We got a lucky break in the weather for the long planned jaunt around the bike trails south of Walcan Road. Our final count was eleven hikers and one furry companion enjoying a dry, mostly overcast, and mild winter day. Most carpooled from the Community Centre, met up at the yellow gate off Upper Gowlland Harbour Road, then drove the short gravel stretch up to Rob Ride’s trailhead. We checked out the beaver dam at the outlet of Nighthawk Lake but it isn’t currently maintained. There were no obvious signs of recent beaver activity. We backtracked to Dick’s Ride to start our excursion through the maze of trails interlacing the hilly terrain west of the Lake. We followed Dicks Ride to the intersection with Cash Only, turning right onto Cash Only. Cash Only came out onto a logging road, which we crossed to pick up Back Door on the other side. We had lunch on a grassy knoll facing north-west with some views. Quite quickly we intersected with Silk Stocking and followed it to Copperhead Road. We turned off the road onto Straight as a Dime which intersected with the north end of Rob’s Ride. It was heart-warming to see the daffodils coming up around the beautifully carved sign designating Rob’s Ride, honouring much missed Club members Rob, and his wife, Diana. With some relief, we followed the easy trail along the creek and were soon at the head of Nighthawk Lake. All of the trails had had some wet sections, there were two beautiful waterfalls coming down the slopes on the west side of Rob’s Ride. Some ducks were spotted on Nighthawk, but no Swans. About 4.5 hours and 9 km later we were back at our cars. Altogether a lovely hike on what was more like a day in spring than mid-winter.
Quadra Island Outdoor Club 