John Dean Park; Pickles Bluff 30/22 weeks

The view from Pickle's Bluff is incomparable.

Here is the thing about summits and peaks; many times they are not the best part of the hike. Indeed, we mostly get to the top of a hill, mountain or monadnock in order to say that we have been there. I can think of a few hikes where the summit was anti-climactic. The summit at Mt. Work is difficult to discern. You could probably start hiking down the other side without even knowing you had just crested the summit. Old Baldy's summit was a barren jumble of sun-fed rocks and we paused only long enough for a couple of pictures. At both of these locations there are look out points before the summit that are much more hike-worthy.
The hike up to the summit of John Dean park and BACK DOWN a secondary trail is the most sterling example of this. The very apex of John Dean park is only note worthy because it is a summit. Sure, there is a look out platform and sure, when you look across the trees you can see a chain of islands and beautiful coast. But you are also sharing the summit with a communication tower and a weather station. It was the destination of our 5th hike and we were all glad to get there. We pretty much ignored the sign for Pickles Bluff; I was curious but the troupe was fatigued and I wasn't sure about the secondary trail. Im glad that we did not explore it that day.
Mark and I made it a destination hike for this outing. From the parking lot we took Thunderbird trail up into the woods. It is a fairly short jaunt through the trees and ends at the joining of the access roads.  You will want to turn left out of the woods but stay on the larger road to the right. This hike will take you up to the communications tower summit and the sign for Pickles Bluff is across the road.
This is a relatively short hike through woodland trail and boardwalks. There are a few sets of sturdy stairs. The entire time I was thinking this cant be right. How can a person get to the summit and then access a lookout by hiking DOWN? It is a steady descent. Pickles Bluff is the bald outcropping of rock seen from East Saanich road about 3/4 of the way up Mt Newton.

Mt.Baker

Looking south toward Victoria. 

This is the giant at the head of Thunderbird Trail.

In all 30 weeks of hiking I have never seen a more beautiful view of this island. This viewpoint has everything. It is a panorama from the Gulf Islands to Victoria.  It is a short hike leaving more time for relaxing and soaking up the view. It is a vigorous hike so we got the heart rate up and its a pretty steep trip back which is good for the hamstrings. We were on Mt. Newton less than an hour but really felt the workout. One draw back; it is a natural outcropping of rock and there is no platform or guard rail. So exercise caution with children or exuberant fellow hikers. A good rule of thumb is to just enjoy the view from well away from the edge. Next time I will bring a map of the Peninsula so that I can be sure of the geography that I am seeing.  We were there at noon and were able to see Cordova Spit due to the low tide.
Another delight about this hike were the dozens of dragonflies. They cruised the rocks in a steady stream. There were so many, I was surprised there were no birds preying on them.
I have been so taken with Pickles Bluff, it will now be a destination hike for visiting friends and family. If you decide to go on one short hike this year based on anything at all that Ive written about on 52weeks, I whole heartedly recommend Pickles Bluff. You will not be sorry that you took the time and effort. I cant wait to visit in the fall to see the display of changing colors.

Pickle's Bluff from East Saanich road.