Next Hike

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

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

Last week the hike started from Gillies Bay in thick fog, but quite soon and as we gained elevation we left the fog behind.  The drive was longer than usual as we had to get south of both Bobs Lake and Angel Lake to reach the parking place on the road to Anderson Bay where the old road down to Cook Bay branches off on the left.  The weather proved to be quite warm, dry and bright as we walked north along the grassy gas pipeline right of way where it crosses the lower slopes of Twin Peaks.  Reaching the trail marker rock cairn at the high point we headed into the forest and began the steepest section of the trall and soon reached the south peak of the mountain.  This open area has spectacular views of both the coast mountains on one side and the Vancouver Island Mountains on the other.  The wind was quite strong making this our usual spot for lunch a tad uncomfortable, so headed back down the main trail and then took the other trail at the col that heads up again and north to the other peak.  On the way the trail crosses a mossy bluff that was out of the wind, warm and ideal for lunch.  My photo today was one I took at the North Peak last Saturday looking down on part of Lasqueti and to the Vancouver Island Mountains beyond.

JD.

 

A mountain top view from Twin Peaks looking down on Lasqueti and to the Vancouver Island Mountains beyond. 

Next Hike,

The next hike will be on Saturday 24th September.

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

Last week we met in Van Anda and hiked south from James Mack's cottage near Maple Bay.  For most of the small group of hikers this was their first visit to this wonderful stretch of coastline, the weather was way better than the forecasters had figured it would be and the day was just perfect in every way. On the way to Favada point we got close to some basking seals and peeped through the trees to watch them wriggle and growl until we disturbed them and all madly dashed into the water.  Taking the winding trail south we soon reached Cabin Cove and searched without success for signs of blue camas which I had seen there a couple of years ago.  Lunch was on the steep grassy bluff overlooking the cove and dessert was the dark and juicy berries of the Evergreen Huckleberry shrubs [Vaccineum ovatum] that line the old logging road trail back to our starting place.

My photo this week is from the last midweek hike which took us a little way up Gillies Bay Creek.  An old tree that had dropped across the creek may years ago is now covered in moss with bracket fungus and ferns growing out to make a most attractive composition. 

JD.  

Bracket fungus and licorice fern on a mossy log spanning Gillies Bay Creek.

Next Hike from Van Anda

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

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

Last week we drove down the long winding hill to our parking place at Hydro East. Hiking north this time we enjoyed the gentle gradients of the shady old logging road through the forest that eventually took us to a turnoff to a secluded beach. This was a new discovery last year when the weather had been cool and damp — so much nicer this time on a lovely warm and sunny late summer day. My photo shows the view as we hiked north with the steep southern slope of Black Mountain high above us in the distance.

JD.

Hiking north from Hydro East on a warm late summer day.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we parked at the start of the Cook Bay Road at the foot of Mt. Davies and hiked to Bobs Lake campsite to see how busy it was on a perfect late summer day. It was no surprise to find it as quiet as usual with no campers there to disturb the tranquility of the lake. From there it was on along the road around the east side of the lake and then up the steep winding trail through the woods to the top of Mt. Flicker for lunch. The spectacular panoramic view extends to the Vancouver Island Mountains with a glimpse of Twin Peaks and Mt. Shepherd through trees on our left. The route back swung around the north side of the lake, through the forest for a while and along the gas line right of way, then west on old logging roads and back to the vehicles. On this last part of the hike I spotted and managed to photograph a checkered brown butterfly that I felt must be one of the fritillaries. It took a fair amount of study to put a name to it when I got back home as there are so many different species and subspecies in this group of butterflies. I'm pretty sure it's a Hydaspe Fritillary a species found quite widely in the Pacific Northwest.

JD.

A Hydaspe Fritillary butterfly feeding on a thistle near Bobs Lake. Speyeria hydaspe.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we hiked uphill from the Davie Bay road, along Thompson Road and then up again through the forest to our lunch spot on the bluff above Balanced Rock Lake. It was a lovely day and on the way back downhill along the logging roads there were quite a few butterflies to be seen darting from flower to flower in search of nectar. My photo taken that afternoon is of a clean looking male Pine White feeding on the tiny rosette flowers of a roadside daisy. The females are quite similar to the males, but they lack the neat network of fine black lines on the underside of the rear wings. This species is most abundant in August and is widespread in the Pacific Northwest. The eggs are laid on the needles of pines and firs and are unusual in not hatching until the following spring. The caterpillars feed on the soft young needles and the third stage of the lifecycle is a short one with the adults emerging while there are still plenty of flowers around.

JD.

A male Pine White butterfly feeding on a roadside daisy flower.