Category Archives: Natural History

Trip Report – Woss Lookout and Little Huson Caves – 9-11 July 2025

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Five campers moved the trip dates forward one day due to rain forecast. This turned out to work very well as we only had showers one day and in the nighttime. We were going to camp at Woss Lake, but decided to check out Klaklakama Lake on the way and were very fortunate in getting the first place we stopped. After setting up camps, we had lunch and then proceeded to the Little Huson Caves. Atluck Creek has carved many sculpted images in complex shapes while running through Quatsino limestone. We first took a short walk and descended down the steep stairs to look at the River Cave from the north. The rocks were very slippery from the rain so we were not able to go below the platform and look into the cave. We then took the trail back up to the south opening where you could get down and look through the cave the opposite way. There are many places to explore here along the creek with beautifully shaped limestone. We also visited the Bridge Cave and then walked to Little Huson Lake. We then proceeded back to the campsite to have dinner and visit around the campfire.

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The next morning, we had a communal breakfast with blueberry pancakes, bacon, and devilled eggs. What a great way to start the day and fuel up for the hard hike up to Woss Lookout. From the parking area, we walked up the old logging road that is steep and has many loose rocks to the trailhead. This is a short steep hike with many ropes to help you up and over the rocks and roots. It was definitely a challenge to navigate up and even worse, coming back down due to the slick roots and rocks. At the summit, we enjoyed excellent views from the old restored lookout tower. You’re able to look up five different valleys from the top so you can see why this was such a good place for a fire tower. After descending, we drove back to camp to have another quiet evening by the lake.  (4.4 km, 3 hours, 375 m elevation gain, 35% in incline in the steep section)

Before heading home the next day, we visited the Upper Klaklakama rec site and walked the short nature loop with many fine old growth trees and some unusual trees like Pacific Yew and Amabilis fir.

Les

Thanks to Les, Jim and Norris for the photos

Multi-day Hiking – Woss Area – 8-10 July 2025

Exploring – Two Mines and Some Karst – 4 Dec 2024

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We won’t be doing this outing.  The forest has overwhelmed the sites.  Expect an update.

Activity Exploring
Destination Two Mines and Some Karst Formations
Date 4 December 2024, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info 3710 or dmquigg@gmail.com; please RSVP by Monday night
Description We will visit an old mine off of Open Bay Main, a limestone cave and grikes in the limestone.  We will also stop at the Lucky Jim mine before continuing on to some sinkhole formations.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking to carpool or by arrangement
Departure Time 9:30 am
Difficulty
 Easy.  This will more a visit to multiple sites than a lot of exercise, however the trails will not be maintained
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: Be prepared for wet.  Bring a good flashlight if you have one.

Trip Report – Gold River Area – 15-17 July 2024

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Day 1: There were six of us for the hikes to the Upper and Lower Myra Falls in Strathcona Provincial Park.  We had a beautiful, but very warm day, and enjoyed the drive out along the Upper Campbell and Buttle Lakes.  We started hiking at 11:30 and made our way along the well maintained trail through a mature forest and occasionally large boulders, arriving at the Upper Falls within an hour.  The falls had lots of water pouring through.  We had lunch near the end of the trail and then headed back down.  (7.4 km; 1.5 hours; 220m elevation gain)

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We drove a short way to the Lower Myra Falls parking area.  The hot weather made this a popular and busy destination.  We walked down to the viewpoint and then out to the falls.  While we had seen no one on the Upper Falls trail, there were lots of people here.  These falls are more accessible and very beautiful, but completely different from the upper falls, with a series of smaller cascades and wide open rocks to get close to the water.  We left without swimming.  (1.4 km; 0.75 hours; 60m elevation gain)

Four of us continued on to Gold River and set up camp at three neighbouring sites along the Gold River.  It was lovely, shaded and peaceful.

Day 2:  We had an intentionally leisurely start and some of us explored the trails from the campground along the river in the early morning.  We began hiking around Antler Lake shortly after 10:00 on an even hotter day than Monday.  This well-constructed trail has quite a lot of variety with lake views, boulder fields, quirky trail decorations and truly impressive old growth trees.  We took our time to appreciate all that it had to offer.  (4.3 km; 1.75 hours; 100m)

We had lunch at a picnic area by Antler Lake and then drove out to the Upana Caves stopping at the Cala Creek Falls for the view.  There are fives caves in the Upana Cave system.  The trails between them are quite short.  The maps are very interesting, but not always easy to visualize once you are in the cave.  We visited all the caves, but did not have the enthusiasm for slithering in the mud or getting very wet.  We missed some of the loops in the caves inadvertently. (0.8 km; 1.75 hours)  It was 33° C on the drive back to Gold River and we were happy for our shaded campsites.  There was some exploration to a swimming area on the Gold River in Peppercorn Park, used by locals.

Day 3 – We mostly headed home, but three of us hiked the short walk from the Gold River bridge to the junction with the Heber River and up along the Heber Gorge, which is quite impressive.  The trail is unmaintained, but has a chainlink fence along much of the way where the trail is narrow and exposed.  (2.9 km; 1.25 hours; 85m elevation gain)  On the way home we stopped for photos on the Upper Campbell Lake and for lunch at the Echo Lake Rec Site.

There was at least one new area to explore for everyone that came on this trip.  The weather was photogenic, if hot, and there was great variety with the varied falls, the lakes, beautiful forests and fascinating caves.  There is lots to explore near to us on Vancouver Island.

Debbie

Multi-day Hiking, Camping – Gold River area – 15-17 July 2024

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

Click on photos to enlarge
 

Hiking – Francisco Point at Low Tide – 17 July 2023

Trip Report – Caves near Sayward – 28 June 2023

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Five of us visited two caves in the Memekay area with the help of Bill West-Sells. Our caving trips had been interrupted by COVID and it was good to get back. We started with Chicken II, which is a large cave that used to have a river running through it. We drove further south and stopped for lunch in the shade, followed by a walk up along a series of caves so that Bill could try to reconnect a water pipe after the winter. From there we walked to the entrance of the Scallop Falls cave which is very beautiful and more challenging. This is like walking up a subterranean creek in a narrow slot canyon of marble and limestone. There were some tricky moves to try to stay out of the water and climb up the ascending creek. At the end, there were a few options to slither through narrow passages to emerge above ground, upstream from the cave entrance. All the options were narrow and muddy, but some more so than others. It was fascinating and rewarding and everyone had a good time. We’re so very grateful for Bill’s help and generosity in taking us to these amazing nearby places.

Debbie and Cyndy

Thanks to Norris, Cyndy and Bill for their photos

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Caving – Sayward Area – 28 June 2023

Naturalist Outing – Francisco Point at Low Tide – 17 July 2023

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Activity Intertidal exploration
Destination Francisco Point at low tide
Date 17 July 2023, Monday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg with Deb Cowper
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710.  Please contact the coordinator by Saturday night
Description Deb Cowper, an environmental educator, has graciously offered to accompany us on a low tide walk to identify those creatures we couldn’t figure out in May and perhaps some others.  This will be a walk on cobbled rock, so wear footwear that can get wet and has good traction. No flip-flops, please.  Be prepared for heat and have already had your lunch.  We will explore until about 13:30.
Meeting Place Francisco Point
Departure Time 11:45 to 12:00.  Deb will be coming on the 11:15 ferry
Difficulty There will be little distance covered, but attention needs to be paid to footing.
Costs None
Trip limits 12
Dogs? No
Notes
 Directions to Francisco Point: take Cape Mudge Rd south until it becomes Sutil Rd.  When the road curves to the north, take the right-hand turn onto Petroglyph Rd.  Parking is somewhat limited and car-pooling would be good.

Caving – Sayward Area – 28 June 2023

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Activity Caving
Destination Sayward area caves
Date 28 June 2023, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Cyndy Chidley
Contact Info Cyndy Chidley: 250-285-3575.  Please let the coordinator know as soon as possible if you are interested.
Description We will meet Bill north of Campbell River around 10:00 and drive to the cave area from there.  We will try to car pool.  Challenges may include bridging, climbing, stretching, wriggling, not to mention small, dark, wet places.  Make sure you read the notes below on what to bring.
Meeting Place Q Cove ferry terminal
Departure Time 9:00 ferry to Campbell River.
Difficulty Moderate
Costs Ferry and shared gas
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes:
Bring;
Wear rubber boots, neoprene socks or booties, or wool socks with runners that you don’t mind getting wet.   The water will be cold.
Gloves and coveralls for protection of hands, arms and legs.
A helmet that you are able to fit with head light, and a head light, if you have one.
Lunch and water.
A towel and change of shoes if you get wet.
Walkie-talkie or family radio (FSR), with charged batteries.

Trip Report – Hyacinthe Bay at Low Tide – 8 May 2023

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On a beautiful spring day, eight of us enjoyed exploring Hyacinthe Bay on a 0.5 metre tide which revealed some history and intertidal life.  After arriving at Chauntaluf Farm, we sat on the deck of the Schoolhouse and talked about the history and ecology of the Bay.  About 25 years ago, the Kellerhals family noticed stakes in the stream channel at low tide.  These turned out to be the remnants of Indigenous fish traps which are several hundred years old.  We also talked about the nearly complete loss of eel grass in Hyacinthe Bay in the last 50 years.  This may be the result of a wasting disease, but it has immense consequences for the creatures who used to live there.

We wandered down to the tidal flats and almost immediately found many of the old stakes.  Although we couldn’t always see the pattern of how the trap would have worked, we were impressed with the resilience of the wood.  We found lots of oyster and clam shells, and further out there were sand dollars, mostly dead, but a few still black.  There were also many moon snail egg cases.  At the very edge of the water there was eel grass, some crabs and sea stars.  There was plenty of diversity .  

As the tide began to flood, we climbed ashore and visited a property which had recently been donated to the Regional District.  The cabin is still in quite good condition.  From there we followed a short trail leading back to the Farm.  We took the lovely, wide, grassy Maple Bay Road back to the vehicles.  This was a very easy relaxed day, giving us the time to enjoy the beautiful day and fascinating things on the shore.  (2.7 km; 2 hours)

Thanks so much for the invitation from Heather Kellerhals and all the help from Robyn.

Debbie

Click on photos to enlarge
 

Hiking – Hyacinthe Bay at Low Tide – 8 May 2023

Hike – Karst and Water – 3 Nov 2021

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Activity Hike
Destination Karst and Water
Date 3 Nov 2021, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info 285-3710 or debbie.quigg@ualberta.ca.
Description Visit some of Quadra’s Quatsino limestone formations, an area which contains karst sinkholes, intakes, resurgences, underground streams and a waterfall.   We will visit two areas, with a very short drive on a logging road.  We will not be walking in caves, but there will be some brush.
Meeting Place Intersection of Surge Narrows/ Bold Point Rd and Granite Bay Rd
Departure Time 13:00
Difficulty
 Easy to moderate
Costs none
Trip limits none
Dogs? no
Notes:

Trip Report – Horne Lake Caves – 23 Oct 2019

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Eleven adventurous souls made the 1¼ hour drive down island to Horne Lake Provincial Park. We went on a variation of their guided multi-cave tour.  After the suspension bridge over the Qualicum River and the 1 km walk up the hill, we started on the upper end of Riverbend Cave where we visited the Soda Straw and Bacon Galleries with beautiful caves features (speleothems) and continued as far as the Buddha Room to see the “Buddha” in the reflecting pool.  Main Cave was the second cave where we climbed up a waterfall and slid down a metal slide.  We all managed to avoid “face-plant rock” at the bottom of the slide. The final cave was Lower Cave with beautiful features and tight passageways.  We crouched low as we walked up the stream in the “Birth Canal”, but the “Cheese Grater” was the tightest squeeze. We emerged dirty, somewhat wet and tired, but everyone had a good time.

Matt was our guide and an experienced caver as well as fun and knowledgeable. He explained how the caves were formed by slightly acidic water running through limestone. He also showed us ancient fossils and how calcite crystals are formed.  As we made our way through the caves he talked about how stalagmites (from the ground) and stalactites (from the ceiling) are formed over thousands of years. 4 hours on the tour.

I would highly recommend this Park to anyone. There are a wide variety of things to do for all levels of comfort.

Les

Thanks to Norris and Vic for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Natural History – Horne Lake Caves – 23 Oct 2019