Mackenzie Bight 8/44 weeks

Another gorgeous day on the south end of Vancouver Island for our eighth hike. On this outing we were joined by Marlen and Jeremy as well as Alisa, Bernie and Kaiko. Mark has been endorsing Mackenzie Bight for a couple of weeks now. I have been reluctant because I figured that if you take people on a challenging hike before they are ready for it they will lose enthusiasm. Maybe next week they will look back on the difficult hike and talk themselves out of going again. My reluctance turned out to be more self protecting than I thought. Yes. It was me that I was ultimately worried about and rightly so but more on that later.
Mackenzie Bight is a challenging hike in a beautiful portion of the greater Gowlland Tod provincial park. I had to reference the word 'bight' in Webster's dictionary. For our purposes it is defined as a curve in a coast as well as the bay formed by such a curve. It also means the slack part in a piece of rope just in case you were casting about for the perfect word there. We will stick to the definition of the gorgeous curve/bay that we visited Sunday.We strolled down the wide path that is the Mackenzie Bight trail and climbed back up the Cascade Trail.
Looking at the larger section of this map, our house is just below Butchart Gardens. The symbol of the picnic table is the north end of this park where we had our first hike of the year. Its exciting to find such a huge park so close to our house. We could visit this place a number of times in our 52week challenge and never visit the same trail. Mackenzie Bight is a great part of the park and a wonderful place to hang out. Our trail dropped straight down to the water at Saanich Inlet. Pease Creek joining the Inlet is one of the most magnificent sights in the area. On a day such as this, the larger Inlet was drenched in sunlight but the end of the trail was still in the shade of the towering forest. It was almost like coming to the mouth of an enormous green cave.

The mouth of Pease Creek.

We were in the park for approximately two hours. There was at least a half hour break when we all gathered near the waters edge for qi gong; Marlen led us through a few brocades and then shared with us the healing sounds that he has been practicing. I learned that there is nothing like trying to match a healthier person's breaths to illustrate just how shallow my own lung health is. Duly noted as something that needs a bit of work.

We have been advised to hike a few places on the island that are more challenging than this park so I will need to work up to them. Im not sure whether it would have made much of a difference to have turned around and headed back up the Mackenzie Bight Trail, but the Cascade Trail was steep and rugged. There were wooden steps put into the side of the hill and, although these didn't feel so steep that the knees suffered, by the time I reached the top I felt like vomiting. At one point, about halfway up the trail I draped myself pathetically across the wooden fence to try to catch my breath. As I was whining out loud about the idiot that chose this particular trail, an extremely fit woman power walked passed me at an alarming speed putting my public display of exhaustion to shame. It occurred to me that a person could skip the gym fees and just hike the one hour loop in this park three days a week for optimum fitness.

Mi Ler Buddha

I love these shots...like a 60's album cover.

Our happy trail boys; Mark, Marlen and Jeremy.

the cascade

Don't take my word for it though. My inability to easily hike a challenging trail is the remnant of a misspent youth and I was the only person who felt this way at the end of the hike. Having said that I have to add that there is nothing so gratifying as the mid-hike belief that you cant go any further, and then getting to the end of the hike. Im sure I felt much more accomplished than my hiking partners who found this trail less challenging than I did.

A good motto to end this hike on...

Next week: Durrance Lake

Centennial Park 7/45 weeks

L to R:Hillary, Jessica w/Keera, Mark w/Mowgli and me

Happy Valentine's Day. Our cheerful gift from the universe was absolutely gorgeous weather for our seventh outing. We decided to go to Centennial Park because it is local and a pretty easy hike. Our crowd of four worked out perfectly today. The trails are twisty and intimate so four people walking together felt just right. This little park has something for everyone; sports fields, playground, skate park, picnic shelters, concessions and campgrounds as well as beautifully maintained trails throughout. The trails are wide and level making this the perfect location for those with mobility issues. It feels good that our community supports programs inclusive to all. I like the idea of hiking a rugged park and then switching to a place that is more accessible to others. Trails such as these are also easy on the knees of people who have made resolutions to hike every week. Speaking of hiking every week...good job to Hillary and Jessica who have accompanied us on the most hikes. I'll have to think of a prize if they keep that up! Although, hiking is its own reward.

What makes this park a jewel in the crown of Central Saanich is its variety. Its nice to know that a family could completely rely on this local gem as a place of recreation for a child's entire life. I got lost in thought regarding the playground with all of its structures for small children sitting right next to the RV campground where a pair of visiting grandparents could relax for a weekend. That is, if they get their reservations in on time. The campground fills almost every weekend of the summer.The beauty of this park is the proof that you dont have to drive very far to find a place that captures the essence of British Columbia.
Beauty, nature, inclusiveness, community, green attitudes. I could go on but you should just get out and experience it for yourself. I know there are beautiful spaces to stretch your legs all over the world. Find them and enjoy a good hike then tell me about it. I want to know where you are hiking in 2010.

Here I am posing for my sister Katy who promised to keep a lookout for me and my hiking boots.

Graham Creek

The absolute straightest split rail fence I have ever seen.

Is it time to go hiking yet?

Next week: Mackenzie Bight

Horth Hill Park 6/46 weeks

Our hiking Sunday dawned misty and damp. By the time we were ready to go it was a real rainfall. The commitment to 52 hikes in 52 weeks spurned us on. As beautiful as it is here, we cant expect perfect weather every weekend. We will adjust ourselves and prepare for the worse this part of the island can give us. Today called for rain gear. Big deal.

Once into the park and on the trails, the forest provides enough canopy to keep hikers relatively dry. Horth Hill is an awesome little park with plenty of trails as well as a 136 meter summit. The summit trail was a short but intense climb so we got our blood pumping on the way. We were promised beautiful views at the top and Im sure they are spectacular but today was rainy and overcast. Although you trade off an opportunity to experience a wonderful view, a rainy day is a good time to hike because the forest takes on a hushed and closed in air. A hike on a day of clouds and mist gives the entire park a feeling of intimacy.

Today Mark and I were joined by our daughter Hillary, and friends Marlen and Jeremy. Always good company we hiked along and discussed forest vegetation, the recent blow down and whether or not Lady Gaga is a hermaphrodite. If anyone can weigh in on this last point we would appreciate it. None of us were able to comment with absolute certainty.

Because Horth Hill is a relatively small park it is well marked and easy to find the trails. At 36 hectares it is the smallest park that we have hiked on our 52 week quest. We were there less than an hour but felt as if we had finished a good hike. Jeremy is a wiz at locating this forest beauty, the reishi mushroom. He doesnt know it yet, but he will one day find himself heading a hike aimed toward the mindful harvesting of this amazing and restorative fungi.

On a day such as today, Horth Hill parking lot was filled. We didnt run into a lot of those using the park but it illustrates that this park is a favorite for many. It also proves that lots of people can be attending a park and not feel on top of one another. This is a great little park with lots to offer. Take care to wear shoes with good traction though, because a lot of the trail winds around and on top of rock and can be quite slippery.

It is a bit out of the way in North Saanich but that adds to the feeling that you are out in the country and no trouble for those living in Sidney and around. The transit bus can get people within a kilometer of the park and even the roadways are a beautiful trek.

Next week: Centennial Park

John Dean Provincial Park 5/47 weeks

John Dean Park is closed to traffic from Nov. to Mar. but the multiple trails are accessible. At the advice of a new friend we climbed the road and took the first trail to the left.
Barrett Montfort trail winds along nicely between the park road and the neighbourhood below.
There were 2 new hikers joining us this weekend along with our regular crew. It was lucky for us that Gail came along because I think she has a wealth of information about local parks and hiking trails. I was delighted to also meet Jeremy. What a surprise to encounter a backyard botanist with a special place in his heart for mushrooms. It was like having our own CRD naturalist along. We are definately going to let him plan a special hike with an eye toward learning as much as we can about a variety of fungi, medicinal and edible.

We hiked along to the Thompson Cabin Site trail which was really a cut through the middle of the park. On this trail we passed beautiful heritage trees and the site of the original Thompson cabin. John Dean donated this land back in the 1920's. There are actually five separate plant communities being sheltered in this beautiful park that borders the Pauquachin First Nations Reserve. It is an opportunity to be in a forest that has been protected for 90 years. I must admit that I didnt even know there was a Mount Newton, other than the road in Central Saanich, of course. John Dean park is just at the top of it and some of the views are magnificent. I wished I had known that Pickles Lookout was so close to us at the summit before we headed back down to the main road. Another reason to print and carry a map.
Our best guess is that we were in the park for about 2 hours. We will definately visit John Dean again with an entire day to spend. We didnt even begin to explore the variety of beauty this park has to offer. All the trails were well marked to correspond to the park map. This seems like a small thing until you are deep into a park and the wrong, unmarked turn could mean you end up at Thetis Lake. But that was another story.  I think one of the reasons this park is so accessible, well marked and well maintained is due to the Friends of John Dean Provincial Park Society. I may just join.

Jessica, who has been on three of our hikes along with her regular workout routine, told me that she already noticed a difference on the weekly hikes. This was by far our longest and most strenuous hike and we both felt strong and energized. I hope everyone else did too. I can especially feel the increase in my lung health. I still pant my way up an incline but I feel as if my lungs are responding to the fresh air more each time. Five weeks of hikes and changes are already being felt. We cant help but be grateful that we live in such a beautiful place with so many enchanting parks at out fingertips. Victoria has one acre of parkland for each 20 residents making it one of the highest people to park ratios in North America with 48 local parks. For our yearly quest, we need only 4 additional hikes. It will be as easy as a trip up island.

I snapped this picture of our bunch as I was setting up a group shot. Getting the camera ready I heard them all laughing and took it with no warning. I think it shows a happy, relaxed bunch. All fresh air-ed up.

Next week: Horth Hill