Category Archives: moderate

Trip Report – Rousseau Ridge Loop – 15 Apr 2026

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Eight of us hiked this loop starting from North Gowlland Road.  Part of the reason for choosing this hike was the recent trail work on the west end of the North Gowlland trail.  The work has been extensive by widening the trail, draining wet areas and putting in culverts.  Thanks, as always, to our wonderful Trail Committee volunteers.

We hiked North Gowlland Trail up to Rousseau Ridge with a short break to enjoy the view though there were some very low, wet clouds around.  We back-tracked to the North Gowlland trail and continued more-or-less easterly until we joined the Thompson and then the B&B Trail.  Unfortunately there were multiple issues once we followed the B&B trail.  First, we had some quite hard, cold and wetting hail, and the B&B trail has been abandoned, so the deadfall and  salal had overwhelmed the trail.  This section was quite brief however, and once we reached the logging roads, walking was very easy.  We hiked up a mossy bluff for lunch and then continued along the logging road toward the North Gowlland Road.  This area is quite changed from recent logging including new roads, which made it trickier to find the intended connection back to the North Gowlland trail.  However, we achieved the same objective by simply following the logging roads, making the loop slightly longer. 

In spite of the hail and threatening showers, it was a lovely spring day for this hike to some areas we had not visited for quite a while.  The improved trail will be reason to hike here more often.   (7.8 km; 3⅓ hours)

Debbie
 

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Hiking – Rousseau Ridge Loop – 15 Apr 2026

Trip Report – Quinsam River Trails – 8 April 2026

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Six of us hiked some of the trails on the east side of the Quinsam River, starting at the Boneyard Bypass trail head. We followed mountain bike trails through the forest and ravines down to the river on a lovely day.  The spring flowers were just emerging: trillium, pink fawn lilies, wild bleeding heart, wild current, and yellow violets. We stopped briefly at a viewpoint of some of the high, snow-covered mountains before descending to the river.  We followed the river upstream to a bend with a view and a bench in the sunshine where we stopped for lunch.  There were Kingfisher, Mergansers, and a river otter at the river, and lots of bird song in the forest.  After the lunch break, we climbed back up to the high bank and meandered through the forest on bluffs and around ravines before completing the loop and heading back to the vehicles.  It was a beautiful, spring day for this highly varied walk.  (10.9 km; 4 hours)

Debbie
 

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Hiking – Quinsam River Trails – 8 April 2026

Hiking – Rousseau Ridge – 15 Apr 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Rousseau Ridge Loop
Date 15 Apr, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com, 3710 or 250-850-9848; please contact the coordinator iby Monday
Description We will start from the North Gowlland road and hike the Gowlland Harbour trail to Rousseau Ridge.  We will probably continue on short sections of the North Gowlland, Thompson and B&B trails, and logging roads to make a loop.  There has been recent trail work on the North Gowlland trail.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot to arrange carpools
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty
 Moderate
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs?
Notes: Bring lunch and bring hiking poles if you use them.

Trip Report – Beaches and Waterfalls – 25-27 Mar 2026

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It didn’t go exactly as planned, but this experiment in early season camping and hiking went well, none the less.  The official days were spared serious rain after postponing the event by one day.  Two campers came a day or two early, but most arrived on Wednesday.  Nine participated all together, on differing days.

Wednesday – We began with a visit to the Englishman River falls in the provincial park.  There was lots of water in the River and the trails were in good condition.  The sun poked out for us.  We started at the upper bridge where the broad river squeezes into the narrow crevasse gradually broadening out.  We took the trail down to the lower bridge to see this change and then hiked back up in a loop.  We took advantage of the covered picnic shelter for lunch.

(click on photos to view larger)

After lunch we headed toward Nanoose for a hike up Notch Hill.  This was a lovely walk through stands of arbutus and Garry Oak. As we climbed we had views of Nanoose Bay and the Vancouver Island mountains, though the clouds were down on the mountains.  We stopped at the Rusted Rake Brewery on the way back to the campsite.  After dinner we enjoyed Allan’s campfire.

Thursday – The weather forecast had improved by morning so we added Little Mountain to the itinerary, not knowing a great deal about it.  We started out on fairly predictable bike trails, which also welcomed hikers and horses.  As we went further, the forest was filled with impressive boulders.  After climbing to the shoulder of Little Mountain we followed a trail below the cliffs with fascinating sculpted rocks.  We made our way to the lookout next to the communication towers for the view toward the Vancouver Island mountains, which were still covered by clouds.

We next went to Little Qualicum Provincial Park to see those waterfalls.  We made a loop, heading upstream to the upper falls, crossing the river and walking downstream for the remaining views.  The trails and viewpoints are very well done and the waterfalls were impressive.  From there we returned to the vehicles and visited the Mount Arrowsmith Brewery on the way back to camp.  Allan once again had a great campfire.

Everyone explored Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park on their own.  The trail along the shore, the mature forest, the expansive beach at low tide, the views of the Salish Sea, and the brants were all very photogenic.

Friday – Everyone broke camp and headed out on Friday morning.  Most of us drove to Rosewall Creek Provincial Park and from there hiked up along the river to the falls.  This is a lovely walk through a mature rainforest with lots of moss and some very large trees.  The falls were very impressive.

 

We saw three great waterfalls, two view hikes to interesting geological and ecological areas, and one exceptional beach.  It was really quite cold in the morning and evening though and we were very lucky to avoid serious rain.

Debbie

Thanks to Les and Norris for the photos

Multi-day Hiking – Beaches and Waterfalls – 25-27 Mar 2026

Hiking – Quinsam River Trails – 8 April 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Quinsam River Trails
Date 8 Apr, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com; 3710; 250-850-9848  Please contact the coordinator by Monday evening.
Description We will hike along the east side of the Quinsam River, using mountain bike trails and logging roads.  This follows a variety of terrain down to the river and then follow the river upstream and loop back through the forest and ravines. There may be muddy sections.  Ideally there would be spring flowers.  About 11 km; 4 hours
Meeting Place QCove ferry terminal;  after exiting the ferry, we will drive to the parking area together.  Parking is limited and not very conveniently located.
Departure Time 9:30 ferry
Difficulty
 Moderate
Costs Ferry
Trip limits 10
Dogs?
Notes:

Multi-day Hiking – Cowichan Valley – 19-23 April 2026

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Activity Multi-day hiking and camping
Destination Cowichan Valley
Date 19-23 April 2026, Sunday to Thursday; 
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com, land 3710, cell 250-850-9848
Description We will most likely stay at Gordon Bay Provincial Park on Cowichan Lake.  It is still first-come-first-served.  There are many amazing destinations in Cowichan Valley and here are a few we will consider: Kinsol Trestle, Mt. Tzouhalem, Maple Mtn coastal Trail, Stoney Hill trail loop, Bald Mtn Park, Old Baldy Mtn, Cobble Hill, Koksilah Ancient Forest.
Meeting Place Gordon Bay Provincial Park (probably)
Arrival Time TBD
Difficulty Moderate, variable 
Cost Ferries, fuel, camping
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Please let the coordinator know if you are interested in this trip.  More information is available about camping and specific activities on request.

Trip Report – Plumper Bay and Point – 4 Mar 2026

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It was a lovely, mild day for our hike out to Plumper Point.  Starting at the trailhead to Maud Island, it was interesting to see the magnitude of the recently trail work, cutting down danger trees near the trail.  Some of that clearing continued after the left turn on the Maud Island trail. At the creek we cut off on a very old logging road which has been flagged and somewhat cleared.  We descended to the beach on Plumper Bay where the camping shelter has been set up.  Some of the construction is quite good.  There was ample beach for us to walk along the shore out toward the point.  It was the day after a full moon, so the tides were big and the currents active.  We were surprised that there was a three hour difference in the low tide between Campbell River and Brown’s Bay. 

The climb up from the beach back to the old, flagged logging road was quite steep.  It was only a very short distance from there to the beautiful, mossy bluff with the great views of Plumper Bay and north in Discovery Passage.   We stopped for lunch and then made our way out to the bluffs on the Discovery Passage side with views toward the west and south.  We returned through the forest with lots deadfall at first, then a better forest.  We picked up the flagged road again and made our way back.    (8 km; 182m; 4 hours)

Norris
 

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Hiking – Plumper Bay and Point – 4 Mar 2026

Trip Report – Mt. Menzies Lookout – 23 Feb 2026

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This snowshoe trip was rescheduled from the original date due to no snow in the mountains.  It looked bad for the new date too, but then we had a huge snowstorm.  We weren’t sure if chains were required on the Mt. Washington road or if their snowshoe trails would be broken for us, so we opted for Mt. Menzies first lookout instead.  It was a good decision.  Mt. Washington was a zoo, with the resort trying to deal with snow removal and grooming.  There was a lack of parking space for the demand.  On Menzies, we had fresh snow, no crowds and a beautiful spring day.  We made it to the first lookout, enjoyed the view, then decided to do just a bit more before heading back down.  6.4 km, 340m, 3.75 hours.

Norris

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Snow – Mt. Washington – 23 Feb 2026

Snow – Mt. Washington – 23 Feb 2026

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Activity Snowshoeing
Destination Mt. Washington
Date 23 Feb, Monday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info norris.weimer@ualberta.ca or 3710
Description We will follow some of the Mt. Washington snowshoe trails leaving from Raven Lodge.  On Friday there are only two snowshoe trails open, but the area is expected to receive significant snowfall over the weekend, increasing the snow base and reducing wet areas.  This may mean the trails are not packed down.  We will adapt to conditions.
Meeting Place Quathiaski Cove Ferry terminal
Departure Time 8:30 ferry
Difficulty
 Moderate
Costs Ferry, fuel and day pass (full, weekday, snowshoe pass is $14)
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Bring lunch, well-functioning snowshoes, and gear appropriate for the weather.

Hiking – Plumper Bay and Point – 4 March 2026

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Activity Hiking
Destination Plumper Bay and Point
Date 4 March, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info norris.weimer@ualberta.ca or 3710.  Please contact the coordinator in advance by phone or email.
Description We will start out on the trail to Maud Island, but turn off onto an old logging road to Plumper Point.  However, we divert from that in order to walk the beach at a low tide.  When the beach runs out we will go up on mossy bluffs and continue to the Point.  We will return through the forest on the old logging road.  About 6.5 km, 3 to 4 hours.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot; we will convoy in our cars from there.
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty Moderate, but varied: easy trail, beach walking, routes on old, unmaintained logging roads, a few steepish ascents on bluffs
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs?
Notes: Bring lunch and gear for the weather.