Blog: I Think It's This Way» Wednesday Hike – Durrance Lake / McKenzie Bight – Victoria, BC

Wednesday Hike – Durrance Lake / McKenzie Bight – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:36:14 +0000

I talk big, but don’t back it up with action. Prior to tonight’s hike at Durrance Lake and McKenzie Bight I had mentioned to others that our post-hike activities might/should include ice cream or pepperoni from the Red Barn Market – big talk indeed. Action, however, was lacking; I did not consume any ice cream or pepperoni. Furthermore I didn’t even buy any stroopwafels (lingering craving from Amsterdam trip last year). There was a palpable sense of disappointment in the air when I announced that I was not going to do the ice cream. Maybe next time I guess, and I’m sticking to my no ice creaming and driving plan.

Tonight’s hike involved a loop around Durrance Lake, which ended up being pretty nice – I hadn’t done this particular hike before tonight. The north side of the lake has a wide flat pathway that offers nice views of the lake, but is not particularly challenging. The south side of the lake is a fun, winding trail through the trees. After the Durrance portion wrapped up, we headed back towards where we parked on Ross-Durrance Road and then started heading downhill to McKenzie Bight (what the hell is a bight…). I managed to miss a turn early in the McKenzie Bight portion, which meant that we ended up walking down the regional trail (kind of like a dirt road) instead of the Cascade Trail, which although steeper, is a more interesting trail in terms of challenge and scenery. After a few minutes enjoying the view of Finlayson Arm from the beach at McKenzie Bight, we headed back up the hill the way we came. All things considered, another great Wednesday hike.

GPS Data: 5.3km – 1h30m – GPS route

A 5.3km Wednesday hike at Durrance Lake and McKenzie Bight near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.

Ewww, a floating log in the lake (Durrance Lake).

Some of our group checking out the shellfish at McKenzie Bight.

Looking southwest across Finlayson Arm from McKenzie Bight near sunset.

Wednesday Hike – Gowlland Tod Park – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:39:34 +0000

Another Wednesday is in the books and unlike the last one a hike did occur. This week’s destination (south end of Gowlland Tod Provincial Park) was a little further out of town than most of the Wednesday hikes I’ve been on over the last eight months. The drive out was actually kind of nice; we took the back way on Munn Road, a winding, hilly, scenic route through the Highlands area near Victoria.

The hike itself ended up being a bit shorter than planned due to a bit of a later start and rain that strengthened during the outing. From the parking lot at the south end of Gowlland Tod Park we headed up the Ridge Trail, which is full of ups and down, but generally trends upwards. On a clear day the views of Finlayson Arm and Georgia Straight are pretty damn nice. On this outing, it was looking as though there would be no views at all because of the clouds/fog, but it dissipated a little bit giving us a wee reward for our energy expenditures.

GPS Data: 4.6km – 1h09m – GPS route

Wednesday hike at the south end of Gowlland Tod Park near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Hike – Gowlland Tod – Victoria, BC

Kris — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 06:54:15 +0000

Easter weekend has arrived… the first long weekend of the year. Amongst various other things on the slate for this weekend I’m going to try, as usual, to get outside and do some outside-type stuff according to my wants and desires. Today, prior to some turkey feasting, Michelle and I headed to Gowlland Tod Park on the Saanich Peninsula to do some hiking/exploring. Instead of hiking straight down to Tod Inlet like we did back in early February, we crossed the creek by way of a slightly sketchy log crossing and started into the mysterious lands on the south side of Tod Inlet.

Log crossings come in all shapes and sizes and I suppose they have a number of common features. Aside from the obvious commonalities associated with log crossings (involves a log, log is horizontal, log may be slippery, etc.), I think an important commonality is the fact that there is a degree of challenge since log walking is not a regular occurrence. Anyway, here’s to log walking — challenging, entertaining, and it happens outside.

The trails we hiked on today were a mix of narrow, dirt foot paths, and some wider, former bush roads. My preference is for the narrow stuff, but I’m willing to make due with the wider stuff on occasion. There were plenty of elevation changes with the top end being at about 180m (about 600ft) and the bottom being sea level.

GPS Data: 6.2km – 2h00m – GPS Route

A hike at Gowlland Tod Park near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.

The log. No, not the Christmas Log, as seen on TV. Shut up stupid brain, it's just a log, no need to run through every possible negative outcome that may result from attempting to cross.

Not surprisingly, there was green to be seen in the forest today. No money trees though.

The quick way to Tod Inlet if you are a squirrel with a squirrel-sized white-water kayak.

A Gowlland Tod forest-floor dweller.

The rain started to fall in the last half of the hike contributing to this misty view of Tod Inlet (looking west).

Hike – Tod Inlet / Gowlland Tod – Victoria, BC – New To Me

Kris — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:36:33 +0000

Today Michelle and I checked out a new-to-us, albeit short, hike on the north side of the Tod Inlet on the Saanich Peninsula. The route runs very close to the property of the famed Butchart Gardens (a place I have never been, but have heard much about). This being a completely new hiking destination, I had some guesses about what it might be like, but of course the imagination only goes so far. As it turns out, this little hike down to Tod Inlet and back was great. There’s a wider path/road that is pretty much a straight line, but for me the winding, undulating, route down the hill alongside the creek and inlet (with lots of west coast greenness) was exactly the type of thing I crave in my explorations of new places. The return trip on a bit of a deer path on the opposite side of the main path was pretty cool too.

It looks like it’s possible to cross the creek and head south into the larger portion of Gowlland Tod Park (on the south side of Tod Inlet), but that sort of exploration will have to wait until sometime in the future.

GPS Data: 3.4km – 0h54m – GPS Route

A short hike at Tod Inlet / Gowlland Tod Park on the Saanich Peninsula near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.

I have ridden my bike along Wallace Drive, past the start of this hike, may times in the past and have never noticed any evidence of a creek in this area. Within a minute of the start of our hike you could definitely here it running. I like creeks.

Watch out, hairy trees along the trail may try to fondle you.

Tod Inlet was looking pretty serene in the late afternoon sun.

Things are pretty green on south Vancouver Island in the winter. Example of the day: some sun lit fern foliage.

Hike – Gowlland Tod – Victoria, BC – Fog is Fun

Kris — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:20:53 +0000

No bike ride today . Meh, that’s ok. Michelle and I met up with Kari for a hike/run from Caleb Pike Road up to/through Gowlland Tod Park and it was good. Before I go any further, where the hell did all the people come from today? People were hiking, people were driving, people were clogging up the grocery store aisles; maybe we’ve been unwittingly invaded by aliens in human form who are very hungry for our groceries and recreational experiences.

Getting back to the hike, I’ll let the pictures below do most of the talking, but I will say that the hike from Caleb Pike Road to/through Gowlland Tod Park is great even when it’s shrouded in fog or clouds. This hike/run is a bit of a logistical challenge in that you are either going to do 20+ kilometres, or you need to use two vehicles (meet at one end in two cars, leave one, and drive to the other end). I’m still waiting for the environmentally friendly teleportation device to resolve this logistical challenge. This was the first time I’ve done this hike in this direction (south to north), and I think I might prefer it, but that is probably just because it’s new to me.

GPS Data: 10km – 2h37m – GPS Route

A hike/run from Caleb Pike Road to Gowlland Tod Park near Victoria, BC. Click on the image to see detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.

Welcome, alien invaders (see reference above in my intro text) to the south end of Gowlland Tod Park. Please enjoy your recreational experience.

Someday I'll have to figure out where the branch to the left goes. I think it just pops you out on Finlayson Arm Road.

I know some people poo-poo the idea of doing stuff in inclement weather, or rather non-sunny weather, but I really like the whole foggy, sometimes soggy, coastal hiking experience.

Today, not much rain, but low cloud. In better conditions we would have a pretty good view to the west from this vantage point over Finlayson Arm.

Ermmm, yo, quit fondling the Arbuti (possibly incorrect plural form of Arbutus).

I'm having a difficult time with this caption. After all, that's me. One could easily jump to the wrong conclusion about my motivations for hanging out in the bushes.

About 1.5km into our 10km hike. Uphill, downhill, walk, run, repeat.

Hmmm, another uphill and more walking. This might have been about one fifth of the way to Gowlland Tod / Mt. Work.

I'm not sure why I agreed to pose like an idiot here, but I guess stranger things have happened.

Arbutus trees are quite interesting. These ones were sort of naked, without any shedding bark stuff and were almost glowing. These ones also seem to be sensibly growing almost straight upwards, as opposed to some more horizontally oriented individuals.

You may recall, I said something earlier about fog.

Running through the fog and greenery near Jocelyn Peak.

It's always best to be careful when descending on slippery rock. You could end up on your ass in the blink of an eye.

Mmmm, forest smell. This is the upper end of dark little hollow with a bunch of Cedar trees (I could be wrong on this) wafting their tree odour about. I suppose it's not really the trees doing the wafting; whatever the case, I find the smell to be quite acceptable.

What was that I said about ending up on your ass in the blink of an eye?

Oh isn't that a cute little bridge. At this point we were about 2/3 to 3/4 done.

Some more rainforesty trail towards the end of our Gowlland Tod hike.

Finally, a view of something other than the inside of a cloud. This is looking north past the wide end of Finlayson Arm towards Salt Spring Island (just visible off in the distance, on the right).

The final bridge towards the end of our hike from Caleb Pike Road to Gowlland Tod Park / Mt. Work.

Not sure if this creek has a name, but if you were a leaf, it would be the express route to Mackenzie Bight on Finlayson Arm / Saanich Inlet.

Wider trail (almost a road) to finish up our hike. Still looks nice though.

Ok, one more. It kind of looks like a multi-legged, bug-like thing is attacking this tree.