Blog Posts - Glacier PROBUS Club in the Comox Valley

Birding Group - February 28th

3/1/2023

A lovely day to be birding. Due to the uncertainty of snow levels outside of town, we decided to head to our old standby...the Courtenay Airpark... to soak up the sun while checking on what birds were also enjoying the day. As Kim will attest, some were getting downright frisky! Note the sequence of a Bald Eagle mating which she observed after our main walk around the loop. In all, we had a species count of 21, including an interesting sighting of a hybrid Canada/Domestic Goose (best guess) that has taken up residence around the Airpark the past while. Species observed: Ring-billed Gull, Bufflehead, Mallard, Canada Goose, Canada-Domestic Goose, Snow Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Common Goldeneye, American Crow, Brewer's Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, European Starling, Rock Pigeon, Bald Eagle, Spotted Towhee, Golden-crowned Sparrow and Anna's Hummingbird.

Photos by Kim DeL. and Dawn M.

Regular Walking: Tuesday February 28th/23

3/1/2023

Another beautiful sunny day for a walk! After the walk at the Airpark, socializing was enjoyed by all at Bean Around the World. Thanks to Cheryl and Dawn for the photos.

Snowshoeing Group - February 27

2/27/2023

We had a snowy start to our loop around Ramparts. We mostly followed packed trails, but added a few cross country diversions across untracked snow for fun. By lunch time the snow had stopped and the glimpses of ocean and mountains through the breaks in the clouds were more exciting than usual, after the poor visibility earlier.
Photos by Lindsay, Lori and Bill

Live Music Appreciation Group - February 24

2/25/2023

We had our first evening of dining and dancing since before COVID at the Griffin Pub. Las Divas, AKA The Brice Tabish Band kept the dance floor busy with their high energy sets of cover tunes and a couple of original songs.
Photos by Lindsay and Bill.

Snowshoeing Group - February 24

2/24/2023

Sometimes it's like a mass migration. Sometimes it's a selfie sized group. Always it's a wonderful combination of companionship and exercise in the great outdoors. Conditions were perfect for our loop around Lake Helen Mackenzie and Battleship Lake. About 10 centimeters of powder snow covered a crust that supported our weight quite well. In the sun, with occasional light wind we were comfortable and shedding layers early on.
Photos by Bill & Mary

Regular Walking: Tuesday Feb. 21/23

2/22/2023

What a day for a walk before the Arctic blast is upon us! From Noel Ave. through Brooklyn Creek, Mac Laing Park, the beach to the alpaca farm, Nob Hill and the streets to the Summer Greenway, MacDonald Wood and back through Brooklyn Creek was our walk. Sunshine and good spirits! Laughs and good conversation was at Benino's afterwards. Photo credit: Karen and Cheryl

Hiking Group - February 19th

2/20/2023

Dawn led a merry crew around the mountain bike trails south of Nile Creek. There was lots of conversation around the easy 10 kilometer loop.
Photos by the Bills. Click here to see the rest of Bill Jorgensen's pictures of this trip.

Snowshoeing Group - February 17th

2/20/2023

It was a perfect day for our Great Big View and Finger Glades loop. With sunny skies the views were indeed great and big. About 6 centimeters of fresh snow the night before left a pristine landscape with only animal tracks interrupting the white blanket.
Photos by Lori, Darrell and Bill.

Snowshoeing Group - February 13th

2/20/2023

Our Rossiter's Rise loop includes one big hill early on to get our hearts pounding. The rest of the 5 kilometer route covers a variety of terrain along Crooked Creek and parts of Tree Beard and Old Cabin resort trails.
Photos by Cheryl and the Bills. Click here to see the rest of Bill Jorgensen's pictures of this trip.

Birding Group - February 14th

2/15/2023

On a sparkly Valentine's Day, a few birders found themselves at the Little River Nature Sanctuary, eager to enjoy the sun and willing to ignore the cold breezes. We made our usual loop around the area and managed to accumulate a count of 20 species sighted before returning to our cars: Red-winged Blackbird, Northern Flicker, American Crow, Bald Eagle, White-crowned Sparrow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Common Merganser, American Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Mallard, Glaucous-winged Gull and Short-billed Gull.
Photos by Ian T. and Dawn M.

Hiking Group - February 11th

2/14/2023

There were two hikes on Saturday. One led by Bill included the full Rapture loop in the Cumberland Forest.
Photos by the Bills. Bill Jorgensen's portfolio

The second group (led by Dawn) followed an 8+km figure-8 trail system with Jumbo's Cabin at the centre. The paths were in good shape, except for a few easily-negotiated puddles and all enjoyed being out in the fresh (crisp) air.
Photos by Dawn.

Regular Walking: Tuesday February 14/23

2/14/2023

The regular walkers were few in number this morning (only 7) to partake in a brisk Valentine's Day walk. Although it was just 3°C when we started out, the absence of any breeze and the warm sunshine made it feel much warmer. Starting from the Millard Lookout, we followed the trail extension in a southeasterly direction and crossed the Old Island Highway at Beachwood Road to gain access to The Ridge subdivision on the far side of the Comox Logging Road. We looped back to our starting point and then continued along the trail to hook up with the Airpark Walkway. Dave was kind enough to treat his harem to refreshments at the Bayside Cafe (thank you, Dave, ), after which we retraced the route back to our vehicles. Thanks to Cheryl for photos and write-up.

Hiking Group - February 5th

2/9/2023

Our Courtenay Riverway hike proved to be very popular. To ease crowding and to offer a slightly easier hike, Dawn headed a small group that made their way from the Airpark to Simms Park and back. Some of the participants had limited time for their hike, so they called it quits at that point and most went for coffee at the Bayside. Altogether, a very pleasant morning with all greatly enjoying the break from rain and wind.
The rest of the group, led by Bill hiked from Simms Millennium Park to the end of the Riverway Extension and back.
Photos by Dawn, Karen and Bill J. To see all of Bill's pictures from this hike click here.

Regular Walking: Tuesday Jan. 31/23

2/2/2023

The walk changed due to the unexpected though light, steady snowfall. The Airpark, Millard woods and the extension was it. Not that cold and rather pretty. Good company and debrief at Bean Around the World.

Snowshoeing Group - Croteau Lake - January 30

2/2/2023

Brian Flynn led a group up to Croteau Lake. The first time we did this route on snowshoes three years ago it took us just over six hours. This time we were done in just over four hours. The hard packed snow along most of our 12 kilometer route accounted for some of our speed this year. The rest of the difference can be attributed to Brian's leadership supported by Gordon in the sweep role. Very warm temperatures followed by a deep freeze days before our trip left a shiny crust on the snow at Croteau Lake. Views from our lunch stop above the lake were magnificent.
Photos by Cathy, Teresa, Lindsay and Bill B.

Comox Valley, Club, Social, Activity Group, Probus, Glacier Club