Seven of us and one dog hiked to Plumper Bay.  The day was clear and sunny.  We hiked through the forest, with just the right amount of shade.  In the first part of the route follows the Maud Island Trail, where the forest ground cover is beautiful moss.  The second part of the route is an old road, possibly built for the Seymour Narrows blasting in 1958, as well as for logging.  The road bed is still in great condition, although littered with dead branches.  The lunch stop is where that road comes out in Plumper Bay, on the north shore.  We sat by the water in the shade with a gentle breeze.  After picking up some garbage, we headed back.  The group was up for a little adventure, so we took an old logging road which had reverted to wonderful deep moss.  We made our way through the forest back to the Maud Island Trail and the cars.  7.0 km, 3¼ hours.

– Norris

Thanks to Norris and Les for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Plumper Bay – 22 July 2020

Nine of us took a stroll around the new Drew Creek loop on the We Wai Kai reserve starting at the stream renovation done by the Salmon Enhancement Society, then on to the new foot bridge put in by John Barclay and other volunteers.  We continued through the campground, which is quiet in February, and on to the memorial and beachwood shack at Paddy’s Lagoon.  There were lots of interesting things to explore along the way.  We walked back along the shore and stopped to admire Alex Witcombe’s driftwood Sasquatch sculpture. 

Five of the group continued into Rebecca Spit Marine Park, stopped for a snack and walked the trail to the end of the Spit.  It was a cold, dark day with a bit of southeast breeze, but the rain held off.  11.1 km, 3½ hours.

– Norris

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Drew Creek and Harbour – 26 Feb 2020

Changeable weather at its best.  Leave home in winter wind and rain, and arrive at the trailhead in sunny spring.  We did delay the hike by a few minutes, to allow the weather to get over it, by visiting the old Union Steamship dock at Bold Point.  The steamships stopped running in 1953.  The dock was built sometime after 1901.  The dock itself is gone except for the concrete part.  The bridge is still there.

Six of us hiked an old logging road from the Bold Point Rd over to the Surge Narrows Rd.  The route rolls gently through some fine forest.  Then we had lunch at Mine Lake (very high water level!).  We walked the Surge Narrows Rd south to join another logging road back to the Bold Point Rd and make a loop.  This last section took us by a sunny knoll and a wetland meadow with a pond and a bufflehead duck.  7.1 km, 2½ hours.

– Norris

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Surge Narrow Logging Roads – 29 Jan 2020

Instead of a New Year’s paddle (postponed due to weather forecast) seven hikers got together on the first day of 2020 to explore the trails and roads of Open Bay with a local guide – Val – followed by lunch and socializing at the Van Veen residence.

The day started out with outstanding weather – calm, dry and sunny breaks – and we took great advantage of it with nearly a three hour walk, some on the road and several legs through the beautifully sunlit forests that rim Open Bay. We stopped briefly at the beach access at the end of Valdez Rd where we enviously watched a lone kayaker crossing the mouth of Open Bay on the glassy calm water. We again accessed the water at the other end of the bay with a hike down the forested switchbacks to Big Bay and the We Wai Kai Reserve #8. None of us took a polar bear dip into the chuck and the tide was too high to walk the beach back to Valerie’s so we made our way back up to the road and to our indoor lunch spot complete with fabulous view and fresh hot coffee! We had a great vantage point to watch the weather deteriorate quickly into another winter storm. Thank you to our hosts.

And our day wasn’t over yet! We made a stop along Valdez Road and walked less than 100 m off the road into a spectacular grove of old growth Douglas Firs. Another hidden gem on Quadra Island.  8.5 km, 2¾ hours.

Vic

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Open Bay Trails – 1 Jan 2020