Four of us had a leisurely ramble on the south Heriot Ridge bluffs on a gentle, partly sunny winter day.  We started at the Hopespring trailhead and climbed to the two principal Heriot Ridge viewpoints, one facing east and one facing west.  We turned off the main trail and made our way to the communication tower, through some salal, wet places and undulating rock.  We used the handy platform as a place to stop for lunch.  We descended the sometimes steep, mossy bluffs until we reached the forest and the trail to the High Bluff.  After enjoying that view and returning to the trail, we found that the trail down to the North Gowlland trail was so wet that it was not appealing, so we climbed back up to the south-facing, open, mossy bluffs for more views.  In places there are paths, but often the route was quite steep up and down.  We rambled west back to the Hopespring trail and returned to the vehicles. (4.1 km, 3.5 hours)

Debbie

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Hiking – Heriot Ridge Bluffs Loop – 10 Feb 2026

Eight brave hikers took a chance on the weather and were rewarded with clear skies and no rain. We hiked the Little Black Dress, Back Door, Silk Stockings loop (counter-clockwise) after many days of heavy rain. The trail was slippery in few sections but nothing unmanageable. The moss was bright green and the bluffs sunny, which provided a wonderful lunch stop. We enjoyed the old copper mining artifacts. Near the end of the loop, we took a side trip to the beaver damn that failed a few years ago but has since been build up again. Unfortunately, there were no sign of any beavers on this trip. (7.3 km which included the beaver damn side trip; 3¼ hours)

Louise

Hiking – Little Black Dress-Silk Stocking Loop – 17 Dec 2025

Five of us hiked the loop starting at Thompson trail head and in a counterclockwise direction came out at Hopespring Rd.  It was a short walk on the road back to our vehicles on Thompson Rd. We had steady rain with most sections of trail having running water and large puddles.  We trudged along not stopping for lunch but still enjoying the hike. The Three Sisters (three old growth Douglas Fir) with blackened bark from last major fire on Quadra Island are amazing to see. Another interesting feature was a rock face covered in thick moss and with all the rainfall a waterfall of moisture coming down it. Because of the wet and misty weather we did not go to any of the viewpoints, which there are several on this hike. (5.8 km,180 m, 3 hrs) 

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Hiking – Thompson – Hopespring Loop – 10 Dec 2025