Monthly Archives: February 2015

Planning Meeting – 29 March 2015

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Activity Planning
Location Community Centre, room 3, upstairs
Date 29 March 2015, Sunday
Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info 285 3710, qioutdoorclub@gmail.com
Description This is our summer planning meeting to brainstorm about hiking, kayaking and possible training events. It is also the time to renew your membership for 2015.  The meeting will be held upstairs at the Community Centre at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. These trips are for you, so bring your ideas for the summer. Everyone is welcome.
Time 2:00 pm
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Trip Report – Hiking Ucluelet 2-4 Feb 2015

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After arriving at the vacation rental in Ucluelet around noon, we had lots of time on Monday to walk to Florencia and Half Moon Bay at the south end of Pacific Rim National Park. The hike took us through beautiful old forest, along boardwalk, and down stairs to the long sandy beach at Florencia and then up and down again to the more intimate beach at Half Moon Bay. (9.7 km)

On Tuesday, we hiked the Lighthouse loop on the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet in the morning (3.0 km) and after lunch we hiked from Big Beach to the Cedar Grove and back. (8.5 km) This is a beautiful, rocky coast, which contrasts well with beaches in the Tofino area. The lighthouse, islets, surge channels and wonderful trees are incredibly scenic.

On the last day, we spent about an hour exploring Tofino and then walked the length of Chesterman’s Beach before heading home. In all three days we never had more than a brief bit of drizzle, and sometimes we had sunny breaks.

We also had fun in the evening at the house we rented on the Ucluelet Inlet. We had a wonderful seafood feast on Monday with mulled wine, Oysters Rockefeller, BBQed salmon, roast vegetables, salad and chocolate cake. On Tuesday, we had lasagna with homemade noodles, with all the trimmings. The house had an exceptional woodstove and book collection. The nearly full moon lighted the inlet each night.

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Hiking Ucluelet – 2-4 February 2015

Trip Report – Mine Lake Bluff 27 Jan 2015

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We parked at the trailhead on the Surge Narrows Road and followed the trail to Camp Homewood’s summer campsite. The trail follows the shore of Mine Lake closely and has some lovely views. We knew it would be wet, but in a few places even gumboots weren’t enough and after one person got water over the top, the rest of us bushwhacked through the forest in the wet spots.

There is a sign to the northwest of the camp pointing to the trail up the Bluff. The trail ascends very steeply through the forest and then involves scrambling up rocks and moss to reach to top of the Bluff. This is definitely better done in dry weather since it is somewhat exposed and can be slippery. We were fortunate to have clear skies over Quadra and the views from the top were great. We had a warm and leisurely lunch before exploring the views to the east and west. The group then descended by a flagged trail to the north, which travels under the very impressive cliffs on the west side of the Bluff before re-joining the trail to the camp. We returned to the vehicles, but it was tempting to relax in the sun by Mine Lake for the afternoon. 5.5 km; 3½ hours.

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Mine Lake Bluff – 27 January 2015

Trip Report – B&B Trail Exploration 21 Jan 2015

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With Janis’ help we explored the B&B trail and routes on the nearby ridge. We started on the Thompson Trail and turned off at the first viewpoint. We scrambled to the top and enjoyed good views of Hyacinthe Bay and islands to the northeast. The day was overcast, but on a clear day the views would be excellent. We continued down this mossy, open ridge following a flagged route to the north. The trail off the ridge into the forest descends steeply into an area of huge old big leaf maples. The left-hand flagged route joins up with the B&B trail, which winds up the creek and re-joins the Thompson trail. We then explored another flagged route, which goes south on the ridge, more or less paralleling the Heriot Ridge Route and later descends to the Hope Spring Trail. This also follows lovely open, mossy ridges with occasional views to the east. 6.4 km, 3¼ hours.

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B&B Trail – 21 January 2015