Eight hikers left from the end of Hope Spring Road on a cloudy fall day that later turned to beautiful sunshine. As we travelled up the trail to the Heriot Ridge fork we passed by the two large rock walls that always have such lovely multicoloured green moss on them. We stopped at the bench on the ridge trail to admire the views and also shed one layer after coming up the hill. The many rock bluffs on the Heriot Ridge Trail were quite dry, which made the hike that much more enjoyable as they can be quite slick sometimes. When we got to the Thompson Trail, we turned left and couldn’t help but notice how much more this trail is used. After crossing the two small creeks that were nearly dry, we turned to head for Rousseau Ridge on Gowland Trail. The high bluff was dry, so we stopped and had lunch in the warm sunshine while enjoying the view of the many Vancouver Island peaks in the far distance.
After lunch, we returned via Gowland Trail and continued on to the small valley with the old growth trees in it. We were able to take a group photo there that shows just how big these old growth trees are. Continuing on, we passed the Three Sisters that are some of the biggest old growth on Quadra Island. From here we continued on down the trail, went up and over the Hope Spring ridge, and back to the vehicles. (7.8 km; 3¾ hours, about 300m elevation)

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Hiking – Rousseau Ridge – 21 Oct 2026

On a cool, overcast morning, seven hikers headed out to view the max current at Maud Island. There was an exceptional amount of long moss hanging in the trees over the trail down near the old truck. We decided to go over Mount Lolo for extra views. There has been quite a bit of work done on the Lolo section and part of it rerouted. There are some exceptional views from the ledges on this route, but one needs to be careful especially if you go over it in the snow. After a quick break, we went on down to Maud Island and even though the max was only 8 knots there was plenty of current and whirlpools. There were sea lions feeding in the current and bald eagles feeding on the leftovers. After lunch, we hiked back to the vehicles via the lower route. On this there have been some exceptionally big danger trees cut down. 8 Km and 3 1/2 hr.

Les

Thanks to Les, Louise and Norris for the photos.

Hiking – Maud Island – 15 Oct 2026

This hike had been postponed for better weather and we were rewarded with a beautiful, warm day for this short walk with great views. Four of us started from Kolker Main and walked up an old logging spur.  After pushing through a bit of brush we walked the short distance on open bluffs to Heron Point for our first viewpoint extending from Hyacinthe Bay to the Chinese Mountains.  We followed the path into Chauntaluf farm and continued on their roads and trails up to the Mt. Sweat access.  We climbed steeply up to the first bluff and followed the cairns over the undulating bluffs and up to the Mt. Sweat viewpoint for lunch.  On this day, Mt. Sweat seemed aptly named as the climb was quite warm. We cooled down taking in the 180° views of Quadra and the Salish Sea, with the mainland and Vancouver Island mountains.  We descended to the north, following flagging back to Kolker Main and from there to the vehicles.  Thanks to Heather Kellerhals for letting the Outdoor Club use the Chauntaluf farm trails to make this loop.  3.7 km, 3 hours, 180m ascent.

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Hiking – Heron Point and Mt. Sweat – 13 Sept 2026

Debbie

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Hiking – Morte Lake Classic Loop – 16July2026

Well, the day didn’t go as planned as the weather was uncooperative. Five hikers met up, but we were trying to second-guess the rain that had already started. Two decided not to go, but the other three had hopes that the rain would only be temporary. As it turned out, it rained during the whole trip sometimes heavy, sometimes light. On the bright side, it was quite mild and even though we got very wet, we stayed warm due to the long uphill climb to Nugedzi Lake. The rain did add a whole different feel to the trip as your view was confined to a much shorter distance, and you were very aware of your close surroundings. The moss and vegetation seemed considerably greener. As we neared the lake the temperature dropped a bit, and the fog settled in. This changed the whole feeling of your surroundings again and was actually quite eerie but beautiful as you can see in the pictures that were taken.

At this point, we decided not to go out to the viewpoint as you wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway. Instead, we headed back down the trail toward the Cedar Grove Canyon. There we took a connector trail back to the trail going up to Mt. Seymour, which is quite steep in some areas. This is a newer flagged trail that goes through some magnificent large trees and open mossy landscape. Back on the Seymour Trail, it was downhill all the way to the vehicles. (7 km, 320m ascent and 3 hours)

Les

Thanks to Les and Norris for the photos

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