Category Archives: easy

Community Engagement – Spirit Square, Campbell River – 10 Nov 2023

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Activity Experiential / Inspirational Walk
Destination Spirit Square, Campbell River Museum
Date 10 Nov. 2023, Friday
Trip Coordinator Vic Gladish
Contact Info vicgladish@gmail.com; 250-285-2111; (cell 250-287-0459)
Description WALK WITH ME – a guided walk to uncover the human dimensions of the toxic drug poisoning crisis as it has unfolded in small communities in BC.
Location: Spirit Square2 hours
Mobile eTicket – see website below
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN AN ARTS BASED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT

This arts-based community action project seeks to uncover the human dimensions of the toxic drug poisoning crisis as it has unfolded locally in Campbell River. Within and through it, a group of artist-researchers, front-line workers and people with lived and living experience have banded together in a sprit of solidarity, attempting to come to terms with the impact of the crisis on individuals and community groups through a practice of story sharing. Through stories, we aim to cultivate awareness leading to change.

Where? Participants meet at the white tent in Spirt Square
Meeting Place Quathiaski Cove ferry terminal
Departure Time 9:00 ferry
Difficulty
 Easy
Costs Ferry
Trip limits
Dogs? No
Notes: Visit
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/walk-with-me-campbell-river-tickets-728470403587?aff=oddtdtcreator
to register and reserve a space. Be sure to select the correct day and time when requesting your ticket (Nov 10 at 10 AM)

Trip Report – Haig-Brown House and Baikie Estuary – 16 Oct 2023

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The forecast was fairly grim, with big wind and rain predicted, but five of us went ahead with the planned outing.  We started at the Haig-Brown Heritage House, situated on the Campbell River, and enjoyed the tour and Marjorie’s informative talk.  Centred in the family’s library and Roderick Haig-Brown’s office, we learned about the family’s history.  We also enjoyed seeing the rest of the main floor of the house and a walk in the beautiful garden.  More information about Roderick Haig-Brown, the family and the house are available here:  https://www.haig-brown.bc.ca/haig-brown-family-history/

The second part of our outing took us to two pocket parks on the Campbell River: the Spruce St. viewpoint and the River Nook, both just a block apart.  The river is beautiful, but Alex Witcombe’s driftwood sculptures of bear and fish, and his fish mural add a whole new dimension to these tiny, urban parks.  Here is more information about Alex Witcombe and his work:  https://driftedcreationsart.ca/

We walked across the bridge over the Campbell River and down into the paths on the north side of the River and its side channels.  The fall colours were great and there were still a few salmon in the channels, but most were dead after spawning.  We followed the quiet trail through this area, which has been restored from log dumping and milling.  There is lots of Campbell River history here and there are interpretive signboards to document it. The rehabilitation effort has taken place over 25 years, with lots of money and volunteer work to make it happen. The transformation is quite wonderful.  Here is more information about the rehabilitation of the Baikie Estuary:  https://www.greenwaystrust.ca/projects/baikie-island-and-campbell-river-estuary/  (4.5 km; 1½ hours for the walk)

We retraced our steps back to the vehicles and then went for lunch at More Eatery.  We had a lovely, social meal there before heading our separate ways.  Amazingly, the rain held off while we walked, but deluged during lunch.  We counted ourselves lucky.

Debbie

(click on photos to enlarge)

Tour and Hike – Haig-Brown House and Baikie Estuary – 16 Oct 2023

Trip Report – Morte Lake Loop – 11 Oct 2023

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The rain quit in the morning and three hikers enjoyed a beautiful sunny autumn day. We started up the mountain bike trail known as Dead Fish. There has been considerable work done on this trail. Mountain bikers have made new jumps and numerous banked corners. They have moved large amounts of rocks and dirt to do this. The small creek is now running again after the few rainfalls we have had. There were numerous multicoloured mushrooms that have just come up because of the rain as well. We crossed back over to the old Morte Lake Trail where Dead Fish turns and goes up the hill. We proceeded on past the two small lakes that are very low and to the east end beach of Morte Lake. It is very low as well, and a lot of new sand showing on the beach. Instead of taking the new mountain bike route that makes huge switch backs up the side of the hill ,we kept to the old trail, which is much shorter. It is in poor condition now, though, as it has quit being maintained.
We stopped at the north west beach to have lunch. Someone has cleared many of the rocks into piles so it is a very sandy beach with the water so low. We enjoyed the sun here and the lake before going on around the lake. We kept to the old route all the way back to the cars. (11 km; 3½ hours moving time)

Les
 
Thanks to Les, Valerie and Carrie for the photos.
 
(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Morte Lake Loop – 11 Oct 2023

Hiking – Morte Lake Loop – 11 Oct 2023

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Activity Hiking
Destination Morte Lake Loop
Date 11 Oct 2023, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info lhquadra@gmail.com  or 285-2029
Description We will do the classic around the lake hike. May do some small adjustments depending on the group.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty
 Easy
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs? OK, but must be under control and not run back-and-forth through group
Notes Sorry for the short notice for this hike. I thought maybe some of us would like to work off some of the turkey, LOL.
Please contact one or two days early to sign up as only those who have signed up will be contacted in case of postponement or cancellation due to weather.

Tour and Hike – Haig-Brown House and Baikie Estuary – 16 Oct 2023

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Activity Tour and Hike
Destination Haig-Brown House and Baikie Estuary
Date 16 Oct. 2023, Monday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710.  We need to RSVP for the tour, so please contact the coordinator by Friday, Oct. 13th.
Description We will have a tour of the Haig-Brown house at 10:30, lasting about half an hour.  Roderick Haig-Brown was a fly-fisher, a conservationist and an author.  https://www.haig-brown.bc.ca/haig-brown-family-history/
From there, we will walk the short trail through the Baikie Estuary.  This is a flat, out-and-back walk of about 6.2 km.  The following link will help you understand the extent of the restoration which has occurred in the estuary:  https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/british-columbia/featured-projects/salish-sea/campbell-river-estuary.html
Major work on the estuary has continued up to and through the summer of 2023.
https://www.greenwaystrust.ca/projects/baikie-island-and-campbell-river-estuary/
We will check out the River Nook, with its Alex Witcombe mural and sculptures (https://driftedcreationsart.ca/public-art/) before heading to More Eatery for lunch.
Meeting Place QCove ferry terminal or by arrangement
Departure Time 10:00 ferry to Campbell River, by car or bicycle
Difficulty
 Easy
Costs We will give a donation to the Haig-Brown House for the tour.  Other costs are ferry and lunch.
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: This outing is a window on conservation in Campbell River.  There are three separate parts: the tour, the walk and the lunch.  The lunch is entirely optional.

Day or Multi-day Paddling – Amor Lake – 29-30 Sept 2023

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Activity Day or Multi-day Paddling
Destination Amor Lake
Date 29-30 Sept 2023, Friday – Saturday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710; please contact the coordinator well in advance of the trip
Description We will try to make this a very flexible outing.  Kayaks or canoes are welcome with good gear and experience.  Participants may come for one day or for both.  The base for our activities will be the small Rec Site on the west side of the lake with five campsites.  This is a free Rec Site accessible by logging road.  The boat launch is modest.  Amor Lake has lovely beaches and islets with much to explore.  It is on the Sayward Canoe Circuit and we can walk the portages.
Meeting Place QCove ferry terminal or Amor Lake
Departure Time 9:00 ferry to Campbell River or by individual arrangement
Difficulty Easy to moderate.
Cost Ferry
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Here is information about the Rec Site and Amor Lake:  http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/search/search-result.aspx?type=Site&site=REC0174
There is currently an advisory for an aggressive cougar, but I believe that is quite old.

Trip Report – Tsa Kwa Luten Hike and Social – 30 Aug 2023

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After the weather drama of the previous days, eleven Club members enjoyed a beautiful early fall day for our TKL Farewell Hike and Social on Wednesday, Aug 30. Starting out from the Cape Mudge Lighthouse parking lot, our route took us through the TKL campground. Several RVers were enjoying the cool, clear morning over propane campfires, the smell of bacon and coffee was very enticing. We followed the pretty and interesting trail to our turn around point at the Cape Mudge Village gate, enjoying lush blackberries on the way. Our hike then took us up past the Lodge, and counter-clockwise around the well-maintained TKL trail. The ravine stairway is a backwoods work of art!  From the bluffs we could see the impressive extent of the tidal flats below. In just under two hours we arrived at the Lodge in time for a coffee before ordering lunch. Joined by a spouse, twelve of us enjoyed a delicious lunch and social time together.  (7.3km, 1½ hours for the walk)

Valerie

Click on photos to enlarge
 

Hiking – Tsa Kwa Luten area – 30 Aug 2023

Hiking – Tsa-Kwa-Luten area – 30 Aug 2023

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Activity Hiking and Social
Destination Tsa Kwa Luten and surrounds
Date 30 Aug, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Valerie van Veen
Contact Info 250 285 2329, text 778 242 5774, vvv@qisland.ca
Description “End of an era” social … we will walk north along shore to Cape Mudge village, return to walk the TKL trails through the woods on the bluff, returning to TKL for brunch/ lunch.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store to carpool; or Lighthouse parking Lot
Departure Time 9:10 Heriot Bay store, 9:30 Lighthouse parking lot
Difficulty
 Easy
Costs Lunch at TKL
Trip limits None
Dogs? Owner’s decision for this event.
Notes: One more time to enjoy TKL trails ..and lunch at the Lodge😄 must confirm participation by Tuesday eve so I can make a reservation if needed.

Trip Report – Francisco Point at Low Tide – 17 July 2023

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We had a small but enthusiastic group on the low tide walk at Francisco Point with Deb Cowper’s amazing observations and information. The low tide in the middle of the day was a bit more than half a metre. We walked over the cobbled shore to the tidal lagoon. Deb talked about the seaweeds we were seeing (lettuce, cauliflower, Sargasso, and bladderwrack), the trajectory of the sea star wasting disease and the creatures affected by it, the life cycle of barnacles, the way that marine organisms can draw calcification from seawater to build their shells and outer structures. Deb talked about the moulting process for red rock crabs and what often appears to be a dead crab Is just the outer shell, left behind after moulting.  Five is the magic number for the radial symmetry of echinoderms: sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars.

We gently turned over rocks to look at the critters hiding beneath while exposed from the low tide. We saw porcelain crabs, Northern kelp crab, chitons, ochre sea stars, a blood star, sea cucumber, periwinkle, barnacles, worms, tubes, snails and a few small fish. Often the things attached to rocks were very small, really a nursery. We saw sea urchins the size of a pin head. We always gently rolled the rock back returning the creatures to their protected nooks.

We want to thank Deb Cowper for coming over to Quadra to share her knowledge.

Debbie

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Hiking – Francisco Point at Low Tide – 17 July 2023

Trip Report – Heriot Bay – 7 July 2023

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Eight paddlers launched at the Esplanade Park beach and headed off at 1900 for a meander along and around the islands between Heriot Bay and Hyacinthe Bay into the bright evening sun. It was a perfect summer evening, with favourable tides, a convivial group, and very light breeze.   We paddled between Heriot and Quadra Islands, and up into Hyacinthe Bay, turning around Turtle Island and heading back toward our launch site.

Unfortunately all was not perfect and a number of circumstances resulted in two of the eight paddlers becoming separated from the group.  This was a good heads-up to review the paddling guidelines and tighten up our Club practices.

With all eight paddlers back on the beach we quickly loaded up our gear, debriefed somewhat, and regrouped at the Heriot Bay Inn for cold beverages and very congenial conversation.  (About 5 km)

Debbie and Vic

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Happy Hour Paddle – Heriot Bay – 7 July 2023