Next Hike

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

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

Last Saturday was quite a dull day, overcast, but with no rain during the hike. We drove down past Davie Bay and turned up the hill past Stromberg Falls and parked under the power lines at the small gravel pit. It's a steady climb up the gravel road which only eases after a while at the turn of on the left onto a very pleasant grassy logging road. We found Stromberg Creek was flooding across the road not far along, but not badly enough to prevent us crossing and we resumed the steady uphill climb. We knew the side trail we were to take was overgrown to such an extent that two past attempts to find the original route had failed, but with saw and pruners we managed to make it through this time and reached the branch logging road that runs down from Thompson Road. This ended at a small creek on the edge of a hillside clearcut and we soon found a knoll with patches of white reindeer moss that was a nice place to have lunch.

JD.

Lunch spot at the edge of a hillside clearcut not far from Thompson Road.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday 11th December.

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

Last week we had a shorter hike than usual, but a very lovely day and a great improvement from the dull and rainy days that came earlier. We drove part way to Davie Bay and then hiked from the highway down through a plantation of young pine and fir, a patch of alder wood with stinging nettles and into an area near the shoreline with evergreen huckleberry under some larger trees. It was too early for lunch when we reached the clifftop so we backtracked and then made our way slowly down an overgrown trail to the beach. My photo shows the spot where we had lunch and spent a pleasant time looking for the interesting water smoothed rocks that seem more colourful than usual just here.

JD.

Searching for interesting rocks on a beach not far south of the mouth of Eagle Creek.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 4th December.
We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am

Last Saturday we were deterred from hiking on the higher ground over towards Russ Creek by snow still on the ground and very icy roads.
Dropping back down to the High Road we found the snow was gone at that elevation and even up on the south slope of Pocahontas. So we hiked the George Lechner Memorial Trail that winds up through the forest to a usually lovely grassy bluff with great views to to the west and the mountains of Vancouver Island. Not this time, however, as we faced a very dark cloud rapidly advancing from that direction and were soon enveloped in swirling mist. It was cool, and we missed the view, but the hike was pleasant enough and much safer than walking on slick ice and snow higher up.

My photo from a recent hike shows a roadside sapling pine that had been quite neatly cut into small pieces by a passing beaver. I've noticed in the past that some beavers travel from time to time between their lakes or swamps and snack along the way. They seem to be mainly after the bark on the younger branches, leaving the limb devoid of bark and almost white in this very distinct way.

JD.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 27th November.

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

Last Saturday we decided to not go far from Gillies Bay as the snowline was low on the bluffs above the bay. A short drive to the Texada Airport and then hiking down to Cox's Lagoon and along the beach to Sandbanks was really quite nice, cool certainly, but with no wind blowing not at all unpleasant. We searched in vain for the tiny black dorsal fins of the Harbour Porpoise that were here every time we visited through from early spring to late summer. Lunch at the base of the sand slide then up the steep path and back to the start on the old logging roads.

My photo is one I took on the recent hike north from Hydro East. A small creek appears from the dark forest and plunges down a series of small steps in the unusually pale bedrock. The short vegetation on both sides and mossy rocks here and there make a strikingly attractive natural rock garden scene that I just had to capture.

JD.

A natural rock garden scene beside a logging road north of Hydro East.

Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 20th November.

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

This year was remarkable for the extra rain we had towards the end of summer and the result has been a better year than usual for mushrooms. Another result has been the abundance, size and juicyness of the glossy black berries on our evergreen huckleberry. In recent years they have tended to be quite small and somewhat dry and lacking in flavour, perhaps because the rains started later in those years. I have often pointed out that this species of shrub, Vaccinium ovatum, and sometimes called black huckleberry is actually quite uncommon in most of coastal BC. It's rare around Powell River and on the Sunshine Coast, but extremely abundant over much of Texada. The fruit is eaten by many birds including grouse, and mammals such as racoons and humans who find it sweet and tasty when gathered along hiking trails in the fall. My photo shows some heavily laden branches near our lunch spot on a recent hike.

JD.

The juicy ripe berries of Evergreen Huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum, in November

Next hike from Van Anda

The next hike will be on Saturday, 13th November.

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

Last week we hiked north from Hydro East and found quite a few edible mushrooms in this area of fairly open mossy forest. Just before lunchtime we decided to explore a well used ATV trail that branched off to the right and headed steeply downhill, curious as to where it might end. I was hoping for a nice viewpoint from an open bluff, but instead it ended on a rocky beach where people had camped not too long ago.

My photo is one I took back in early September on a hike to Black Mountain. On Texada there is a small plant that has the common name Blue-eyed Grass. It likes damp areas such as ditches and the margins of swamps, but it's not a grass and has thin flat leaves that make it look rather like a miniature iris. Much less common is a close relative, Golden-eyed Grass or Sisyrhinchium californicum, with lovely buttercup yellow flowers.

JD.

Golden-eyed Grass, Sisyrhinchium californicum in a roadside ditch.

The Next Hike

The next hike will be on Saturday, 6th November.

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

The mid-week hike this week visited Davie Bay and Stromberg Falls. The falls are still dry as there has not been enough rain to get them into action yet. However, the creek below the falls does have quite a lot of water as the two caves are pouring lots of underground water into it just now. And yes, there are two caves as there is a second one we don't usually visit quite close to the parking place. My photo was taken at Davie Bay shortly after our visit to the falls. A slight breeze was gently sweeping the morning mist away from the north end of the bay

JD.

Davie Bay as the morning mist was clearing.