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)

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Hiking – Rousseau Ridge – 21 Oct 2026

On a cool, overcast morning, seven hikers headed out to view the max current at Maud Island. There was an exceptional amount of long moss hanging in the trees over the trail down near the old truck. We decided to go over Mount Lolo for extra views. There has been quite a bit of work done on the Lolo section and part of it rerouted. There are some exceptional views from the ledges on this route, but one needs to be careful especially if you go over it in the snow. After a quick break, we went on down to Maud Island and even though the max was only 8 knots there was plenty of current and whirlpools. There were sea lions feeding in the current and bald eagles feeding on the leftovers. After lunch, we hiked back to the vehicles via the lower route. On this there have been some exceptionally big danger trees cut down. 8 Km and 3 1/2 hr.

Les

Thanks to Les, Louise and Norris for the photos.

Hiking – Maud Island – 15 Oct 2026

This hike had been postponed for better weather and we were rewarded with a beautiful, warm day for this short walk with great views. Four of us started from Kolker Main and walked up an old logging spur.  After pushing through a bit of brush we walked the short distance on open bluffs to Heron Point for our first viewpoint extending from Hyacinthe Bay to the Chinese Mountains.  We followed the path into Chauntaluf farm and continued on their roads and trails up to the Mt. Sweat access.  We climbed steeply up to the first bluff and followed the cairns over the undulating bluffs and up to the Mt. Sweat viewpoint for lunch.  On this day, Mt. Sweat seemed aptly named as the climb was quite warm. We cooled down taking in the 180° views of Quadra and the Salish Sea, with the mainland and Vancouver Island mountains.  We descended to the north, following flagging back to Kolker Main and from there to the vehicles.  Thanks to Heather Kellerhals for letting the Outdoor Club use the Chauntaluf farm trails to make this loop.  3.7 km, 3 hours, 180m ascent.

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Hiking – Heron Point and Mt. Sweat – 13 Sept 2026