The hike ended up being longer than expected, but it was good. We started out at Gonzales Bay (on the beach) then headed over to the Chinese Cemetery for some rock and log walking; the skills on display were impressive. Next up was McNeill Bay with some more rock scrambling and a short break on some beach chairs. On the last leg we cruised through Anderson Park and then Gonzales Hill. The stairs up to the top of Gonzales Hill were good for some burn in the legs, but as usual the view from the observatory was well worth it.

Victoria is great.

GPS Data: 7.7km – 1h49m – GPS route

A 7.7km hike at Gonzales Bay and McNeill Bay in Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see details on the Garmin website.

A crow hanging out at Gonzales Bay.

Logs, sand, and kelp on Gonzales Bay Beach.

Log action near the Chinese Cemetary in Oak Bay.

Log crossing near the Chinese Cemetery.

Some blue thingies near McNeill Bay.

Scottish Broom near Gonzales Hill.

Purple and green near McNeill Bay.

Some chairs overlooking McNeill Bay.

Trial Island light house and towers.

A McNeill Bay bench.

Gonzales Bay, Juan de Fuca Strait, and the Olympic mountains.

GPS Data: 6.4km – 1h35m – GPS route

A 6.4km hike through Gonzales Park, Walbran Park, Anderson Hill Park, and Trafalgar Park. Click on the map to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

I know it's not that great, but the fact that it doesn't totally suck is adding to the mounting evidence that the auto mode on my camera may be better than my operation of the pseudo-manual settings.

The beach at Gonzales Bay was surprisingly dead for a sunny and relatively warm night. Perhaps the sand flies and high-tide were the reasons.

Juan de Fuca monument in Walbran Park.

Probably not readable, but this is what the Juan de Fuca monument has to say.

Looking towards Oak Bay Marina from one of the viewpoints in Walbran Park.

Walbran Park rocks and the view to the south west across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Trial Islands with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

New school trikes don't really do much for me. I guess that's the case for most trikes though.

Tonight the hike was something I’ve done a few times in the daylight, but never at night. Starting at the Gonzales Bay beach with the sound of wind and waves, we headed east through beachfront ritzville (no not a reference to the cracker). After some marveling at an impressive number of ceiling lights in one ritzville abode we popped up to Crescent Road and headed towards the Chinese cemetery on Penzance Road. Not much too see in the cemetery, so we moved along, uphill, through Trafalgar Park back to the road on King George Terrace. We made the decision to head over to Andersson Hill Park and did a nice little out-and-back trail with the highlight being views of McNeill Bay. The last half of the hike consisted of taking the road back to the bottom of King George Terrace where the stairmaster workout began leading us up to Walbran Park and eventually Gonzales Park. After a brief, and dandy-fine, gander at the city lights from the old observatory in Gonzales Park it was back down to the beach to finish things off.

Once again, a great way to spend part of an evening.

GPS Data: 6.8km – 1h38m – GPS Route

A Wednesday night hike at Gonzales Bay and McNeill Bay near Victoria, BC. The route included Trafalgar, Andersson Hill, Walbran, and Gonzales parks. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.