Next Hike — from Van Anda Legion again.

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

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

Last week we met in Van Anda and drove north to a parking place on the gas line about a kilometre from Blubber Bay.  This is the start of the Marshall Point circular hike that was my choice for the very first Saturday hike that I guided more than 25 years ago.  For many years we used to do it at least once a year, but recently not so often and it was no surprise to find the trail was quite badly overgrown in some places.  However, the tide was extra low and we spent more time walking on the beaches and enjoying the many tide pools and interesting rock formations. As usual there were lots of seals on and around the islets to the south of the point and they enjoyed watching us while we ate lunch on the low cliff. Other wildlife we saw included a couple of humpback whales and a fast moving mink that was out of sight before I had a chance to get a photograph of it. 

JD.    

Marshall Point and Limekiln Bay have many tide-pools that can prove interesting to both young and old. [TH photo]

Next Hike — from Van Anda Legion.

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

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

Last week there were several visitors wanting to join us for the weekly hike and with near perfect weather for hiking we always try to pick one of our very best hiking routes.  With it's two impressive viewpoints, one on each peak, Twin Peaks near Five Way Junction on the road to Anderson Bay, is one that never fails to impress.  There are two starting points for Twin Peaks and we used the southern one this time as recently there have been more than the usual number of tree frogs roaming around in that area this year and it's not just the kids that find them really quite fascinating.  We did find quite a few along the gas pipeline and I think it was the first time I was able to explain that recent research has discovered that this species of frog is able to change it's body colour during it's lifetime.  On Texada when we see a tree frog it's usually green, but not at all too unusual to find ones that are more or less brown in colour.  The change is slow and may take a week of more, sometimes months. 

 

The photo this week shows we had quite a crowd and it does include the photographer for a total of seventeen hikers.  

JD.

   

The latest Texada Trekkers group photo taken Saturday 27th July 2019 at the lunch spot on the south summit of Twin Peaks.  [MM photo]

Next Hike - change of meeting place.

This weekend the Gillies Bay Ballpark is being used for the annual blues musical concerts so we will meet instead at the Gillies Bay old school / library parking lot.

JD.

 

On a recent hike the Trekkers fearless leader is seen crossing a tricky patch of muddy wetland at Other Lake.

Next Hike

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

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

Last week the group was small enough to fit everyone into a single vehicle.  There was interest in getting back to the starting point at the Ballpark at around 2:00pm so I decided we should make use of the impressive new forest trail at Shingle Beach in the morning and then after lunch take a short tour of the campground.  As it happened we ran into a problem with fallen trees blocking part of the trail and it took us quite some time to circumvent the problem and find our way back onto the proper flagged route.  We ate  a late lunch on a grassy bluff overlooking the sea and missed seeing the rest of the campground.  

An important feature of the new trail which starts on the left just before you reach the new welcome sign at the entrance to the campground are the many very large old growth trees in that part of the forest. Just a word of warning for less able hikers because there are several parts of the trail where the route runs along fallen tree trunks and up and down some steep banks without steps. Ropes have been provided in a few places.  

My photo this week is of the giant Western Red Cedar tree on the northern part of the trail, but there are also quite a number of giant old growth Douglas Fir towards the southern end at the upper campground sites.

JD.  

The massive base of perhaps the biggest and oldest Western Red Cedar tree on Texada?  An ancient giant on the new trail at Shingle Beach

Next Hike

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

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

Last week with just a small group of hikers we drove up to the High Road with perfect warm sunny hiking weather and headed for the bluff at the top of the George Lechner Memorial Trail.  The first part of the route is along a section of old logging road covered with long coarse grasses dotted with the ubiquitous Ox-eye Daisy.  In one small area a few individuals of a group of common North American butterflies called Crescents, and in this case the Mylitta Crescent or Phyciodes mylitta, were busy feeding on the vivid white flowers.

This Saturday the hike will end in good time for hikers to visit a couple of lovely private gardens in Gillies Bay that will be open to visitors from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. 

JD.

     

With the Ox-eye Daisy flowers in full bloom near the High Road the Mylitta Crescent butterflies had many to visit.

Next hike.

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

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

Last week turned out to be another damp day something that has been happening a little more often than is usual in the month of July. I was not able to do the hike which I understand this time did not reward the participants with wonderful views of the sea and distant mountains. However, I'm told everyone did enjoy the forest walk and I must say I always find the peaceful beaver pond a nice spot to visit along the way even on a misty day.

JD.

 

Mt. Davies Hike with the hikers on the trail through the forest well dressed for the showery day. [Terry Hollo photo]

Next Hike

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

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

Last week we drove along the High Road turning off onto the Pocahontas Bay road and parked at the old Fire Lookout trailhead. Our destination was the Pocahontas East viewpoint where a BC Hydro microwave reflector looks like a big screen for an outdoor movie theatre. The long distance visibility was not all that great, but more than once we have hiked to this viewpoint for lunch and found ourselves in fog most of the time!

My photo this week is of a frog resting in a shallow puddle on the trail. This individual  is a good example of the "brown morph" of the common Pacific Tree Frog which also has very bright green versions.  For a long time I have wondered about these distinctly different colourations and now I see from a Wikipedia web site that there is an interesting explanation.  

These frogs have the ability to change color from brown to green. Previously, adults were thought to occur in two different fixed colors. Now, some of them have been found to be able to change between the two. They can also change from lighter to darker, shift from patterned markings to pure colors and vice versa, and even display combinations of colors, brown/green being the most frequent.

It goes on to explain that the changes sometimes happen within a few hours, but more often it's a much slower process taking weeks even months. A chameleon frog? 

JD.

A brown Pacific Tree Frog resting in a shallow puddle on the trail to Pocahontas East viewpoint.