Six people and a dog hiked the bigger Shellaligan Loop, beginning at the parking closest to the water, counter-clockwise. It was a beautiful, cold, clear day with a bit of north wind. This hike took us over rocky bluffs with great views and then undulated through forest with some old growth and lovely creeks. 7 km, about three hours.
(click on photos to view larger)
The trip is now going to The Bluff Above Camp Homewood on Mine Lake.
| Activity | Hiking |
| Destination | |
| Date | 10 Sept 2014, Wednesday |
| Trip Coordinator | Norris Weimer |
| Contact Info | 285-3710; please contact the coordinator in advance of the trip |
| Description | There is a trail from Camp Homewood on Mine Lake to the top of the hill behind the camp. It has a great view. We will start from the Mine Lake boat launch. |
| Meeting Place | Heriot Bay Tru Value parking lot to carpool |
| Departure Time | |
| Difficulty | Mostly easy |
| Costs | none |
| Trip limits | none |
| Dogs? | |
| Notes: | Bring lunch. Three to four hours. |
The group was undaunted by a few drops of rain at the beginning of the hike into Newton Lake and was rewarded with clearing skies. We had this beautiful and serene lake all to ourselves, but no one went swimming. It was a bit cool and some leeches kept cruising by. After a leisurely lunch and a bit of exploring beyond the second swimming rock, we returned as many others headed up to the lake. 8.9 km; 3 3/4 hours.
(click on photos to view larger)
We had eight people on this short hike on short notice. Starting at the end of Hope Spring Road, we hiked up to the east and west viewpoints of Heriot Ridge on a warm, mostly sunny day. We continued north on the flagged route, which undulates through open forest and mossy bluffs. The most unusual naturalist event of the hike was a dragonfly with a bee in its mouth that landed on the trip coordinator’s shirt. The dragonfly did not leave until the bee was completely consumed, even during walking or close-up photography. The meal lasted at least 15 minutes. We returned by the Thompson Trail, with about half the group visiting the northern viewpoint over Hyacinthe Bay, and then following the road back to the cars.
(click on photos to view larger)
| Activity | Hiking |
| Destination | Newton Lake |
| Date | |
| Trip Coordinator | Syd Lapan |
| Contact Info | Syd 285-2999 or comoxsyd@gmail.com |
| Description | Lovely hike through the woods to a clear, sometimes cold, lake at the north end of the island |
| Meeting Place | Heriot Bay Store for car pooling |
| Departure Time | 9:00 |
| Difficulty | easy to moderate |
| Costs | none |
| Trip limits | none |
| Dogs? | no |
| Notes: | Bring lunch and snacks. Might want to bring a bathing suit. Small, extra walk could eliminate the need for that. |
| Activity | Hiking |
| Destination | Heriot Ridge Route |
| Date | 29 June 2014, Sunday |
| Trip Coordinator | Debbie Quigg |
| Contact Info | 285-3710; Please contact the coordinator prior to the trip |
| Description | This hike is a loop following the Heriot Ridge. It first follows the Heriot Ridge trail up to the ridge where there are excellent views to the east and west. The hike then continues on the ridge on a well-used flagged route, not a maintained trail, for about a third of the distance. The route undulates through open forest and bluffs until it joins the Thompson Trail and descends to Thompson Rd. About 2 hours. |
| Meeting Place | Heriot Bay Store for possible car pooling |
| Departure Time | 1:00 |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Costs | none |
| Trip limits | none |
| Dogs? | |
| Notes: |
Despite the forecast for rain and gale force winds later in the day, the group of eight proceeded with this hike to an area not familiar to most of the participants. Taking the second logging road on the right after turning onto North Gowlland road, we parked about a half a kilometre down the road, just past a recently harvested area. The mountain bike trail known as Yellow Mud branched to the left and led to a series of meadows and to Wood Duck Lake. The beaver dam, which had failed a few years ago causing some down-stream damage, was in good repair. There were Mergansers with babies on the lake. We continued on and then up on Play Thing trail to an old copper mining site. Finding the Back Door trail we followed this through open forest until we reached a bluff with views of the Chinese Mountain – Beech’s Mountain ridge. We returned via Dick’s Ride trail, making a small loop. 7 kilometres. The rain and wind held off until we got home.
(click on photos to view larger)
| Activity | Hiking |
| Destination | Wood Duck Lake off North Gowlland (log dump) Rd |
| Date | Thursday, 19 June 2014 |
| Trip Coordinator | Heather and Rolf Kellerhals |
| Contact Info | 250 285-3570 |
| Description | Hike to lake along foot trail and along route built by mountain bikers to abandoned mine site. |
| Meeting Place | Heriot Bay Store parking lot for car pooling at 9:45 or directly to the corner of Hyacinth Bay Road and North Gowlland Road. Be aware of possible logging trucks turning in. |
| Departure Time | 10:00 A.M. at corner of Hyacinth Bay Road and North Gowlland Road. |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Costs | nothing |
| Trip limits | none |
| Dogs? | No |
| Notes: | The lake outlet has an interesting and active beaver dam that broke recently and sent down a flood that managed to pass through the highway culvert but took out the road going to our place for several weeks. |
The sea Gods were with us and we had spectacular weather for the Gowland paddle. The winds were light to none, the sun shone bright and the sky clear. The Sea Blush was in full bloom on all the small islands and many other flowers as well so it was a great day for taking pictures.
There were also many animals and birds out as it was a lower tide. The Canadian geese with the goslings were abundant and were quite humorous to watch. We saw quite a few mink and three river otters were playing on a knoll.
When we were in south Gowland we paddled thru the small opening to April Point. Here there were many sea urchins to look at and quite colorful. All and all it was a fabulous day and to bad that more people could not have experienced it.
(click on photos to view larger)
Started off the month of May with great weather and an adventurous hike. We were headed to Deepwater Bay via the old logging road but decided to take time out to look for the old logging train trestle. Debbie, Norris and Les had looked for this before but to no avail. It seemed that everyone we had talked to had not been there in a few years back and you know how memories are. This time though we found it, much to our pleasure. There is not much left but sure leaves you with a great appreciation for old engineering skills. It was quite a feat to cross that canyon and the old pilings give you an idea of the immense size.
We then walked down the old part of the logging road to Deepwater Bay. There are old remnants of a land based fish farm there. We had lunch by a small creek and enjoyed the sun. The hike back up was harder but it is not far and well worth the time.
(click on photos to view larger)
