Eight hikers left from the end of Hope Spring Road on a cloudy fall day that later turned to beautiful sunshine. As we travelled up the trail to the Heriot Ridge fork we passed by the two large rock walls that always have such lovely multicoloured green moss on them. We stopped at the bench on the ridge trail to admire the views and also shed one layer after coming up the hill. The many rock bluffs on the Heriot Ridge Trail were quite dry, which made the hike that much more enjoyable as they can be quite slick sometimes. When we got to the Thompson Trail, we turned left and couldn’t help but notice how much more this trail is used. After crossing the two small creeks that were nearly dry, we turned to head for Rousseau Ridge on Gowland Trail. The high bluff was dry, so we stopped and had lunch in the warm sunshine while enjoying the view of the many Vancouver Island peaks in the far distance.
After lunch, we returned via Gowland Trail and continued on to the small valley with the old growth trees in it. We were able to take a group photo there that shows just how big these old growth trees are. Continuing on, we passed the Three Sisters that are some of the biggest old growth on Quadra Island. From here we continued on down the trail, went up and over the Hope Spring ridge, and back to the vehicles. (7.8 km; 3¾ hours, about 300m elevation)

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Rousseau Ridge – 21 Oct 2026