Category Archives: trip photos

Trip Report – Plumper Bay and Point – 4 Mar 2026

Posted on by
Reply

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
 

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Plumper Bay and Point – 4 Mar 2026

Trip Report – Mt. Menzies Lookout – 23 Feb 2026

Posted on by
Reply

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

(click on photos to enlarge)

Snow – Mt. Washington – 23 Feb 2026

Trip Report – Heriot Ridge Bluffs Loop – 10 Feb 2026

Posted on by
Reply

Four of us had a leisurely ramble on the south Heriot Ridge bluffs on a gentle, partly sunny winter day.  We started at the Hopespring trailhead and climbed to the two principal Heriot Ridge viewpoints, one facing east and one facing west.  We turned off the main trail and made our way to the communication tower, through some salal, wet places and undulating rock.  We used the handy platform as a place to stop for lunch.  We descended the sometimes steep, mossy bluffs until we reached the forest and the trail to the High Bluff.  After enjoying that view and returning to the trail, we found that the trail down to the North Gowlland trail was so wet that it was not appealing, so we climbed back up to the south-facing, open, mossy bluffs for more views.  In places there are paths, but often the route was quite steep up and down.  We rambled west back to the Hopespring trail and returned to the vehicles. (4.1 km, 3.5 hours)

Debbie

Click to enlarge the photos

Hiking – Heriot Ridge Bluffs Loop – 10 Feb 2026

Trip Report – Back Seat Driver-Lower Nugedzi Loop – 15 Jan 2026

Posted on by
Reply
There were eight of us for this exploration of an area which is planned for logging on two sections of cut block 12-148.  This was the first day we had hiked in sunshine for a very long time and we accessed a few locations we had never visited on Club hikes.   We began on the steep ascent up Back Seat Driver, a little used mountain bike trail.  Some of the rocky, mossy bluffs were very steep before it levelled out a bit more through the forest.  We more or less followed an unnamed creek up to an old, disused logging road which we followed to the north until we arrived at the trail to Nugedzi Lakes.  There were some “historic” artifacts along the way.  These first two legs of the hike took us around, but not terribly close to, the southern section of the proposed cut block 12-148.

We stopped for lunch at the bridge across the creek which runs beside the Nugedzi trail and then headed into the second section of the proposed cut block on paths that vary from well used to deer tracks.  This is a lovely area which borders on the unnamed creek where we had stopped for lunch.  The open forest, the moss, and the creek in the dabbled sunlight made an excellent ramble.  The waterfall, with its big-log walk approach, was a highlight.  We continued gradually descending through the forest and along the creek and then followed a very old, moss covered logging road back to the Nugedzi trail.  We closed the loop by walking through the parking lot and along Hyachinthe Bay road back to the vehicles.  (6.2 km, 3¼ hours, 165m elevation gain)

Debbie

Thanks to Carrie, Les and Norris for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Back Seat Driver-Lower Nugedzi Loop – 15 Jan 2026

Trip Report – Morte Lake Loop – 7 Jan 2026

Posted on by
Reply
Nine hikers were eager to head to Morte Lake in the rain.  As we made our way along the classic Morte Lake approach trail, the rain turned to sleet and then to variable snow.  We enjoyed the unusual view from the east beach of Morte Lake with snow falling.  We then went up the switchback trail on the north side of the lake toward the open bluffs, but decided to shorten the trip.  So we turned around and went back to the Lake.  On the return we crossed over to Lower Deadfish and on to the parking lot.  A number of us learned something about the limitations of our rain gear. (7.4 km, 2¼ hours, 180m elevation gain)

Julie

Thanks to Louise and Norris for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Morte Lake Loop – 7Jan2026

Trip Report – Little Black Dress-Silk Stocking Loop – 17 Dec 2025

Posted on by
Reply

Eight brave hikers took a chance on the weather and were rewarded with clear skies and no rain. We hiked the Little Black Dress, Back Door, Silk Stockings loop (counter-clockwise) after many days of heavy rain. The trail was slippery in few sections but nothing unmanageable. The moss was bright green and the bluffs sunny, which provided a wonderful lunch stop. We enjoyed the old copper mining artifacts. Near the end of the loop, we took a side trip to the beaver damn that failed a few years ago but has since been build up again. Unfortunately, there were no sign of any beavers on this trip. (7.3 km which included the beaver damn side trip; 3¼ hours)

Louise

Click on photos to enlarge
 

Hiking – Little Black Dress-Silk Stocking Loop – 17 Dec 2025

Trip Report – Thompson – Hopespring Loop – 10 Dec 2025

Posted on by
Reply

Five of us hiked the loop starting at Thompson trail head and in a counterclockwise direction came out at Hopespring Rd.  It was a short walk on the road back to our vehicles on Thompson Rd. We had steady rain with most sections of trail having running water and large puddles.  We trudged along not stopping for lunch but still enjoying the hike. The Three Sisters (three old growth Douglas Fir) with blackened bark from last major fire on Quadra Island are amazing to see. Another interesting feature was a rock face covered in thick moss and with all the rainfall a waterfall of moisture coming down it. Because of the wet and misty weather we did not go to any of the viewpoints, which there are several on this hike. (5.8 km,180 m, 3 hrs) 

Allan
 
Thanks to Allan and Norris for the photos
 

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Thompson – Hopespring Loop – 10 Dec 2025

Trip Report – Plumper and Deepwater Bays – 3 Dec 2025

Posted on by
Reply

Seven of us hiked the old road to Plumper Bay.  The trail is flat and easy.  We arrived a bit too early for lunch, so we continued on to Deepwater Bay, a short, flagged trail to the gravel beach.  We arrived a bit before high tide so there was only a narrow strip of pebble beach available (at lower tides you can walk the beach a long way).  But there was a nice log to sit on for lunch.  The tide was still rising so we didn’t linger.  We went back to Plumper Bay and toured the meadow and old log dump there, and then we returned to the vehicles, getting back before the rain started.  (7.4 km; 110 m elevation gain, 2¾ hours)

Norris

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Plumper and Deepwater Bays – 3 Dec 2025

Trip Report – Maud Island – 26 Nov 2025

Posted on by
Reply

It wasn’t sure that this trip would happen with heavy rain on the days before and after the scheduled day.  Also five people who wanted to go, weren’t able to come, but fortunately we still had five hikers on a dry day.  Plus a dog that loved sticks.  The recent logging has changed the appearance of the quite long approach on logging roads, but the trail was in better condition than we expected.

We hiked into the forest from the trailhead off of the Q80 logging road system and followed the old, disused roads to the end  where the International Harvester Scout rests.  We chose to hike the loop over the Mt. Lolo bluff, taking our time and care on the wet bluffs.  We had a limited, watercolour view down Discovery Passage from the shoulder  We descended to the small bay on Discovery Passage and then continued along the shore before traversing to the east side.  We checked out the cabin and then crossed the causeway to Maud Island and hiked up to the viewpoint over Seymour Narrows.  It was a very calm, quiet day highlighting the smooth, but complex currents in this difficult passage.

After a late lunch, we hiked back on the low route, stopping briefly at the Saltwater Lagoon, before returning to the vehicles.  (10.6 km, 430 m elevation gain, 4¼ hours)

Debbie

Thanks to Carrie and Norris for the photos.

Click on photos to enlarge
 

Hiking – Maud Island – 26 Nov 2025

Trip Report – Shellaligan Loop – 19 Nov 2025

Posted on by
Reply

There had been no rain for three days so nine hikers, including a new member, and one furry friend, had all of the Shellaligan trail system open to us.  We opted to park at the first lot as the logging road deteriorates further on. We walked down this road, paved with huge fallen broadleaf maple leaves, to reach the beach trailhead. This small corner of Quadra is mixed deciduous though most of northern Quadra is coniferous forest. We took time to enjoy the ocean views from the various bluffs, stopping for lunch where the trail comes down to the beach. The oyster farm is active again, we hailed the two fellows harvesting the farm.  Bird sightings included a large flock of Goldeneyes and a few Grebes.  At the Haiku Corner we enjoyed the written contributions of hikers more inspired than us. This is also the junction with the short or long circuits; two of our hikers opted to go back via the short route.  The rest of the group continued on the long route, which can euphemistically be described as “undulating”, following the creek uphill through the beautiful mixed forest.

Shellaligan trails had been closed earlier in the year due to logging. We encountered the new clear cut near the end of the route.  Logging in this area over the years has made trail-finding on the long route somewhat challenging as old landmarks are erased.  For future hikes on the long route, going counter clockwise…when the forest trail first meets a logging road turn left, and left again at the T junction with the next logging road.  There is a signpost high up in the trees for those going in the clockwise direction. Follow this road uphill and look for the trail marker on the right, follow this trail past the clearcut (as of November 2025) to the logging road. Turn left and it is a short walk back to the first parking lot. (7.5 km, 3¾ hours)

Valerie van Veen

Thanks to Les and Norris for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Shellaligan Loop – 19 Nov 2025