Category Archives: trip photos

Trip Report – Morte Lake & Dead Fish – 18 Jan 2017

Posted on by
Reply

The trip to Salmon Point was postponed due to rain, wind and fog on Wednesday morning. Having rained more than 50mm in the last two days, it was really wet out. However, five hardy souls decided to substitute a more sheltered walk and headed out. We walked to the eastern beach at Morte Lake. The trail was quite wet and has seen some erosion with the winter rains. All of the creeks and waterfalls were very active. The group was keen to continue so we walked around the east end of the Lake, hiking up Nirvana and Seven Deadly Sins to the open bluff. We had a watercolour view from there of nearby hills and Discovery Passage before heading down Dead Fish to make a loop returning to the vehicles. This is a lovely walk through open forest, including lakes, creeks and views. The rain diminished and there was a bit of blue sky by the time we finished. 7.3 km; 2½ hours.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

 

 

Trip Report – Haskin’s Farm Loop – 11 Jan 2017

Posted on by
Reply

 

We had a beautiful, sunny, cold day for this hike to Haskin’s Farm. We had planned for a simple walk due to snow and ice on trails and roads. However, conditions near sea level were quite good. Seven of us improvised a bit on the plan. We started on the logging road which parallels the Haskin’s Farm Trail, making a nice alley through impressive trees, but skipping the farm. We visited the short Todd’s Loop Trail (a memorial to Todd Scharf), passing through a varied forest, and then continued on to the shoreline viewpoint. Everyone admired the view of Sutil Channel and mainland mountains, soaked up sunshine and warmth before continuing on the unofficial trail heading north along the shore to some excellent old growth Fir. We skirted the private homes and walked up to the golf course for some walking in open spaces with sunshine. 6.4 km; 2 hours.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

Hiking – Haskin’s Farm Loop – 11 Jan 2017

Trip Report – Mt Washington – 4 Jan 2017

Posted on by
Reply

We had a perfect winter day for our trip to the Mt. Washington area. It was cold and clear, but warmer on the hill than on Quadra. The ferry crossing was beautiful and there were Orca for added entertainment. We snowshoed from Rampart Hill and arrived early enough that it was not too busy. The 10 of us started up the logging road, taking the route climbing up to the views of the Strait of Georgia and mainland mountains. The scenery was awesome and we’re pretty sure that we could see Mt. Baker faintly to the southeast. The snow had been beautifully sculpted in places, but was mostly very light and powdery still. We gradually worked our way toward Rampart Creek, stopping for lunch in the open sunshine before climbing up to a distinctive steep bluff. We then downclimbed a steep slope with small trees and returned to the logging road to take us back to the vehicles. We passed only a few others on snowshoes and some of them were from Quadra. Altogether a beautiful day. 6.0 km ; 3½ hours.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

Snow – Mt Washington 4 Jan 2017

Trip Report – Granite Bay Rd Jct – 30 Dec 2016

Posted on by
Reply

Ten enthusiastic hikers set out on a beautiful winter day. We walked two short loops, a bit like a figure of eight. We started on the trail along Open Bay Creek where there was quite a bit of snow and many puddles, but great views of the creek in a fairly open forest. We followed the flagged route up to the second logging road and returned to the vehicles. We then started down icy Open Bay Main, turning up the second mountain bike trail and following that up a fairly steep trail to the Granite Bay Rd. We had lunch at the logging road leading to the recently harvested cut block and then took the Crikey Creek mountain bike trail back to Open Bay Main. We enjoyed the sunshine, each other and the great variety in this small area.  6km; 2¼ hours.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

Hike – Granite Bay Rd Jct – 30 Dec 2016

Trip Report – Mt Washington – 6 Dec 2016

Posted on by
Reply

The weather was absolutely fabulous for our first snowshoeing trip of the year. Even the ferry ride was beautiful. The four of us snowshoed from Rampart Hill, following broken trail on the old logging roads and untracked slopes on the open and sunny bluffs. We had light, dry snow on top of very compact snow, so the conditions were good. The views of mainland and Vancouver Island mountains were wonderful.

We worked our way south, stopping for lunch with a Whiskey Jack, dropping down into the steep gully and returning in a loop to the parked car. Although the trail was quiet, it was very busy at Rampart Hill chain-up area, with people snowshoeing, snowmobiling, children sledding, and an enthusiastic husky team pulling a sled. 5.2 km; 2¾ hours.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

Snow – Mt Washington 7 Dec 2016

Trip Report – Heriot Ridge Route – 30 Nov 2016

Posted on by
Reply

Six hikers and Luna dog enjoyed a two and a half hour hike on one of our best weather days this fall.  The trip was delayed until the afternoon to let the rain subside and sky to clear.  Starting at the Thompson trailhead, we hiked Thompson Trail to the Heriot Ridge Trail, following it south along the bluffs.  Facing the sun, hikers got a good dose of much-needed Vitamin D.  Slippery rock was negotiated with care, and a few puddles were skirted around.  We stopped near the Hopespring Trail viewpoint for a breather and admired the views to the west, north and south.   A cold wind blowing from the northwest by then kept us moving on.  At the Hopespring Trail junction we turned west for a short distance on the Hopespring Trail, then onto a route south along an extension of the main ridge to Homewood’s High Bluff Trail.   A short climb took us to the top of High Bluff for a rest, snack and view after bundling up against the wind.  We retraced our route north along the ridge at a different bluff level, then had a pleasant downhill walk to Hopespring Road and back to the vehicles.  The glorious sunshine, at times warming us in sheltered areas, was the highlight of trip.

Janis

(click on photos to view larger)

Hiking – Heriot Ridge Route – 30 Nov 2016

Trip Report – Coppermine and Deepwater Bay – 23 Nov 2016

Posted on by
Reply

Seven of us hiked from Deepwater Main to the old copper-mine. There was water on the old road but not as much as expected considering the heavy rains Quadra has been experiencing. It is only about 1.5 km to the mine but the road is steep. The main shaft entrance has fallen in but there is a good view from the side shaft.

We then returned to the Deepwater Main and hiked down it to Deepwater Bay. The creek was running high and the two waterfalls were beautiful. We encountered our only shower of the day on the way down. At the beach we could not believe our good fortune as we ate our lunch in the sunshine before we returned to the vehicles. The whole trip was about 7 km with 335 vertical meters up and down in about 3 hours.

Les

(click on photos to view larger)

Hiking – Coppermine and Deepwater Bay – 23 Nov 2016

Trip Report – Bike Loop from WalCan Rd – 16 Nov 2016

Posted on by
Reply

Seven of us started from the parking area where the WalCan Rd crosses Hyacinthe Creek at the end of Reed Lake. We followed Janis up Straight as a Dime in very light rain and low cloud, and continued until we joined Silk Stocking.  At the end of Silk Stocking we walked down the logging road to Bite the Bullet. We crossed the bridge and took Lady Lumps to Cash Only, and then Rick’s Ride to Yellow Mud, stopping at the beaver dam. This is a very lovely loop. There are great mossy bluffs, historical open copper mines with some old mining artifacts, open forest, and wet lands, complete with ducks. 10.9 km; 4 hours.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

Hiking – Bike Loop from WalCan Rd – 16 Nov 2016

Trip Report – Karst Formations – 12 Nov 2016

Posted on by
Reply

After yet another night of heavy rain, the weather improved and four of us went on an impromptu walk in the afternoon to see the karst features off the Granite Bay Rd.   We followed a sketchy route along the sinkholes, climbing down into the depressions and exploring the insurgences and resurgences.  There wasn’t as much water flowing as we had hoped, but we enjoyed the water disappearing and reappearing in the Quatsino limestone.  We then walked over to the falls into the really big sinkhole off of North Mtn Hookup. About 2 hours.  On the drive back we stopped to see the Chum spawning in Haycinthe Creek.  Though many were dead, some were still fighting their way upstream.

Debbie

(click on photos to view larger)

Naturalist – Karst Formations – 12 Nov 2016

Trip Report – Morte Lake-Mud Lake Loop – 9 Nov 2016

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday was a beautiful, sunny morning and a great day for a hike.  Six of us  and a dog hiked from the WalCan Rd over to the southeast corner of Morte Lake on the new South Bluff mountain bike trail.  After a steep climb, this joins the hiking trail over lovely, mossy bluffs.  We descended to Morte Lake and took the side trip to the viewpoint.  The Lake was beautiful and Luna swam.  We walked the old logging road to the “tripod” and then decided to extend the hike by taking Ridge Trail to join the path along Reed and Mud Lake back to the vehicles.   6.5 km, 2¼ hours.

Norris

(click on photos to view larger)

Hike – Morte Lake-Mud Lake Loop – 9 Nov 2016