Photos by Cathy and Bill.
We were fortunate that our morning hike in Seal Bay Park wasn't as wet as the weather apps predicted. Packed snow and slush on some parts of our route gave us a better workout than the 11 kilometre loop normally would have. Photos by Cathy and Bill.
0 Comments
Walk was from No pub to No pub or otherwise known as Oyster River Nature Park to Salmon Point and back, which is a 6 k walk through the woods and then parallel to the ocean. No snow on the trail! No wind! No rain on the walk! So lucky! Just like a group of kids, we paused to watch the machinery. Twice a year silt is removed from the marina. The walk was conducive to good company and conversation which was continued at The Country Market.
Today's group of walkers set off on the riverside trail from Courtenay Airpark northward towards Simms Park, making it as far as Central Builders before turning back for coffee at Bean Around the World. The day brought a soft rain with it, but it was light enough not to be a bother and we all enjoyed the fresh (crisp) air. A bonus was the quick chat we had with fellow Probus members out on a walk of their own. The hiking group decided to go back to explore the waterfalls above Comox Lake again, but this time while they are frozen. With a requirement to have micro-spikes and on short notice we started with 11 hikers to enjoy the different Walls of Ice, and Mother Nature did not disappoint. While the hike was only 5 km in length we were treated to 3 different frozen waterfalls before making the climb to the upper lookout at Devil's Ladder and the view over Comox Lake. While not everyone started the hike in their micro-spikes they were required to navigate the trail in certain sections. Debrief was held at the Waverly Hotel. Photos by Steve, Christine, Lindsay, Stan and Bill. With this outing being the first time out for some of us, we had a pleasant trek around the Old Cabin and Crooked Creek trails in Paradise Meadows. The conditions were surprisingly good for our outing, considering there had been no fresh snow for the past few days. After a debrief and lunch/snack break at Raven Lodge, we finished the day by doing the Lookout trail. Thanks to Bill J, Katie and Cheryl for the pictures. Links to Bill's pictures and Katie's pictures. Today's walkers enjoyed a loop leading through woods, fields and residential streets at CFB Comox. The day was crisp, but the cold edge of the past week had eased and the exercise felt good.
Thanks to Heather for leading the walk and for hosting a debrief at her home afterwards and to Lorne for providing the group photo. After a cold stretch with mountain temperatures in the minus teens we headed up to enjoy a milder sunny day. We found the loop around Helen Mackenzie and Battleship lakes well packed down and easy going. Breaking trail up and over the ridge between the lakes wasn't easy but it took us to a peaceful sunny spot for our lunch break. We all capped the day off with a debrief in Raven Lodge. Photos by Cathy, Lindsay and Bill. A very chilly day by Comox Valley standards didn't scare away our group of dedicated hikers. We started at North Island College and followed trails to the bottom of the new Dingwall Stairs. From the top of the stairs we made our way along mostly trails and fields to the Tsolum River. Our return trip was along mostly the same route. Our debrief was at Milano Coffee. Photos by Cathy and Bill. We had two expeditions on offer this day. We started together crossing Paradise Meadows and on to Battleship Lake. From the lake the keeners carried on to Croteau Lake, breaking trail through knee to thigh deep snow from Kooso Lake. They were working too hard to take pictures. The rest of us followed a packed trail up Battleship Lake and over to the east end of Lake Helen Mackenzie. After lunch by the lake we retraced our steps back to the Wilderness Centre. Photos by Cathy Brenda and Bill. It was a lovely calm morning after the stormy rainy night. Walk was 90 min. from the Airpark through Millard woods and the extension and back. Debrief was at Bayside Cafe. Photo credit: Karen B, Dawn and Karen R-K
Our group seemed to be a curiosity to many of the Sunday strollers as we made our way through the Willow Creek Conservation Area. Probably our sizeable backpacks seemed out of place on this short trail in the city. Hiking on the slightly more remote trails around Woods Creek we seemed to attract less attention. The sight and sound of moving water was seldom missing along our 13 kilometre route. Photos by Lindsay and Bill. We hadn't even set foot on the trail in Parksville before we had to change our plans. Signage indicated that the first part of our route was closed. Fortunately that trail just crossed a field so wasn't a big loss. We got back in our cars and drove to the next access point to the Englishman River Trailway system. Fortunately all of the most scenic parts of our route were accessible to us and nobody seemed to mind cutting our planned 15 kilometre hike down to 12. Photos by Cathy, Lindsay, Ian, Christine, Dianna and Bill. Though raining slightly, it did not stop us for our walk from Puntledge Park to Ruth Masters Park, First St. Park and Morrison Nature Park. The Puntledge River was raging but not overflowing into the park. The juvenile eagle at Morrison Park watched us and was not concerned. We discovered a new downtown coffee shop, Mignon & Kie, since Bigfoot is closed for a holiday. Good friendship, coffee and hot chocolate!
Our small group enjoyed a walk through the forest by the Trent river, discovering a tree troll and saying hi to Big Momma.
|