Next Hike & the Biologists Talk

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

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

Wildlife Conservation on Texada 

Come join us for an update on the work of Conserving Species at Risk and their habitats in the Powell River Regional District. Biologists will discuss a continuing project to protect and restore important ecosystems in the region. A 40 minute presentation will be followed by time for questions and discussion. Bring your questions about rare plants and wildlife and learn how to help conserve Texada's natural heritage.

6:00 pm   Monday, March 19 

Location - Seniors Centre, Gillies Bay

Last week we drove south on the road to Davie Bay and parked on the roadside before we got to Eagle Creek.  Taking the road that goes to the old cabins we headed towards the coastline and came out on the bluffs not far from the area where the cactus grow.  Going down the rocky slope to get close to the water we had to be careful not to step on the places where water seepages had made for very slippery surfaces.  My photo shows just how rugged the coastline can be in some places, but the smooth basalt rock was just great for sitting to eat lunch.

JD.

Hikers lunching on the rugged coastline south of Mouat Point on a lovely sunny spring day..

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we drove part way along the High Road towards Van Anda and parked just after the last house on the right.  We had really nice weather again and it was quite warm and sunny when we sat down on the bluffs on the west side of the Pocahontas ridge.

In connection with the Texada Official Community Plan update a workshop is being held this Saturday. The hike will end in time for hikers to get to the hall for the event.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Texada Community Hall, Gillies Bay

Doors open at 1:30pm.  Workshop runs from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. 

My photo this week is a view of the Lafarge Quarry and the more distant Surprise Mountain with the mountains of Vancouver Island in the background. There will be the usual beach barbecue and potluck again this year and I will have more details about that next time.

JD.

View of Lafarge quarry and Surprise Mountain from the Pocahontas ridge

Next Hike

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

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

Last week most of our usual trail routes must have been snow-covered as the recent cold weather had greatly slowed the melting of the earlier snowfalls. To avoid the snow as much as possible we figured we should include some beach walking with a lunch stop at or near the Sandbanks.  We drove the short distance to the sandpit on Airport Rd. and walked north and then around the end of the runway and down the access road to the beach.  It was a fairly mild day and it was nice to have the light wind at our backs. There is a slight headland just before Sandbanks beach and as we turned that corner we were lucky to find the cold wind could not reach us there, and it was a great pleasure to bask in the warm sun as we ate lunch.

JD.

Basking in the warm sunshine at Sandbanks.  Much of the island was still snow-covered that day, but there was none to be seen along this shoreline.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we had quite a nice day weatherwise, but with low cloud and lots of snow on the ground at higher levels we decided to hike close to the seashore and drove south past Shingle Beach to the south end of the recent big logging area where road building still continues.  Last year we had flagged a new trail route down to the south end of Shingle Beach not far from the old abandoned cabins.  It took a while to find that trail again, but we did manage to make slow progress and eventually headed south along some steep mossy bluffs towards the location of a private cottage that we have hiked past many times over the years.  Usually we would reach this part of the coastline by an old road that is gated at the top not far from the Cook Bay access road gate.  My photo shows the hikers just up from a tiny beach not far from the private cottage.

JD.

  

Hiking the rugged coastline at the far south end of Shingle Beach. This is on the route of a new trail section near a waterfront cottage.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we had near perfect winter weather at the start of the hike as we began the climb up the steep north side trail to the summit of Mt. Grant. However, it was quite a surprise when we reached a good spot to stop for lunch to find that part of our view was covered in fog that seemed to be moving slowly towards us.  As it happened the fog started to retreat after a little while and only then were we able to see Bobs Lake and beyond it Twin Peaks with the Mt. Shepherd ridge beyond that. In the afternoon on the way down the south trail it was interesting to see that many of the Ponderosa Pine trees that Forestry had planted as an experiment two or three decades ago had finally died and had begun to disintegrate.

JD

Trekkers enjoying the sunshine at a viewpoint on Mt. Grant.  Actually there was thick fog to the east of us, but good views to the south and west.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we were lucky with the weather and had a welcome gap in the rain which has been falling on and off more often than usual at this time of year.  Instead of starting off by jumping into vehicles and driving sometimes quite long distances we started our hike from our meeting place, the Gillies Bay Ballpark.  We have quite a good selection of hikes to chose from when we do cut out the driving and they tend to be longer than average, so more exercise and no doubt very good for us.  To reach our chosen lunch spot on Turkey Vulture Bluff we headed up School Road and up the steep hill heading towards Cap Sheaf Lake instead of using the new bike trail route through the forest.  One reason we picked the local hike route that day was because there was low cloud over Gillies Bay that looked as if it probably covered much of the higher ground on our part of the island. Again we were lucky and the cloud was not quite low enough at the bluff to block our view to the west, the sea and even in the far distance the mountains on Vancouver Island.

JD.

Lunch on Turkey Vulture Bluff overlooking Gillies Bay.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we drove down towards Shingle Beach and were surprised along the way to find the area around and beyond Davie Bay was completely snow free. There had been in recent days so much rainfall, with lots of snow higher up, we figured there would be plenty of water coming over Stromberg Falls and that they would be well worth a visit. Indeed there was and a couple of visitors with the group were duly impressed. As a special treat our hike was for some of us the very first time walking along a couple of brand new trails that wind through the old growth forest just to the north of the Shingle Beach campground. There are some very large Douglas Fir here that must be among the largest specimens on Texada plus some fine old Red Cedar giants as well.  

There are not many mushrooms of any kind to be seen in mid winter, but on the last hike we did come across a very small black species that seems to be quite rare.  It's hard for me to put a name to it, but I believe there are some black species of both Cortinarious and Entoloma, but I could find photos of none that look quite the same.

JD.

A very small black mushroom, perhaps a Cortinarious species, near Shingle Beach.