Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 26th May.

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

Last week we gathered in Van Anda and drove a short distance part way along the narrow gravel road to Kirk Lake and then some way along a side road to a grassy parking spot just before a gate into private property.  The hike was along winding new trails that swing up and around the Kirk Lake Bluffs.  This was for me the first visit to the almost vertical rock faces that form the south side of the bluffs and I think the high point of the hike was seeing the natural rock formation that looks for all the world like an even larger replica of the ancient rock statues of Easter Island in the Pacific. 

JD.

 

A curious natural rock formation at Kirk Lake Bluffs. 

Next hike from Van Anda.

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

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

Last week we had an extra long hike and a fairly long drive to get there.  Russ Creek flows down to the sea on the east side of the island very close to North-east Point and our hike took us from a logging road at an elevation of about 600 ft down to the beach and back.  There are trails now on both sides of the creek and in many places there are good spots to view the many waterfalls and rapids.  Where the ground levels out the creek is wider and long pools have formed and are shaded by the thick canopy of the many old growth trees. 

The plan for this Saturday is to hike a new trail route that will take us to the cliffs and bluffs on the north side of Kirk Lake.

JD.

Some are quite small, others higher and more impressive, but all the waterfalls on Russ Creek are very lovely. 

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 12th May.

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

Last week we had a long drive to the parking place which was at Five-way Junction south of Angel Lake.  The hike is not very long, but it is quite steep in places and there is the two shorter trails at the top of the steep section.  We usually go to the north viewpoint first and then return to the fork before doing the last short but steep trail up to the best viewpoint at the top of the south peak.  This time I remembered seeing on online maps that there was a pond or small lake not far from the northern trail so we decided to explore and quickly found it.  There were some interesting relics from an abandoned grow-op that had made use of the large water supply including an oven and a portable flush toilet believe it or not!  An interesting botanical discovery was some mature and young Douglas Maple trees, all doing quite well.  This is quite a rare species of tree on Texada although there are quite a few growing in many parts of Vancouver Island.  

JD.

A very lovely lake very close to the top of Twin Peaks mountain.  This was our first visit to the lake even though we built the trails many years ago.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week the hike turned out to be a bit unusual as most of the regular hikers were busy doing other things and were not able to come along.  Also a bit unusual was the fact that it started to rain shortly after we finished eating and it never eased up until long after the hike was over!  However we did have some interesting things to see including a very large number of swallows madly feasting on swarms of tiny black insects above the water at one end of a beaver pond.  This is at Blown-up Trailer Lake a kilometre or so south of Black Mountain.  

My photo this week was taken when we had our first lunch at a new viewpoint near the south end of Mystery Lake.  We had hiked in from First Lake where we parked on the main Bell Road and used the section of old trail that we had re-opened on a trail cutting day last year.  

JD. 

Our happy hiking group on a new viewpoint bluff near Mystery Lake.  The view from here is towards the north and east rather than towards the sea.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we had near perfect hiking weather and drove along Bell Road as far as First Lake where we parked.  We headed south on the old logging road that passes along the west shoreline of Third Lake although the forest makes it hard to get a look at the lake unless you go down the short trail with a cairn at the start.  Not long ago we did a very good job of cleaning up the old hiking trail that runs from the end of the old logging road through the forest to the north end of Mystery Lake. Our plan was to find a route to get us up to a possible viewpoint on a bluff that overlooks the lake from the south and sure enough we found one that offered views of Mt. Davies, Plateau Mountain and Mt. Manzanita in the distance. 

My photo from a recent hike shows a feature we often see on bushes of Evergreen Huckleberry where a rust disease infection [Pucciniastrum geoppertianum] has caused the plant to form  a cluster of distorted stems called Witches Broom.

JD.

 Evergreen Huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum - a branch with major rust infection. 

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we felt it was safe to head for the highest parts of Texada as the days and nights had been a good deal warmer than before and the late snows had had plenty of time to melt.  We drove up to Bobs Lake area and parked close to the start of the Gentian Lake Trail, but walked east towards the campground entrance.  Our objective was to explore a route to the top of a small hill about a kilometre north of Bobs Lake as satellite images suggested we might find a good new viewpoint at or close to the top.  Sure enough we found a couple and we plan to go back again later in the year when the visibility is way better and the cool wind from the south-east a great deal much less uncomfortable!  The view is towards the east and the Coast Mountains and includes the Sunshine Coast with the Malaspina Strait 2,000ft below. 

My photo for this week is the second of the two tiny lakes we passed on the way to the mountain top.  Both have crystal clear water and on the way down we noticed the first one had quite a few jelly like egg masses that are very likely spawn of the rare Red-legged Frog.  

JD.

A small and pristine lake at high elevation not far from Bobs Lake.

Next Hike

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

We meet at the Ba;;park in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week when we met in the morning we all expected to be hiking in an unpleasant combination of wind and rain. That did not happen and we ended up having a nice enough forest hike that was a bit longer and steeper than usual and partly on a new route that we had cleared and flagged late last year. 

My photo this time is one I took last summer when we were hiking on bluffs not very far from Cook Bay.  It was on a hike in the same area the previous year that someone spotted this dainty little yellow daisy family gem.  I could not remember ever seeing it before this and sure enough although I searched both reference books and online sites I could not identify it.  Last year   on the day I took this photo we saw many specimens in flower in several different spots on the same bluffs and I later sent photos to a botanist who is an expert on this group of flowering plants, and he came up with the correct name.  It's actually a native of some eastern states including Virginia and has only been spotted in three locations on the west coast, near Campbell River, on Cortes Island and at Point Roberts near Vancouver. It's possible we have more of them on Texada than at any other location in Canada!

JD.

Dwarf Dandelion, Krigia virginica on bluffs west of Cook Bay.  This tiny plant is quite rare in BC although it can be found in several of the eastern states.