Category Archives: Quadra Island

Hiking – N Gowlland Hbr Bike Trail Loop – 5 July 2017

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Activity Hiking
Destination North Gowlland Harbour bike trail loop
Date 5 July 2017, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Janis McLean
Contact Info 285-3614; please contact the coordinator in advance of the trip.
Description Carpool to North Gowlland Habour Road trailhead. We will traverse a large loop of mountain bike trails, passing by the old copper mining area on Silk Stocking trail, and returning to the vehicles via trails and old logging roads.
3 hours. Bring lunch or snack.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 easy to moderate
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs? yes
Notes:

 

Hiking – Beech’s Mtn Loop – 14 June 2017

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 Now scheduled for 21 June 2017

Activity Hiking
Destination Beech’s Mountain Loop
Date   21 28 14 June 2017, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Janis McLean
Contact Info 285-3614; please contact the coordinator in advance of the trip.
Description Carpool to Chinese Mountain parking lot. HIke up South Chinese Mountain trail and carry on to Beech’s Mountain summit. From there, we will drop down the far side of Beech’s and follow a route which will bring us to the North Chinese Mountain trail and back to the vehicles.
Time – 3 hours. Bring a lunch or snack.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay store parking lot
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 moderate
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs? yes
Notes:

 

Kayaking – Gowlland Harbour – 4 May 2017

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This trip was previously scheduled for Wednesday, May 3rd

Activity Kayaking
Destination Gowlland Harbour
Date 4 May 2017, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Margot Wood
Contact Info 250-285-2393
Description We will meet, help each other to launch from Gowlland Harbour Resort.
We will kayak the islands to see the beautiful wild flowers. Kayak to May Island for our lunch.  Visiting the islands in Gowlland Harbour.  Returning to the launch area at approximately 2 p.m.
Meeting Place Gowlland Harbour Resort boat launch, 823 Gowlland Harbour Rd.
Departure Time 10:30 (unload and prepare at 10:00)
Difficulty
 easy
Costs none
Trip limits none
Dogs? no
Notes: This trip is dependent on weather.  Bring your ocean kayak, paddle plus safety equipment. Bring your own lunch and water. I will meet you at the launch site at 10:00.  We help each other with kayak launch.
Gowlland Harbour Resort has kindly granted us permission to use their boat launch for this trip. This is not a public access.

Hiking – Morte Lake Loop – 20 April 2017

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Activity Hiking
Destination Morte Lake Loop
Date 20 April 2017, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info Please contact the coordinator at norris.weimer@ualberta.ca or 3710.
Description This is a classic walk through forest and around the Lake.  There are a number of variations depending on the access route used and the possibility of following unofficial trails on the south ridge.
Meeting Place Heriot Bay Tru Value parking lot
Departure Time 10:00
Difficulty moderate
Costs none
Trip limits none
Dogs?
Notes: This trip replaced the cancelled trip to Mt. Washington.  Bring lunch and rain gear.  This trail can be quite wet in places.

Hiking – Hopespring/Homewood Loop – 24 May 2017

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Activity Hiking
Destination Hopespring/Homewood Loop
Date 24 May 2017, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Janis McLean
Contact Info 285-3614; please contact the coordinator in advance of the trip.
Description Begins on Hopespring trail, then south on Heriot Ridge, stopping at the new communications tower and carrying on south to High Bluff. From there we follow east High Bluff trail to Homewood Bluff, then drop off the southwest side of the bluff to follow Gowlland trail back to the west High Bluff trail. Then north across a ridge route to Hopespring trail and back to the vehicles.  About 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Meeting Place Hopespring Trailhead on Hopespring Rd.
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 easy to moderate
Costs none
Trip limits 10
Dogs? yes
Notes: Bring lunch and appropriate gear.

 

Trip Report – Karst Formations – 5 April 2017

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Eleven of us took advantage of a break in the rainy weather to visit some of the Karst features on Quadra Island: sink holes, insurgences, resurgences, caves, and grikes – holes in the limestone surface which connect to the underworld.  Thanks to the recent rains there was plenty of water coming and going.  We also visited a horizontal mine shaft.  We don’t know what they were mining, but they made an impressive tunnel to explore.  Thanks to James and Carley, young geologists, for their interpretation and commentary on what we were viewing.

Norris

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Natural History – Karst Formations – 5 April 2017

Trip Report – Thompson-B&B Trail Loop – 15 Mar 2017

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Six hikers and two dogs, Joe and Luna, enjoyed a three and a half hour hike on a loop which was new to most of the group. The weather was cloudy and mild with no rain. Starting at the Thompson trailhead, we hiked to the first viewpoint and proceeded on a route north down the ridge, dropped off the ridge at the big moss-covered maple tree and continued on a route through the forest to the old B&B trail. We turned up the B&B trail, hiking along the pretty bedrock stream as far as the logging road crossing. The group walked down this road towards North Gowlland Harbour Road. We saw one rough-skinned newt on the road, and more in the water-filled quarry. Not far past the quarry we turned south on a fairly new bike trail leading towards Rousseau Ridge. After climbing the ridge, we took a break to enjoy the view and have lunch. Our return route followed the Gowlland Harbour trail, then the Thompson trail back to the vehicles.

Janis

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Thanks to Stephen for the photos.

Hiking – Thompson & B&B Trails Loop – 15 Mar 2017

Trip Report – Eagle Ridge and Beyond – 8 Mar 2017

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Despite the forecasts for bad weather Wednesday, the weather cleared just long enough for ten of us to do this hike. The sun even made a brief appearance. The slushy snow from Tuesday was still on the ground so the walking was a bit wet and a bit slippery. We hiked passed the wetland and up to the top of the Eagle Ridge trail with great views to the west. We took an alternate route down, using an unlikely easy route through an otherwise impossible and impressive cliff band. Then we switched to the next ridge to the north and followed mossy, open ridges up to a local summit for lunch. Then we gradually descended the ridge to the east to an overgrown logging road, which provided a good way down to the bigger logging road and easy walking for a loop back to the cars. 4.9km; 2¾ hours.

Norris

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Hiking – Eagle Ridge and Beyond – 8 Mar 2017

Trip Report – Maud Island – 25 Feb 2017

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It was a bright sunny day, although a chilly -2 C, as ten of us headed out to Maud Island. We went the lower route to be on time for the maximum tide. We found the tide to be near slack though, as I had read the wrong chart. Sorry. We did enjoy a snack though in bright sunshine and even saw a sea-lion. The return was via Mt. Lolo. We stopped at an open area to have lunch and enjoy the view. The total time was 4 1/2 hours and about 10.5 km.

Les

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Hiking – Maud Island – 25 Feb 2017

Trip Report – Bluffs West of N Gowlland Rd – 22 Feb 2017

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The trip Wednesday was a partly off-trail adventure over some classic Quadra scenery – open moss-covered ridges, with views from along the top of cliffs on those ridges.  Seven of us took advantage of the sunny, almost-Spring day.  From the active quarry on the NW side of North Gowlland Road, we followed the open ridges to the high point near the Little Black Dress mountain bike trail.  From there we opted to do a loop of mountain bike trails including Little Black Dress, Silk Stocking and Back Door.  We descended back to North Gowlland Road on a partially developed trail.  7.6 km; 3¾ hours.

Norris

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Hiking – Bluffs West of N Gowlland Rd – 22 Feb 2017