| Activity | Hiking |
| Destination | Open Bay Trails |
| Date | 1 Jan 2020, Wednesday |
| Trip Coordinator | Vic Gladish and Valerie Van Veen |
| Contact Info | vicgladish@gmail.com or 2111 |
| Description | A New Year’s day social walk in the Open Bay area, including Big Beach. After walking we will go to Valerie’s house to socialize and eat our lunches out of the rain. |
| Meeting Place | Heriot Bay store parking lot to carpool. Parking is limited |
| Departure Time | 10:00 am |
| Difficulty |
Easy |
| Costs | none |
| Trip limits | 12 |
| Dogs? | No |
| Notes: |
| Activity | Multi-day Hiking |
| Destination | Tofino-Ucluelet |
| Date | 3-6 February, Monday-Thursday |
| Trip Coordinator | Debbie Quigg |
| Contact Info | debbie.quigg@ualberta.ca or 3710. Please let the coordinator know as soon as possible if you are interested. The deadline for payment is 3 January 2020. |
| Description | We will be staying in Ucluelet for three nights at a vacation rental and doing day hikes in the Tofino-Ucluelet area. We will have two half days and two full days, which should allow time to explore the Wild Pacific Trail, the Pacific Rim National Park, and the two villages. |
| Meeting Place | TBD |
| Departure Time | TBD |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Costs | Accommodation, ferry and transportation. The details about the vacation rental have not been finalized, but we hope to keep the cost close to $160/person for the three nights. |
| Trip limits | The vacation rental we are hoping to get sleeps 10, with at least two people in each room. |
| Dogs? | no |
| Notes: | Be prepared for rain |
| Activity | Hiking |
| Destination | Morte Lake Loop |
| Date | 8 Jan 2020, Wednesday |
| Trip Coordinator | Debbie Quigg |
| Contact Info | debbie.quigg@ualberta.ca or 3710; please contact the coordinator in advance of the trip |
| Description | We will hike the official Morte Lake loop, which passes through a wonderful variety of forest and has great views along the lake. About 10 km and 4 hours. |
| Meeting Place | Heriot Bay Store for car pooling |
| Departure Time | 10:00 |
| Difficulty |
Easy to moderate. |
| Costs | none |
| Trip limits | none |
| Dogs? | okay |
| Notes: | Bring lunch and gear for the weather. This can be a wet trail in places. |
The weather forecast was dismal, and it was mostly accurate. However five bold adventurers set out anyway, in spite of wind and rain, on the theory that Mt. Seymour would block the wind for us. We were just lucky with the rain because there was a hole in the system, a window of opportunity when we needed it. So we set off, walking up the steep old logging road, which after the heavy rain was more like a shallow river, It was a good day for waterproof boots. Further up the hill we had green spongy moss covering the logging road. Those are the best kind. Then further up the hill we hit snow. Fresh snowball-quality snow. After a brief lunch stop at the viewpoint (in the cloud), we followed the old road as it descended back to the cars. Of course there were some more water features, places where the trail resembled a cascade or lake. We all made it safely home before the deluge resumed. We were dry from the ankles up and remarkably cheerful. 7.1 km, 3¼ hours.
Norris
(click on photos to enlarge)
Plan B was substituted due to weather. Eight of us spent a couple of hours hiking the trails from Cape Mudge lighthouse, first to the north along Discovery Passage and then along the Cape Mudge shoreline with a loop into the forest and back to Tsa-Kwa-Luten. We had lunch back at Julie and Randy’s house. We didn’t get wet, just a bit blown around on the Cape Mudge bluffs. 7.5 km, 2 hours.
Julie
Thanks to Norris and Cyndy for the photos
(click on photos to enlarge)
Such a lovely three ladies silent hike at Carrington Bay, Cortes Island. We began with a meditation under the ancient maple tree at the entrance to the trail and then we began our silent hike. Stopping and truly seeing the old giants, visualizing the homestead, the care, hardwork and attention given to homesteading. Listening to the waterfall, the woodpeckers drilling away and later hearing the sound of the lagoon. We walked onto Grandmother’s Grove and ate our lunch near the water, lots of ducks on the lagoon. Those ancient trees towering above us, a lovely place to sit and we felt welcomed. Returning eventually to the trail and slowly making our way back. We ended our hike with a beautiful meditation. There is such a powerful eloquence in silence. A wonderful day.
Margot
Thanks to Sandra for the photos
(click on photos to view larger)
Hiking in Silence – Carrington Bay & Grandmother’s Grove – 5 Dec 2019
We tried, unsuccessfully, to change the date of this hike for better weather, but we ended up with a cold, grey, drizzly day. Our group of 13 hiked along the old logging road stopping at the Borden homestead . We continued on to Carrington Bay and the tidal lagoon, and crossed the narrow channel on the bridge as the very high tide was rushing in with a standing wave. We wandered through the camping area and on to the peninsula with the swim rock. The lagoon had ice on it and was incredibly silent. We had a bone chilling lunch break on logs in the forest before we continued on to Grandmothers’ Grove, a beautiful old growth stand of spruce and cedar, in the James Creek drainage. We followed the trail and logging roads back in a loop and made brisk time up the hill to the vehicles to catch the earlier ferry and stay warm. 8.5 km; 3 hours.
Debbie
(click on photos to view larger)
Quadra Island Outdoor Club 