Category Archives: moderate

Trip Report – Morte Lake Classic Loop – 16 July 2026

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Seven of us got an early start to get ahead of the heat that was forecast. We hiked into the Lake on the classic old logging road, meeting a few other people on the trail and at the east end sandy beaches. We continued up the switch-backed trail to the bluffs and paused to enjoy the view and indentify the mountains. We made our way back down to the lake and stopped at the picnic table for an early lunch and for those that wanted to swim. The water level was low and the water was relatively warm. We carried on along the fast trail on the west shore, stopping at the old logging access point with the canoe and stopping again at the white sand beach at the south end of the lake. There was no one on any of these beaches, which was surprising given the heat. We continued on the classic loop, rejoining the old logging road and then chosing to take Lower Deadfish for the return to the parking lot. By the end of our hike it was fairly overcast, warm and humid. This was a lovely, relaxed walk with great natural highlights and opportunities for socializing. (10.3 km, 4½ hours total, 290m elevation gain)

Debbie

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Hiking – Morte Lake Classic Loop – 16July2026

Trip Report – Nugedzi Lakes – 9 July 2026

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Well, the day didn’t go as planned as the weather was uncooperative. Five hikers met up, but we were trying to second-guess the rain that had already started. Two decided not to go, but the other three had hopes that the rain would only be temporary. As it turned out, it rained during the whole trip sometimes heavy, sometimes light. On the bright side, it was quite mild and even though we got very wet, we stayed warm due to the long uphill climb to Nugedzi Lake. The rain did add a whole different feel to the trip as your view was confined to a much shorter distance, and you were very aware of your close surroundings. The moss and vegetation seemed considerably greener. As we neared the lake the temperature dropped a bit, and the fog settled in. This changed the whole feeling of your surroundings again and was actually quite eerie but beautiful as you can see in the pictures that were taken.

At this point, we decided not to go out to the viewpoint as you wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway. Instead, we headed back down the trail toward the Cedar Grove Canyon. There we took a connector trail back to the trail going up to Mt. Seymour, which is quite steep in some areas. This is a newer flagged trail that goes through some magnificent large trees and open mossy landscape. Back on the Seymour Trail, it was downhill all the way to the vehicles. (7 km, 320m ascent and 3 hours)

Les

Thanks to Les and Norris for the photos

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Hiking – Nugedzi Lakes and Views – 9 July 2026

Hiking – Morte Lake Loop – 16 July 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Morte Lake Loop
Date 16 July, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710
Description We will hike the classic loop counter-clockwise. We will find a beach for lunch and swimming will be possible for those who are interested. At this time, it is expected to be very warm.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot
Departure Time 9:00, or earlier to avoid the heat
Difficulty
 Moderate
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? Yes, if under control and with a “Dog-Owner Acknowledgement Statement”
Notes Bring lunch and swimming gear if interested. Stay in touch with the coordinator about a possible change to the start time.

Hike – Nugedzi Lakes & Viewpoint – 9 July 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Nugedzi Lakes and Viewpoint
Date 9 July, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info lhquadra@gmail.com 285-2029
Description We will park on Granite Bay Road and hike the Mount Seymour Trail to Nugetzi Lake. Then we will travel on out to the Nugetzi viewpoint and back to the lake for lunch. Bring gear if you would like to take a swim, although it might still be cool. After we will travel back to the vehicles. About 7 to 8 km and four hours..
Meeting Place Quadra Community Centre
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty Moderate
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? OK, but must be under control and not run back-and-forth through the group
Notes: We are leaving earlier because of the heat that might be happening at that point. Bring lots of water and hiking poles if you use them.

Trip Report – Mt. Lolo – 10 June 2026

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We had a lovely spring day for this rarely visited peak. We shortened the hike a bit by parking in the clear-cut and making our way quickly to the Maud Island trail. This trail is in very good condition. After the small creek we turned off onto an even older logging road, which has also had some trail work done on it. However, we soon turned uphill through the open forest and followed a gradual ascent to views over Discovery Passage. We followed the ridge south to the end, where we had lunch on the mossy rocks with views to the south. We ignored the good historical tracks we had for the descent, and chose a route descending through the cliffy bluffs which required some careful route finding and negotiating deadfall and steep rocks. We came out to the Maud Lake trail a bit south of our starting point and returned to the vehicles. We really enjoyed revisiting this area. (About 5.3km, 4 hours, 270m elevation gain)

Norris
 
Thanks to Norris and Les for the photos.
 

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Hiking – Mt. Lolo – 10 June 2026

Hiking – Newton Lake – Small Inlet-Waiatt Bay – 21 July 2026

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Activity Hike and swim
Destination Newton Lake with Small Inlet and/or Waiatt Bay
Date 21 July 2026, Tuesday, revised
Trip Coordinator Vic Gladish
Contact Info vicgladish@gmail.com; 250-285-2111 or 250-287-0459 (text)
Description We will hike up to Newton Lake, down to Small Inlet, take the portage trail to Waiatt Bay and then back to the Newton Lake. Distance about 15 kilometres – will take approximately 4-5 hours (including lunch and short swim stops at Newton Lake.
If there is consensus to do so, we will break into two groups at the trail junction, one going on to Waiatt Bay, and the other returning to the lake. We will then rendezvous at Newton Lake.
Meeting Place Quadra Community Centre parking lot
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 A rocky, rutty initial kilometer, and a steep section at Small Inlet, plus overall distance makes this a moderate – not easy – hike.
Costs Share fuel costs
Trip limits 10
Dogs? Limit 2 and on leash.
Notes: Bring plenty of water, lunch and snacks, and swimming stuff if you want to swim.
The trip is best on a good summer’s day so will be postponed if the forecast is for rain.

Trip Report – Canyon View and Elk Falls – 3 June 2026

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A good turnout of eight hikers and two dogs took advantage of the slightly cooler and overcast day to hike the Canyon View and Elk Falls Trail. For the previous two days we have had temperatures in the mid to high twenties, so the milder weather was a blessing for the 11 km hike. We caught the 9:00 am ferry from Quadra Island and returned on the 2:30 pm boat.
We parked on the North side of the Duncan Bay Main bridge (over the Campbell River) where we started our hike. The well maintained trail follows the river to the old power station outfall, where the grade changes to a steep uphill climb with lots of stairs. Once at the top, the trail levels off until you reach the entrance to the falls where now you go down stairs to a viewing platform and the suspension bridge. We viewed the falls from the bridge and hiked back up to the old parking lot for a different view of the falls. At the parking lot there are pit toilets and picnic tables.
On the way back we took a side trail downriver from the falls to a mossy bluff overlooking the river. From here we had a view of the suspension bridge and the falls. After a lunch break we continued back on the trail to the old outfall where we crossed over to the highway side of the river. Here there is a path following the river back to the bridge where we parked our vehicles. Total distance 11 km in 4 hours.

Allan

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Hiking – Canyon View and Elk Falls – 3 June 2026

Hiking – Noel’s Knoll to Little Morte Lake – 24 June 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Noel’s Knoll to Little Morte Lake
Date 24 June 2026, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710
Description REVISED: We will start at the Nugedzi parking lot and hike up the old logging road toward Beech’s Mtn. The Trail Committee has recently brushed and improved this route. We will visit Noel’s Knoll for great views and then return to the saddle between Beech’s and Noel’s Knoll. From there we will follow a new and impressive trail which descends through some bluffs with views and then continues more steeply down to the Morte Lake trail. As this is hiked in a straight line, we will need a car shuffle ending at the Morte Lake parking lot. Roughly 7.5km, 4 hours, 300m ascent and more than 400m descent.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot
Departure Time 9:00, as an early-ish start for the heat.
Difficulty
 Challenging. This trip will work your legs.
Costs No
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring poles if you use them. We will not do this if the weather is poor and may start earlier if it is hot.

Trip Report – Surge Narrows Trail – 13 May 2026

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Our timing was perfect on our Surge Narrows hike, arriving at the rapids just at full
flood of 7.4 knots. We decided to make the rocky viewpoint our lunch stop so that we could enjoy watching about a dozen kayakers who appeared on cue. We suspected that they were local guides in training for the summer season, and were impressed by the rolling and self-rescue skills of some as they tackled the rapids.

Over the years, the Surge Narrows trail has been greatly improved. The trail to the viewpoint is easy to follow and the old, dodgy bridges have been replaced with culverts by our hardworking Trail Committee.  There is even a port-a-pottie at the trailhead. The
trailhead, well signed, is now at the upper parking lot; old-timers will recall that the trail
originally began at the lower parking lot. To the viewpoint is a moderate 2 km hike, with “suitable undulations” to provide some cardio, through typical West Coast forest. We saw several outcroppings of oyster mushrooms and one bunch of coral root on the trail to the viewpoint.  Beyond the viewpoint, the trail is signposted as a route and is not maintained, overgrown with deadfall and salal.  This route is challenging, hugging the steep shoreline until reaching a rocky beach. At low tide it would be possible to walk north along the shoreline for intertidal viewing, but the tide was too high for this on the day of our hike.

As always, parking at Surge Narrows is a challenge, carpooling is a necessity.
5.14 km, about 2.5 hours including on-water entertainment.

Valerie van Veen

Many thanks to Norris for photos.

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Hiking – Surge Narrows Trail – 13 May 2026

Hiking – Elk Falls/Canyon View Trails – 3 June 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Elk Falls – Canyon View trails
Date 3 June, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Allan Liimatta
Contact Info allanliimatta@gmail.com or 250-416-9338
Description Start out at parking area at first bridge past highway on Campbell River and hike the Canyon View Trail up to Elk Falls suspension bridge where we will stop for lunch. Then back track and then take the trail to old power station and cross river and hike back on opposite side of river back to parking area. Trail is well maintained and easy walking except there are a few long uphill climbs with many stairs. Total distance approximately 11 km.
Meeting Place Q Cove ferry terminal
Departure Time 9:00 ferry
Difficulty Moderate
Costs Ferry costs
Trip limits 10
Dogs? Yes, but must be on leash.
Notes: