Blog: I Think It's This Way» Wednesday Hike – Mt. Doug – Victoria, BC

Wednesday Hike – Mt. Doug – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:51:14 +0000

Well it’s now looking and feeling like summer here in Victoria. Temperature is a fairly good indicator, but what I notice the most are the conditions on the trails. When you’re in the middle of summer or early fall, it’s pretty dry here, and the trails will show it… kind of dusty, with some fallen, yellowed leaves from various deciduous trees. This is opposed to the way things seem during the rest of the year… kind of damp. Tonight’s hike at Mt. Douglas (Doug for the locals) was, as usual, pretty damn good.

Six of us did some loopy, around-the-mountain type hiking and then headed up to the top where we spent some time taking in the views. It was clear enough again this week that we could see both Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier on the horizon in Washington State.

GPS data: 5.1km – 1h39m – GPS route

A 5.1km hike at Mt. Douglas (Doug) near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.

Michelle, Christine, and Sheena heading starting the final ascent to the summit of Mt. Doug. Maybe that's overdoing it on the mountaineering lingo, I'll be more conservative in the future.

I think Bill forgot his hiking poles , but he seemed to manage fine without them.

One of the steeper parts of the trail on the last stretch up to the top of Mt. Doug.

Looking in a southerly direction close to the top of Mt. Doug. That's part of the Blenkinsop Valley down below.

A view to the north near the top of the Doug (Mt. Douglas). I'm pretty sure that's James Island and Sidney Island off in the distance.

Christine, Irina, and Bill at the top of Mt. Doug. Yeah, it's usually worth celebrating in whatever way you see fit.

Mt. Baker viewed from the top of Mt. Doug (looking to the east).

The view to the north or northeast from the top of Mt. Doug. What an awesome night for a hike.

Part of the distance/direction guide to other locales in the turret at the top of Mt. Douglas.

Looking south towards Victoria from the top of Mt. Doug. The Olympic Mountain Range is visible in the distance.

Midsummer dustiness on the trails at Mt. Doug.

Wednesday Hike – Mt. Douglas – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:53:47 +0000

We had a nice sunny day here in Victoria, which led to a nice sunny Wednesday night hike. Well not entirely, as part of the hike was spent on the dark side of Mt. Doug where tall trees and the hill itself makes for a darker, cooler experience. We saw some evidence of the high winds earlier in the week in the form of tree sheddings (pretty sure that’s not going to get me any scrabble points) and actual broken trees. Other than that the hike was a pretty normal Doug outing with some ups and downs and a bit of mud. Purple flowers were out in abundance in the pseudo-alpine meadows, or what I generally refer to as the Wastelands part of Mt. Doug. Wastelands is just some stupid moniker I came up with for the exposed area just south of Little Mt. Doug.

GPS Data: 5.4km – 1h25m – GPS route

A 5km hike at Mt. Douglas in Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.

Heading into purple flower land near Little Mt. Doug.

View to the north from what I affectionately refer to as the Wastelands (exposed area south of Little Mt. Doug).

Hike – St. Charles / Moss Street / Mt. Doug – Dog Sitting Weekend

Kris — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:33:03 +0000

This weekend was a weekend of dog-sitting for me. The beast in question, who shall remain nameless, and I did some walking/hiking and some lounging around, nothing too exciting. This particular beast is now a senior citizen in terms of dog years, so she is a bit less energetic than she was in her youth, none-the-less it was fun to hang out with her for a weekend.

On Friday night we did a walk down St. Charles Street to the waterfront at Ross Bay and then headed back up Moss Street. Today, Michelle and I went out for a hike around Mt. Doug with the beast. Both outings were good in different ways: walking along the waterfront in the dark is always kind of cool; and Mt. Doug is becoming greener as it always does in the Spring.

GPS Data:
Outing #1 – 6.3km – 1h08m – GPS Route – St. Charles / Dallas Road / Moss Street
Outing #2 – 5.0km – 1h14m – GPS Route – Mt. Doug

Dog/beast hike on March 12. She's an old beast, but she still walks faster than most humans, save the professional speed walkers. Click on the map to see more detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.

Beast outing #2 at Mt. Douglas. Click on the map to see more detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.

Looking towards Victoria from what I call the Wastelands at Mt. Doug. In truth, there is no such name for the slightly barren, lower elevation, south end of Mt. Doug.

Look into our eyes, if you can see them. The beast and I taking a break while descending from the Wastelands at Mt. Doug park.

Wednesday Hike – Mt. Douglas – Victoria, BC – The Trees Seem Bigger In The Dark

Kris — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:29:15 +0000

Wednesday night hiking is good. This week I did a loop around the base of Mt. Doug(las) with my work friends and some non-work friends. Hiking at night lacks the kind of sensory input associated with hiking in the daylight, but regardless, it is still pretty interesting — the quiet seems quieter, the dark seems darker, and blah, blah, blah. There are some pretty big trees in Mt. Doug and they seemed even bigger than during the day, at least this was my observation when my headlight was illuminating said big trees.

GPS Data: 5.4km – 1h25m – GPS Route

A hike around the bottom of Mt. Doug near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.

Wednesday Hike – Victoria, BC – Mt. Doug

Kris — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:32:39 +0000

Fullish moon tonight for the Wednesday hike. This fact would be some what irrelevant if the sky was not clear, but it was. The destination this week was Mt. Doug, or Douglas if you prefer. The “Doug” as I know it is a good spot for a quick nature getaway thanks to its significant elevation gain offering great views of the Georgia and Juan de Fuca Straits. Beyond the view, there are lots of pretty big trees to meander through while traveling the lower trails.

Hiking, or doing anything outdoors, in the dark seems to be an unusual thing for us humans to do. I’m no different, since I can’t say that I have been out in the dark that much in my life, but with these recent night hike outings I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of this becoming a regular occurrence. Lights of some sort are of course a requirement for this sort of activity.

I was hoping to get some interesting night photos of the moon over the water, but couldn’t coax the camera into capturing anything worthwhile. I do have a map of our route though; see below (you can click on it to see more detailed GPS data on the Garmin website).

A map of my Wednesday night hike at Mt. Douglas in Victoria BC. Click to see GPS data on the Garmin website.