Hot damn, says I with an attempt at a southern drawl. Why, you ask? No reason, I respond, other than the fact that the temperature for this week’s Wednesday night hike was noticeably warmer than in previous weeks. With mild trepidation, I suggested Francis King Park for the weekly hike. My trepidation was based on a misguided suspicion that there might be some serious wet spots in the Francis King forest. For me this park has always given off a very rain-foresty vibe; rain-foresty = wet, right? The vibe was there tonight, but the trails were quite dry overall. This might have been only about the fifth time I have every been to this park, which is a bit of a shame because it’s really nice, if you’re into rain-forest action and a general, away-from-civilization feel.
Five of us started out from the Francis King Nature House on Munn Road in the direction of the High Ridge Trail, about a two kilometer loop. No owls this time, but we did see a Llama in someone’s yard, or maybe it was an Alpaca? Next, we went north on Centennial Trail, then across Munn Road to Grand Fir Trail, and then, and then, and then… oops, brain skipping. I think it was Shooting Star Trail and part of the Elsie King Trail to finish things off. All told, about 5km of fine, green, nature-smelling, hiking.
GPS Data: 4.6km – 1h08m – GPS Route
A 4.6km Wednesday night hike at Francis King Park near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.
I knew the hike was going to be good right from the start. To be able to capture the majesty of this garbage can in it's natural environment was an incredible privilege.
I'm not sure if this golf course has a name or is even open yet, but it seems to have made some progress since last summer when it more closely resembled a gravel pit. This is somewhere along the east side of the High Ridge Loop.
As a fluke-tographer, I am often left with photos that I had higher hopes for; in this case I did not luck out and get something that looks decent. Need to figure out how to use the camera better in less than ideal lighting.
A rather large tree near the south end of the High Ridge Trail. There are quite a few large conjoined trees in this area, which this is not, but I wonder what prompted the two significant appendages.
Another grey-light special photo. Skunk Cabbage is going strong right now in some of the wetter spots.
For some reason Michelle felt that it was important for me to go pose in this hollowed-out tree trunk. So I did.
It's not really evident from this photo, but some of the signage around Francis King Park is a bit confusing. I don't really care too much since I figure if people want to use the trails they should be prepared to invest some time in learning to navigate the trails without signs. Additionally, I don't think I'd like the idea of there being signs all over the place.
For my personal satisfaction I'll take a stab at naming this feature on the Elsie King Trail, even though it probably already has a name... Gateway of the Slug; Busted Tree; The Gnome's Doorway; ... ok, I quit, that's dumb. Next time I'll just pay closer attention to the signage.
