Monthly Archives: June 2025

Hiking – Nighthawk Lake – 9 July 2025

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This trip has been postponed indefinitely.

Activity Hiking
Destination Nighthawk Lake
Date 9 July 2025, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Valerie van Veen
Contact Info vvv@qisland.ca, 250 285 2329, 778 242 5774
Description For those not going on the July 8-10 camp. This will be a moderately paced hike, making a loop on moderate trails with one uphill of note. Bring a snack. With the early start we will be finished before lunch. This will be cancelled for extreme temperatures or deluging. Contact coordinator by Monday evening.
Meeting Place Pull off on Walcan Road across from Mud Lake
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 Moderate
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? Under control
Notes:

Trip Report – Morte Lake (Originally Plumber Bay) – 25 June 2025

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The heavily loaded logging truck barrelling along the Walcan Road meant business as we manoeuvred our two cars, with four hikers and three dogs, as close to the road edge as possible. We soon realized that these trucks were coming from our eventual destination, the Maud Island / Plumper Bay trailhead. A quick but necessary change of plans and smart u-turn and we were back at our starting point, the Morte Lake parking lot. As this was billed as a low-key hike, we saw no reason to change that as well. We headed towards Morte Lake along the pleasant Deadfish trail, taking the bridge across the creek to connect to the main trail. We had a short, early lunch at the small north beach. It was still too chilly to swim, but at least no more rain after an earlier downpour. We took the main trail back to our cars, noting the improvements to divert runoff. Altogether a pleasant hike with a lake rather than ocean view for our break. (6.3 km 2.5 hours)

Valerie

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Plumper Bay – 25 June 2025

Hiking – Newton Lake-Small Inlet-Waiatt Bay – 23 July 2025

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Activity Hiking / swiming
Destination Newton Lake, Small Inlet and Waiatt Bay
Date 23 July 2025, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Vic Gladish
Contact Info vicgladish@gmail.com; 250-287-0459
Description We will hike up to Newton Lake, down to Small Inlet, take the portage trail to Waiatt Bay and then back to the Newton Lake. Distance about 15 kilometres – will take approximately 6-7 hours (including lunch and short swim stops at Newton Lake)
If there is sufficient interest, there will be a shorter option, for those who want to go to Small Inlet, but not continue on to Waiatt Bay.
Meeting Place Quadra Community Centre
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 A rocky, rutty initial kilometer, and a steep section at Small Inlet, plus overall distance makes this a moderate – not easy – hike.
Costs Share fuel costs
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring plenty of water, lunch and snacks, and swimming stuff if you want to swim.
The trip is best on a good summer’s day so will be postponed if the forecast is for rain.

Trip Report – Mt. Seymour – 19 June 2025

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We had moved this hike from Wednesday to Thursday due to the heavy rainfall forecast, which didn’t come until afternoon, but it really poured so we were glad that we had.

Five hikers left at 9:30 in the morning from the Granite Bay Road to hike to Mount Seymour. The large ferns on the start of the trail were very wet from the rainfall the night before, but the trail was in good shape. It was a cool pleasant morning with clouds and sunshine that made the moss very photogenic. We briefly stopped to admire the Nugedzi Lakes and could see huge thunder heads to the west toward Gold River. We continued our ascent and stopped on top by the large rock cairn to enjoy lunch and the views. There was a small breeze, but the sunshine had warmed up the rocks, so it was a very pleasant time on top of the highest point on Quadra Island. After this, we went to the viewpoint looking out over Browns Bay and then to the second peak with the view to the north.

We then descended down, following the same path, to the fork that goes to Nugedzi Lake. Because it looked like the thunder heads were coming toward us we decided not to carry on to the Nugedzi view point and we went back down the same route to the vehicles.
8 km, 4 1/2 hours and 500 m total ascent to 612 m elevation.

Les

Thanks to Les and Norris for the photos.

(click on photos to enlarge)    

 

Hiking – Mt. Seymour – 19 June 2025

Hiking – Mt. Kitchener – 16 July 2025

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Activity Hiking
Destination Mt. Kitchener
Date 16 July 2025, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info 285-3710 or norris.weimer@ualberta.ca.  Please contact the coordinator by Monday evening.
Description Mt. Kitchener is located northeast of Campbell River and south of Sayward in the Prince of Wales Range. The summit is 1,457m, but fortunately the first 1,000 m can be driven up, leaving about 500 m elevation gain.  The trail begins steeply through the forest and after a short scramble emerges onto a sub-alpine ridge.  As the the ridge gains height, the views appear on all directions.  We will visit Mt. McCreight (1,419 m) with some remembrances of the military plane crash from 1950.  We will continue on to Mt. Kitchener, but not visit the crash site. About 4.5 km or more if the group wants to explore; 4+ hours, plus the drive.
Meeting Place Q Cove Ferry terminal.
Departure Time 7:00 8:00 ferry.  If the weather is very hot, we may go earlier.
Difficulty
 Challenging, but not very long
Costs Shared ferry and fuel costs
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: This trip will require 4-wheel drive vehicles with some clearance.  We will not do this trip in poor weather.  Bring lunch and water.

Hiking – Heron Point and Mt. Sweat – 3 July 2025

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Activity Hiking
Destination Heron Pt and Mt. Sweat loop
Date 3 July, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710  Please contact the coordinator by Tuesday night.
Description This is a fairly short hike starting on Kolker Main. We will briefly follow a logging road, a short connector and a mossy bluff to Heron Point for great views of Hyacinthe Bay and the Chinese Mtn area.  From there we will take a cairned route through undulating forest trails and rocky bluffs to Mt. Sweat. We descend to Kolker Main through open, forested slope and return to the vehicles on Kolker Main.  This is a view hike and will not be done in poor weather.  About 4 km; 2½ hours.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot.  We will drive out in a group.
Departure Time 10:00 or earlier if it’s hot
Difficulty
 Mostly easy, except some steep places on Mt. Sweat.
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No, some of this will be on private property.
Notes: Some of this trip is on private property and we thank Heather Kellerhals for allowing our visit to Chauntaluf Farm.  Bring gear appropriate for the weather and trail conditions, as well as lunch.

Hiking – Plumper Bay – 25 June 2025

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Activity Hiking
Destination Plumper Bay
Date 25 June 2025, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Valerie van Veen
Contact Info vvv@qisland.ca, 250 285 2329
Description This will be a moderately paced, fairly short hike along a gentle trail to Plumper Bay. We will stop for snacks, lunch then return along the same trail.
Meeting Place Morte Lake parking lot to carpool to the trailhead
Departure Time 9:30
Difficulty Easy to moderate
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs? Under control, must not run through group.
Notes: NOTE MEETING PLACE…Morte Lake parking lot to carpool as needed. NOTE 9:30 am start time in case of summer heat. MUST contact coordinator by Monday evening to confirm participation. Bring snacks, lunch, dress for weather. Light rain ok, cancelled if heavy rain or above 30c. Only registered hikers will be notified.

Trip Report – Granite Bay Community Trails – 4 June 2025

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The Granite Bay locals have built a nice trail system east of Luoma Lake.  This came to light because of the recent and planned logging in the Two Mile Lake and adjacent areas.  So we had to go see it.

Seven of us drove to near the end of Saxon Main to the “Granniies at Work” sign.  From there we went around the Back Bog clockwise, over a beaver dam, then to a beautiful bench overlooking the Back Bog.  We then backtracked and went through the forest on the Two Mile Lake trail.  There are some amazing, big burnt (but live) trees there, presumably from the fire 100 years ago..  After an idyllic lunch at the Two Mile Lake, we continued on the trail along the south shore to another beautiful bench and finally up to a new logging road, which we followed back to the vehicles.   (4.2 km and 2½ hours)

Norris

Click on photos to enlarge
 

Hiking – Granite Bay Community Trails – 4 June 2025

Hiking – Mt. Seymour – 19 June 2025

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Change of date and route.

Activity Hiking
Destination Mt. Seymour
Date 19 June 2025, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info lhquadra@gmail.com or 285-2029
Description We will be doing this hike from the Mt. Seymour trailhead, but we will continue on to the Nugedzi Lakes and western viewpoint.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 Moderately difficult with some steep rocky areas, some elevation gain and quite long
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: