Cowichan River Footpath 17/35 weeks

 This week represented my last free Saturday before the beginning of Moss St. Market. For those of you who don't live on this part of the island Moss St. Market is the hippest organic farmers market in Victoria. I co-host a booth for chair massage and absolutely love it. So, I will be there as many Saturdays as I can this season. If you go, pop in to see me and let me know that you have seen the blog. I might just be excited enough to give you a deal on a great massage.

This picture of sleepy Lake Cowichan as seen through the opening on a rusty foot bridge.

Mark and I used this weekend to head up Island to a hiking place that we wouldn't normally be able to visit on a Sunday. Lake Cowichan is a village at the base of Cowichan Lake and almost the mouth of the Cowichan River. It is almost 2 hours from our house so we drove up Friday night, stayed over and spent Saturday exploring the area.
We are completely enchanted by the area. One of the first things we noticed, besides the surrounding mountains, was how mossy the trees are. It gives a distinct clue that you have entered the rain forest. When I ventured out that rainy Saturday morning for coffee the lady who served me laughed about the weather and told me, "This is the rain forest...we never check the forecast. Why bother?" So, if you plan to visit pack your rain gear because I can almost guarantee that it will be raining part of the time. Our Saturday dawned rainy but the skies cleared up after 10 am and we had only light sprinkles after that. The trees hold an incredible amount of moisture so every time I brushed up against something my jacket got soaked; not enough to dampen our spirits though.

Cowichan River

So, this is where Mother Nature keeps her Q-tips.

A calm bend in the river. This illustrates the elevation of the footpath in places.

We began our trip along an old reclaimed railway system that was built for narrow gauge trains to run timber out of the dense forests. As such, it is a level trail suitable for walking or biking and in some places horses are allowed. It was never our intention to hike the extent of the footpath on this visit because it is quite long for a day trip at 20km. We ended up spending most of our time at the Cowichan River  provincial park and it was here that we hiked the loop from Skutz Falls to the trestle bridge and back along the river. Mark and I were never out of sight of the river and always keenly aware of its beauty and danger.
We had to remind ourselves not to think about the time our kids came tubing on this river. They were yelled at to get off the water by an extreme sports show film crew. Apparently, the water was simply too dangerous for extreme sport lovers but my kids tried to meander down the river anyway. It is one of those parent moments that make you thankful your kids dont tell you everything!

The path that wound alongside the river was narrow but well kept.

Rocks playing hide and seek.

You can hear the falls from quite a distance.

 Many hikers treat the Cowichan River Footpath like a small West Coast Trail by coming on at the trailhead and camping along the way.  This is allegedly a fisher's dream but we didn't cross paths with any anglers. I suppose in the summer there are many trying for trout and even salmon at certain times. We only met people at the trail heads. Once we were on the trail itself we saw no one. It was a relaxing hike and one I would be excited to go on again. Perhaps this summer we will plan an overniter again and hit the trail early; with rain gear.

We hiked into a clearing and stumbled onto this beautiful group camp site.

This was taken at a very low spot on the trail. Most places soared above the river on steep embankments.

Next week: Logan Park

Mackenzie Bight 16/36 weeks

This is our second hike to Mackenzie Bight. Time constraints forced us to consider something very local this week and it doesn't get more local than the Gowlland Tod range. Our last few outings have been pretty easy so we headed back to the bight for a vigorous hike.We decided to take the falls trail down and the bight trail back up; the opposite of our last visit here.We might have come to an unspoken decision that this will be our 'default' hike. Its close, varied and if you hiked this park until you could walk to the top without running out of steam, you would be in pretty good shape.

We were all SO happy to be outside.

yes, this park does inspire a certain amount of respect.

Once we discovered that we had taken the Mackenzie Bight trail down again, we tried the bottom trail that heads north along the inlet. The CRD maps show the trail as ending at the boundary of the park. It is a beautiful hike and we took it to the end which was a small bluff of trail and a deer path running into the thicket. It would appear that a person could walk this path all the way to Butchart Gardens and beyond. We will save that for another day when we are needing a workout.
I cant say enough about how pleasant this park is. I realize that is a far cry from my last experience of Mackenzie Bight but it is a matter of experience. If you know this is a 'breathtaking' hike up from the bottom then you prepare yourself. And in the mean time enjoy a pristine environment with pathways that can take you right down to the water and stunning views of the Malahat mountain and highway. Still the only hard road linking Victoria to the upper island it was once a rough trade route for the First Nations people who gave it their name.

The path running north along the shoreline makes for easy walking.

The park drops down to the water so in some places the ascent can get your heart rate up.

Jessica at the waters edge.

Marlen in a magnificent arbutus

The girls are examining the patterns left on leaves by parasites.

The Malahat lies just across the water.

Next week will be our first double header. One of the objectives of the 52 week committment is to get out and enjoy the island more. Mark and I will be heading up to Cowichan River to hike the footpath to Skutz Falls. Sunday morning we will hike Logan Park.

Viaduct Flats 15/37 weeks

Marlen, Mark, Rae, Andrea, Alisa and me.

It would appear as though Vancouver Islanders enjoy their dual purpose hiking trails. This is our 15th hike of the year and now the third trail which turns into a completely different hiking experience about half way through. Im sure there have been many others, but the ones that come to mind are Durrance Lake and Island View Beach.
Viaduct Flats is part of the larger Pacific Horticulture college and lies between Interurban St and the back of Glendale Gardens. It is a beautiful setting and one of the best places to birdwatch on this part of the peninsula. There is a sturdy raised platform with local bird information as well as a powerful telescope in case you forgot your binoculars. It is not easy to get online information about Viaduct Flats so I havent found a map of the trails that I could consult. Also, the trail maps in the park itself are faded and difficult to read.

We ventured off on the obvious trail headed due south along Interurban.

As part of the old Vantreight Farms, there are still daffodils in abundance. Glendale Gardens is in the background.

It is easy to get off track on this trail. It heads south to the Technology Park and Camosun College campus. We stayed on trail past the Park road and turned at the ball diamond. We followed the natural curve around the building and back to the roadway. At this point we veered back onto a trail that looked more like a horse path than a walking trail. It was narrow and muddy but twisted along through thick forest, giving us something to see no matter which way we looked. We eventually ended up back on the grassland path and that brought us back to the marsh. There is no loop around the marsh in this park, just up to the college and back on the other side of the field. I suppose that is one of the features that makes it such a great bird habitat. Hikers can never get close to the water.

Look at the tallest tree sticking up from the woods on the right. At the treeline there is an eagle's nest.

Here is what I saw when I zoomed in for a closer look.

I didnt realize the egret was on the shoreline until later.

Next week: Logan Park

Island View Beach 14/38 weeks

We ARE having a good time, really. Its just hard to smile into the wind.

It has been a long time since we have experienced a windstorm like the one that hit the island and lower mainland early this weekend. It had pretty much blown itself out by the day of our 14th hike but it was still interesting to be on the water. Island View park is a strip of beach and marshland that runs along Haro Strait in Central Saanich. The island that can be viewed from here is James Island, hugged by Sidney Island. A friend told me that this little island is allegedly owned by Bill Gates. With no confidence in my research skills to uncover that paper trail, I will just admit that it is a rumour. It is a beautiful island to look at regardless of its ownership.

Our own version of the white cliffs of Dover; James Island

We took the recommended hike north along the beach and back through the dunes. It was a fairly windy morning and the kite surfers were showing up for the day. I asked one about his methods for controlling the kite in such strong wind and he told me the size of the kite varies for the wind speed. On a day like Sunday they were bringing the smaller sails. I had to admire them. The guy in the picture reached a top speed that would have been scary in a boat, much less skimming the water on a small board.

I meant to take more photos of these brave individuals.

The park sign states that these logs are to remain in place to help preserve the shoreline.

All of the beach walkers were entertained by this
dog's insistence that his stick was just the right size.

Recognize the name 'Douglas'? On a previous week we climbed to the top of the erroneously named Mt.Douglas. It was named for this same, very busy forefather of BC.
We walked north on the beach and turned inland to the trail that would lead us back to the parking lot. It was difficult to tell where the First Nation's property actually was but we figured that we might be on the wrong trail for only a moment. The best course of action is to conduct yourself respectfully at CRD parks as well as on First Nation's land. If your intention is to not harm and to experience the beauty of an area without leaving an impression of yourself then I think we might be forgiven for stepping off course.

It seems like two very different hikes; the shoreline and the trail back.
I was happy to hike Island View Beach and especially on such a dynamic day. This is a park that our friend Jessica goes to a few times a week and I really missed sharing that with her. Hopefully she will be able to join us again soon.
Im looking forward to hiking Island View in the evening. Sunday was a gorgeous day and a welcome relief from the endless wind of the previous two days. It would be good to look out at the water with the sun behind. We were at the park for a very relaxing two hours and heres hoping everyone slept as well as I did that night.