Four of us were lucky to have a dry day between monsoon-like rains.  Everywhere we went there were signs of spring.  We started out from the trailhead on the wide trail down to a creek edged with big Sitka spruce and pink fawn lilies.  The trail narrows as it approaches Menzies Bay and then undulates through lovely, open-understory forest and bluffs with views of the Bay and Vancouver Island.  In between the array of spring flowers, we admired some great old-growth Douglas fir trees.  The wooden bridges and stairs were often in need of maintenance, and the trail is quite busy by our standards.  We climbed the big stairs to the overlook of Seymour Narrows and stopped there for lunch. It wasn’t a really big current, but we watched the flood increase before heading back the way we had come.  We were accompanied much of the way by a cheerful, high-energy dog, who we finally convinced to follow another group back to its owner.  9 km; 4 hours.

Debbie

Thanks to Norris and Les for the photos

(click on photos to view larger)

Hiking – Ripple Rock Trail – 17 April 2019