Monthly Archives: March 2016

Snow – Mt Washington – 6 April 2016

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 POSTPONED TO 7 APRIL

Activity Snow
Destination Mt. Washington
Date 7 6 April 2016, Thursday Wednesday
Trip Coordinator QIOC
Contact Info qioutdoorclub@gmail.com;  please e-mail by Sunday night
Description This is one last trip to Mt. Washington, with spring conditions.  Activities and destination will depend on the interests of the group.
Meeting Place Quadra ferry terminal to Campbell River.  Car pools should be arranged in advance.
Departure Time 9:00 ferry to Campbell River.  Those taking cars need to be early enough to get on the 9:00 ferry.
Difficulty
 Up to the group.
Costs Ferry and shared fuel.  Snowshoe pass at Raven Lodge is $8, but we might not go there.
Trip limits Availability of cars going up to Mt. Washington
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring equipment, warm clothing and lunch.

 

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Trip Report – Silk Stocking and Little Black Dress – 16 Mar 2016

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Four hikers and one dog set off on the first sunny day we have had after weeks of heavy rain and gloomy skies. The trail was less sloppy than we had feared, which was welcome surprise. The sun filtered through the trees and the moss was a glowing neon green – almost too bright to look at! We made a loop down “Dick’s Ride” to check out the beaver pond with a collection of Mallard and Greater Scaup bobbing about on the calm water. Then we climbed back up the hill to get out on the mossy bluffs and into the glorious sunshine. Our lunch spot was a rocky outcrop with a view back toward Gowlland Harbour. As we ate, a group of wolves started to howl on the ridge to the south-west of us, and they continued their chorus for about twenty minutes as we started our descent – lovely!!

This section of Silk Stocking skirts the old copper mining area, now inactive for 60 to 70 years. There are bits of machinery still around and in some spots the rock has the classic bright green colour of copper ore. It is impressive how much the land has recovered from the scarring of mining activity – moss and young growth now covers the seams where ore had been taken out. It is a gorgeous section of the trail and hopefully will not be devastated by mining activity again.

Our last treat was a view of two Hooded Mergansers on the body of water at the base of the ridge. Then a twisty section of trail along Little Black Dress returned us to our starting point with almost dry feet.

Bird list for the day:
Harlequin Duck
Greater Scaup
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Sooty Grouse
Bald Eagle
Pileated Woodpecker
Common Raven
Northwestern Crow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Chestnut-sided Chickadee
Pacific Wren
American Robin
Spotted Towhee
Dark-eye Junco
Song Sparrow

Kathryn

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Hiking – Bike Trails – 17 Feb 2016

Trip Report – DW1 Copper Mine – 2 Mar 2016

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It was a cloudy but mild day as four hikers set out to do some exploring. We drove to the summit of Deepwater Main and started from there.  There was lots of water in the creeks and on the trail from recent rain.

We first climbed a steep old road for 1.5 km to an old copper mine. It was once probably the largest mine on Quadra. There are many old remnants around the entrance. The main shaft has started falling in so if you go to the mine be very careful. Water has filled the shaft but there is an excellent view from a side shaft. We explored a bit more then returned to where we had parked.

Our next adventure was to explore an old logging road that veers south and up from the Deepwater Main. We climbed for 3.1 km this time until we met an old road that comes in from the Granite Bay gravel pit. We had hoped for this as the other road showed on an old topography map. At this point we decided to call it a day and returned via the same path.

The trip was 9.2 kilometers and 440 meters of vertical in 4 hours. This was a good workout as we had spent an hour looking around at the mine.

Les

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Hike – DW1 Copper Mine – 2 March 2016