Category Archives: moderate

Trip Report – Kw’as Park, Cortes – 30 Oct 2023

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Eight of us met early for the 9:05 ferry to Cortes, which turned out to be unnecessary as the line-up of vehicles was short.  We had a beautiful, clear, cold, autumn morning for the trip over to Cortes Island and we saw a few humpback whales on the way.  We started the hike at the trailhead near the Cortes Island Motel and appreciated the maps at the junctions which are new since we hiked this loop in 2020.  We ascended up toward the Summit and then along the Millennium Trail undulating over rocky outcroppings and through an open forest.  We had views of Hague Lake before we reached the Swim Rock, where we stopped for lunch.  It was wonderfully sunny and warm..
 
We continued on the trail high along the cliff with arbutus and great views.  We descended the ladder along the Rock Face and made a short side trip to visit the impressive Survivor Fir.  The old arched, wooden bridge crossing the narrows between Hague and Gunflint Lakes has been replaced by a new aluminum bridge, which has less charm, but is certainly safe.  We walked the loop to the south, including Pierre de Trail and the Cedar Ridge, enjoying the large Douglas fir at the junction, which is even bigger than the Survivor Fir.  We returned over the bridge and walked the trail along the west shore of Gunflint Lake, with great views along the way and the steam donkey remains.  
 
This is a great hike with lots of variety and highlights.  The trail was very quiet at this time of year.  The views at Whaletown, waiting for the return ferry, were lovely in the afternoon light, as was the return trip to Quadra. It was altogether a beautiful day.  9.1 km, 4¼ hours.
 
Debbie
 

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Hiking – Kw’as Park, Cortes – 30 Oct 2023

Hiking – Kw’as Regional Park, Cortes – 30 Oct 2023

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Activity Hiking
Destination Kw’as Regional Park, Cortes
Date 30 Oct 2023, Monday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info 285-3710 or dmquigg@gmail.com.  Please contact the coordinator by Monday.
Description We will hike through this lovely park, situated between Gunflint and Hague Lakes on Cortes Island.  Along with great views, there is fine old growth, interesting geology and history, and a good variety of trails.  We hope to include a bit of everything in the day’s hike.  We will return on the 1:50 or 3:50 ferry.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay ferry terminal to Cortes.  Drivers will need to be early enough to be on the ferry.
Departure Time 9:05 ferry
Difficulty
 Moderate.  A few steep and undulating places, but mostly reasonable walking on good trails. The possible loops vary, but we may hike about 10 km.
Costs Ferry costs; bring your ferry card.
Trip limits 10
Dogs?
Notes: Bring lunch and gear for weather.

Work Party – Chinese Mtn – 25 Oct 2023

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Activity Work party
Destination Chinese Mountain
Date 25 Oct, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info norris.weimer@ualberta.ca or 3710; please contact the coordinator in advance of the outing.
Description The Chinese Mountain system is not in bad condition, but there is some deadfall that needs to be chainsawed and the annual brush cut is due.  If there is time and energy, we may work on the trail to Beech’s Overlook.  The Trail Committee provides tools.  Bring your own gloves, and your own tools if you prefer them.  We will have lunch at a scenic location.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot to organize tools and carpool to the trailhead
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty
 Moderate work
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring lunch.

Trip Report – Amor and Nearby Lakes – 29-30 Sept 2023

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This trip used the road-accessible Rec Site on Amor Lake for greatest flexibility.  Of the six people who participated, some stayed three nights, two nights, one night or just one day.  It certainly isn’t the best campsite on Amor Lake, but it has some conveniences. We were incredibly lucky with the beautiful autumn weather, since the trip was planned long in advance.

Friday:  Two came out on Thursday and set up camp.  Three others arrived on Friday morning and all launched as soon as possible.  We headed out to the south end of Amor and hauled out at the Mr. Canoehead campsite.  We navigated the short portage to Surprise Lake with the assistance of borrowed wheels for the kayaks and paddled across Surprise Lake as if we were doing the canoe circuit.  We left the boats at the south end of Surprise Lake and walked the 2.2 km portage to Brewster Lake through a lovely forest.  We had lunch at the launch site into Brewster Lake before retracing our steps and paddled back to the campsite by mid-afternoon.  We walked down the Blackwater Main logging road to visit the Rec Site on Blackwater Lake, which was sunny and scenic.  After relaxing on the shore, we headed back for dinner and enjoyed a great campfire, as the ban had just been lifted during the week and the evenings were cool.  The full moon was a bonus. (paddling 5.2 km, 1¼ hr; walking 8.3 km, 2½ hr)

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Saturday: We were joined by one more person on Saturday morning and were quickly away, heading north and across Amor Lake to the portage to Twin Lakes.  The launch site was quite muddy, but we managed awkwardly to get to the trail and walk up the undulating path to Twin Lake.  The campsite there, which is accessible by road, was very busy on this long weekend with great weather.  We briefly followed a trail up the north side of Twin Lake to a swim rock before heading back.  After returning to Amor Lake, we stopped for lunch at the first campsite we passed, which was on the north shore and had a beautiful sandy beach and lots of sunshine.  Continuing on, we came out of the east arm of the Lake and headed to the campsite at the north end, which has significant infrastructure.  We admired the dock with the picnic table as well as the covered shelter, but especially the sandy beach, sun-facing direction and great view.  We headed south along the western shore exploring the many campsites and sandy beaches along the way.  On our return to the campsite, two of the group packed up and left, leaving four others to enjoy another relaxed evening around the campfire.  (paddling 13.1 km, 3¼ hr; walking 2.5 km, ¾ hr)

We saw four of the Sayward canoe circuit lakes on this brief two-day paddle.  It was an easy and relaxed exploration.  We only encountered four other boats on Amor.  This was a fitting end to the season, having begun in May with an outing to Morton Lake Provincial Park and paddling on two other Sayward canoe circuit lakes – Mohun and Goose.  We had beautiful weather for both trips and enjoyed the relative quiet of the shoulder season.

Debbie

Multi-day kayaking and camping – Amor Lake – 29-30 Sept. 2023

Trip Report – Mine Lake Bluff – 20 Sept 2023

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Six of us were fortunate to have a truly beautiful autumn day for this highly varied hike.  The group decided to do the hike as a loop, which is more challenging than out-and-back. We walked along the Mine Lake shore to Homewood’s Woodsman Camp and then steeply up the trail to the foot of the bluff.  The exposed section of the route was fairly dry in spite of the previous day’s rain.  Views of Mine Lake, the Quadra high plateau, and the Vancouver Island skyline made it all worthwhile.  We explored much of the bluff perimeter, with impressive cliffs on the east and west sides, before settling down for lunch at a sunny viewpoint.  We picked up the trail down the north side and under the impressive cliffs we had just been standing on.  After visiting some of the periphery of the camp we followed the path out to the first campsite, at the corner of Mine Lake and the narrows. One person swam before we headed back along the lake to the vehicles.  We enjoyed this leisurely hike to so many beautiful spots on a wonderful fall day. (6.6 km; 4 hours)

Debbie
 
Thanks to Carrie and Norris for the photos.
 
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Hiking – Mine Lake Bluff – 20 Sept 2023

Trip Report – Rousseau Ridge Loop – 13 Sept 2023

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Six of us hiked this loop starting from North Gowlland Road.  The recent welcome rain made the bushes wet and the day humid.  We hiked North Gowlland Trail up to Rousseau Ridge with a short break for elevenses and to enjoy the view..  From there we descended the mossy bluffs toward Gowlland Harbour Rd, with a few short steep sections into the forest and back up on the ridge.  Each ridge has great views of Discovery Passage and the Vancouver Island mountains, which were in cloud for us.  We stopped for a leisurely lunch on the third and lowest bluff.  We continued our descent to a logging road heading east and then picked up a route over lower, but still open bluffs taking us back to North Gowlland Trail.  We enjoyed the three very old Douglas firs, the Three Sisters, on the way back to make our loop.  Since we did this loop about 15 months ago, the flags have been removed, making the route finding trickier.   6.8 km; 3¼ hours.

Debbie
 

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Hiking – Rousseau Ridge Loop – 13 Sept 2023

Hiking – Mine Lake Bluff – 20 Sept 2023

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Activity Hiking
Destination Mine Lake Bluff
Date 20 Sept 2023, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710; please contact the coordinator by Monday night.
Description We will hike through the Camp Homewood site on Mine Lake and then through the forest to the scenic bluff. We can decide as a group whether we want to do this as a loop or out-and-back.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot
Departure Time 9:30
Difficulty
 Moderate if we do out-and-back.   Some challenging spots with exposure if we do the loop.
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs? no
Notes We will not do this trip in wet weather and maybe not even in poor visibility.

Trip Report – Paddle around Cape Mudge – 6 Sept 2023

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Almost exactly one year to the day since our first Round the Cape paddle trip, four club members set out from Q-Cove to repeat the adventure. This report will therefore sound a lot like the one written last year (cut and paste…) The necessary shuttle was pretty simple with just four participants, one volunteer spouse and a two-car paddling couple! Two paddlers got to the put-in without motorized transport!

By 10:10 we were on the water just as the ferry was loading – two ferries to watch out for this time. Weather, (overcast and threatening drizzle, but no wind) tides and currents were all in our favour as we rounded Whiskey Point and headed south to Cape Mudge. We passed closely by the Village (accompanied briefly by a pair of harbour porpoises on our starboard), and then the lighthouse, working against the counter currents while the main tide continued to flood, and then rounded the Cape. One petroglyph barely revealed itself here, but one sharp-eyed paddler spotted it. These often treacherous waters were very calm, due to our timing, and we headed into the boulder strewn shallows of the south shoreline. It was interesting to be at the base of the sandy cliffs that we had hiked to the edge of last week for a view of the shoal at very low tide.

As we glided along a flock of a dozen or so Common Loons struck up a conversation about kayaking intruders, Harlequins scurried along the water’s edge to put distance between us, and the migrating coho were leaping about. Large schools of herring or sardines were seen in the shallow waters of Wilby Shoals.

By this time we were looking for a reasonable place to pull out for a “rest” and stretch, but, once again a cobbly beach was the best we could do. As it was time for lunch, our rest stop lasted nearly an hour. Back on the water and heading for our final “turn around the corner”, a nice beach was spotted and perhaps will be remembered for next year’s lunch stop! We rounded Francisco Point and headed north on a somewhat brighter and milder afternoon without notable resistance from the ebbing tide. With our destination in sight for most of the 5 km, it did feel like a long stretch as we avoided rocks and watched for whales.  (15.0 km; 4¼ hours.)

List of bird sightings – at least a dozen Common Loons (very vocal), many Harlequin ducks, a Common Merganser, numerous Bonaparte’s, Glaucous-winged, and Mew Gulls, Cormorants, a Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles

Vic 

Thanks to Vic and Norris for the photos

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Kayaking -Paddle around Cape  Mudge – 6 Sept 2023

Hiking – Rousseau Ridge Loop – 13 Sept 2023

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Activity Hiking
Destination Rousseau Ridge Loop
Date 13 Sept, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710; please contact the coordinator in advance of the trip
Description We will start from the North Gowlland road and hike the Gowlland Harbour trail to Rousseau Ridge.  We will take a flagged route and logging road to circle back to the Gowlland Harbour trail and back to the vehicles.  This is an interesting route over open bluffs with great views.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot to convoy to the trailhead
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty
 Moderate
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring lunch and bring hiking poles if you use them.  We will not do this trip in poor weather.

Trip Report – Kanish Bay Paddle – 22 Aug 2023

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Four paddlers were treated to a very nice day of paddling on Kanish Bay. We started out early at Granite Bay to take advantage of the tides and headed off by 0900 on a cool morning. Last year CCW, this year we took the CW (clockwise) route around the bay. With little wind and an ebbing tide, we arrived at the tidal flats tucked in between Bodega Pt and an unnamed island. A short break here allowed us time to cross the beach and take in the view of upper Discovery Passage. Back on the water and passing between the last two islands of the Chained Islets, we headed across the western end of Kanish Bay with our sights set on Granite Point, 3.2 km away. At the point, the waters were calm and the sun much warmer so we just kept going until 15 minutes later we had a bit of a view down Okisollo Channel! Time to turn back… we meandered down the northern shore of the bay, visited the pictographs cliff and then stopped for lunch at Ashlar Creek, a rather rocky and difficult landing spot, but sunny and warm with a big view of the Passage and Vancouver Is.

The tide aided our afternoon efforts by starting to flood, and with the Chum jumping here and there we were soon at Orchard Bay and once again fantasizing about a couple of nights of camping in this very nice part of the area. (This was to have been today’s goal, but too few signed up for the planned camping trip). A family of Loons and a lone Red-necked Grebe were spotted on the bay. We explored for a few minutes and then headed back to Granite Bay and our take out. (17.8 km; 5½ hours.)

Vic 

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Kayaking – Kanish Bay – 22 Aug 2023