Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 1st February.

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

Last week it was foggy in Gillies Bay when we started off but driving up towards the high ground we were soon in clear air and parked at the gravel pit just past Second Lake.  It usually is quite important to avoid hiking on old roads and along trails that may be water logged at this time of year, but we quickly discovered that this is an exceptionally dry winter and the many creeks in this part of the island are barely flowing and certainly easy to just step over!  This meant we could change plans and head along the forest back roads towards Thompson Rd. with no fear of getting wet feet.  The sun was strong and even in the shade we soon found we were overdressed and had to shed a layer or two.  Lunch was on a grassy bluff looking across a white sea of marine fog far below us to the Vancouver Island mountains that were strangely free of snow.  Our return was by a different route that crosses several small creeks, but none was a problem to cross.

My photo was taken at the lunch spot where the sun was so warm and the sky so blue it seemed as if spring had just about arrived. I spotted one hiker laying back on the grass with their eyes closed!

On a perfect January day on a bluff close by Thompson Road.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 25th January.

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

Last week we drove towards Van Anda and turned off on the gravel road part way down Priest Lake Hill.  This is a way to reach the Kirk Lake area and we parked about half way in to the lake which is surrounded by private property.  Hiking north and north-west over some extensive logged areas we eventually came to a high point on the road not far from the north shore of the lake where a flaggged trail strikes off through an area of mixed shrubs, trees and grassland climbing especially steeply in some places.  It was a nice day except that there were some patches of fog on the higher ground and the view towards the mainland was totally blocked. reaching the high point of the ridge the route undulates and becomes more open until at the lunch spot the sea comes into view to the west.

Sitting on the top of a grassy bluff with the sun trying to break through the now thin fog made the lunch spot very pleasant indeed.  I felt it was about time I had a chance to feature in the photo of the day — usually I'm the one behind the camera, but not this time.

JD.

  

         

It's a pleasant social time when we rest from walking and have a bite to eat.  

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 18th January.

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

Last week it seemed at first that we would be in for a wet and windy hike as it had been particularly windy during the night. In fact it turned out to be a very pleasant day for hiking as soon as we reached the parking spot at the Masck Farm turnoff.  There was still some wind in the tree tops, but the rain had stopped and the sun was doing a good job of getting through the high overcast.  We hiked down to the Russ Creek bridge and sat for lunch on the logs beside the bridge, listening to the massive roar of the white flood streaming down the creek bed which is especially steep on the lower side of the bridge.

On both sides of the road just above the bridge is the long term White Pine Research Project.   This was started in the eighties to study the many mature and disease free White Pine trees that foresters had noticed growing in this part of Texada.  The study is aimed at learning why so many of this species in this small area are quite free of the rust disease which is killing a high proportion of the White Pine in the Pacific Northwest.  The researchers are attempting to identify the genetic features of these local trees that provide resistence to this pathogen and have produced batches of seedlings selected for test purposes in replanting projects.  My photo shows tree #50, a healthy specimen and fairly old.  The white patches are lichen, not rust scabs, and there is no trace of the white sap bleeding that is such a distinctive sign of premature death.

JD.

Viewing some of the disease free trees at the White Pine Research Project, Russ Creek on Texada.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 11th January, 2014

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

Last week it was quite a dry, mild and pleasant day with no snow on the high ground that we could see.  We drove to the end of the blacktop and then south on the High Road to just north of the last house on the right.  We hiked north and off down the first part of the Pocahontas Bay Rd to the start of the trail up to the site of the Fire Lookout hut that was demolished years ago. Turning off to the right at the top of the first hill on to the partially overgrown grassy logging road that takes us south and down onto a rocky bluff with nice views out past the Lafarge quarry towards Hornby Island.  It was very comfortable sitting in such a windless spot for lunch, and it was a pity we had to head back to the vehicles a little sooner than we might have usually done.

My picture this week is an iPhone photo of some of the hikers on the quiet bluff above the High Road.

JD.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday 4th of January.

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

Last week we had a rather dull day again, but at least it was not raining as it had been doing from time to time during the week.  It seemed to be getting brighter in the west so we decided to head up quite high and see if there was much snow still on the ground around on the higher parts of Bell Rd.  When we got there we found very little sign of snow and set off from the Hydro East turnoff on the route that we take for Mount Manzanita.  We were slowed down at first not by snow, but by quite a few windfalls in the forest.  Once on the old logging roads we made good progress and were intrigued as we went along to find the fresh footprints in the thin snow of someone with very large boots.  As we got to the foot of the last steep section of trail to the top of Manzanita we wondered if we would find snow on the top, but there was none.  On the other hand at the lunch spot we found we had got up into some low cloud and this persisted until eventually a breeze came up and we had mice views to the coastline and beyond. 

JD   

Some puffballs almost ready to start releasing their spores.  These would have been edible a week or two earlier, but too late now.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 28th of December.

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

Last week the weather was quite dull with very low cloud everywhere.  It made no sense hiking up so we decided to stay down near the water and drove south towards Davie Bay.  We explored some side trails along the shoreline and did find one that we could use to reach a small headland, but branches need clearing and so that will be for another day.  For lunch we sat on a low cliff just south of where Eagle Creek reaches the sea. This is a spot we have visited quite a few times now, and we have found there is no easy way to get down just here to the tiny beaches that are good spots to find a multitude of attractive pebbles.  The pocket beaches we also often visit are not far from here, but they are north of Eagle Creek and reached via different trails.   It was just a very small number of hikers, three people and two friendly dogs, but I expect most hikers are either off island for the holidays or busy at home making preparations for Christmas.

JD.

      

         On a bluff not far south of Eagle Creek. Just to the left of my picture the ground drops off very steeply down to the sea. 

Next hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 21st December.

We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10.00am.

Last Saturday I was busy all day with the annual Christmas birdcount so could not be on the hike.  The destination was the beach at Mouat Point not far south of Gillies Bay.

My photo is one I took earlier this year when we visited the coastline on the northwest end of Texada. This is the only stretch of coastline where I sometimes find the beautiful remains of Sea Urchins.  When they're alive they are covered with sharp spines and have tube feet that come out through the tiny holes clearly visible in my photo.  The type in my picture are a close relative of the Sand Dollar which is so abundant in Gillies Bay.  The reason the shell is flat in one and spherical in the other is related to the habit they live in — the Sand Dollar needs to be thin so that it can burrow for safety into soft sandy beaches, while the other kind live on rocky shores and can shelter in between the rocks, and never need to burrow.

 

On 1st January there will be a Potluck Lunch at Shingle Beach Campground at 12:00 noon. Please bring chairs and a dish of your choice. Talk to Diana if you want more information.  Be green and carpool if you can.

JD.

   

   A Sea Urchin shell at Big Beach near Favada Rocks.