo from the hike is of a very colourful fungus with several common names including strawberries and cream.  It's not toxic but it has a very bitter taste which does not seem to have prevented some animal from trying to eat this small one!  

JD.

Hydnellum peckii, the strawberries and cream fungus that is not poisonous, but very bitter.

Next Hike - extra notice.

 [ sent Friday afternoon at 4:00pm ]

Some people did not receive my earlier email notice of the Saturday hike so this is a repeat email to everyone on my list.

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

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

JD.

Next Hike — from Van Anda Legion again.

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

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

Last week we met in Van Anda and drove north to a parking place on the gas line about a kilometre from Blubber Bay.  This is the start of the Marshall Point circular hike that was my choice for the very first Saturday hike that I guided more than 25 years ago.  For many years we used to do it at least once a year, but recently not so often and it was no surprise to find the trail was quite badly overgrown in some places.  However, the tide was extra low and we spent more time walking on the beaches and enjoying the many tide pools and interesting rock formations. As usual there were lots of seals on and around the islets to the south of the point and they enjoyed watching us while we ate lunch on the low cliff. Other wildlife we saw included a couple of humpback whales and a fast moving mink that was out of sight before I had a chance to get a photograph of it. 

JD.    

Marshall Point and Limekiln Bay have many tide-pools that can prove interesting to both young and old. [TH photo]

Next Hike — from Van Anda Legion.

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

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

Last week there were several visitors wanting to join us for the weekly hike and with near perfect weather for hiking we always try to pick one of our very best hiking routes.  With it's two impressive viewpoints, one on each peak, Twin Peaks near Five Way Junction on the road to Anderson Bay, is one that never fails to impress.  There are two starting points for Twin Peaks and we used the southern one this time as recently there have been more than the usual number of tree frogs roaming around in that area this year and it's not just the kids that find them really quite fascinating.  We did find quite a few along the gas pipeline and I think it was the first time I was able to explain that recent research has discovered that this species of frog is able to change it's body colour during it's lifetime.  On Texada when we see a tree frog it's usually green, but not at all too unusual to find ones that are more or less brown in colour.  The change is slow and may take a week of more, sometimes months. 

 

The photo this week shows we had quite a crowd and it does include the photographer for a total of seventeen hikers.  

JD.

   

The latest Texada Trekkers group photo taken Saturday 27th July 2019 at the lunch spot on the south summit of Twin Peaks.  [MM photo]