Blog: I Think It's This Way» Father’s Day Hike and Bike

Father’s Day Hike and Bike

Kris — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:22:57 +0000

Happy belated Father’s Day! Belated as in, most of the day is done as I’m writing this. I suppose I could regurgitate some Father’s Day Wikipedia information, but I’ll keep it real and blab about my Father’s Day activities with Michelle. Due to some geographical challenges, Michelle and I only had access to one father today… Tim, who joined us for a hike at Mt. Finlayson this morning. This afternoon a road bike ride and some virtual father interaction with Jim, not Tim, by way of the telecommunications (phone).

The Mt. Finlayson hike got off to a bit of a slow start thanks to my failure to turn off the headlights in the car last night. Minor additional delay came as a result of an impromptu fashion show involving father Tim… new shorts, new shirts, new man – ok, maybe not, but somewhat entertaining none-the-less. The route up and down Mt. Finlayson was pretty much the same as it always is except for our choice to take the older, steeper way up just below the tree line. Not sunny unfortunately, but it was good despite the clouds and lack of entertaining / frightening examples of ill-prepared human beings that we sometimes see along the way.

Our afternoon bike ride was delightful spinneroo through Central Saanich under somewhat clearer skies. Michelle, Heather, and I ended up doing about 60km, the first half and a bit at the end was nicely assisted with a tail wind and the remainder involved some minor headwind battling.

Hike GPS Data: 4.13km – 1h57m – GPS route

Road Bike Ride GPS Data: 59.3km – 2h33m – GPS route

A 4km hike up and down Mt. Finlayson near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.

60km road bike ride through Central Saanich near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.

The top of Mt. Finlayson on Father's Day. No rain, except for the sweat drops falling off the brim of my hat - yeah, I'm a sweaty bastard sometimes. That's Victoria off in the distance on the left.

Of course a Father's Day post wouldn't be complete without a touching pic of Michelle and Tim, her vader (no, not Darth Vader - father in Flemmish and some other languages).

Some other ants, errr people, enjoying the view from the top of Mt. Finlayson.

Saw this little elderly dude / dudette begrudgingly following its master up to the top of Mt. Finlayson.

Heather and Michelle traversing some Central Saanich farmland on the road bikes.

End of the road bike ride and heading back into Victoria on the Selkirk Trestle (part of the Galloping Goose). Looking along the Gorge Waterway towards downtown.

Hike – Mt. Finlayson – Victoria, BC – and Some Bike Race Spectating

Kris — Mon, 31 May 2010 03:45:47 +0000

Another weekend has come and gone… I guess that’s what they do. Shockingly, I did not ride a bike this weekend, yet I don’t feel particularly guilty about it. I did do some work today, at a cost of 40 in-my-mind lashings. A hike at Mt. Finlayson also materialized. According to my blog archives the last outing to Mt. Finlayson was last year around salmon-run time. Not much evidence of fish today, although it was nice and green in the forest, which is partly the result of said fish. The afternoon involved a short stint of bike race watching (Bastion Square Criterium – part of the Victoria Cycling Classic), coffee, and a tad more work.

GPS Data: 4.3km – 1h58m – GPS route

A 4.3km hike to and from the top of Mt. Finlayson near Victoria, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS information on the Garmin website.

Uphill is what Mt. Finlayson is; it's steep too. Lots of stuff to look at though if you like greenery and other nature things.

Not sure how many people read the warning signs on the way up Mt. Finlayson, but some really should. Remember the matching/association exercises we did when we were kids? The kind where pictures of loafers, heels, little kiddies, house cats, etc. do not associate with pictures of mountains. I'm just saying, and I guess the sign is saying it too; use your head. Humourous addendum to point #2 regarding finishing before dark: 'lest there be vampires in the area.'

More uphill at Mt. Finlayson, but with a serving of roots.

Shauna and Michelle getting close to the treeless alpine (just kidding, there's no alpine just some non-treed steepness).

Looks like Scottish Broom might be the official plant of Bear Mountain.

Michelle failing to pull off the Sears catalog pose on the steepest part of Mt. Finlayson.

That's me ascending the mountain (mini-mountain perhaps). I felt really out-of-sorts since I forgot my loafers. I also missed not having Mr. Cuddles (my cat) with me... ahhh, this is not the truth, I don't have any loafers and most definitely don't have a cat named Mr. Cuddles.

Wall flowers near the top of Mt. Finlayson.

Impressive mountain climbing skills were on display during our ascent of Mt. Finlayson today. Ok, perhaps I'm exaggerating.

Unfortunately, I forgot the neccessary implements for scratching my name into this plate at the top of Mt. Finlayson.

The view to the south from the top of Mt. Finlayson.

The summit party starts its descent from the top of Mt. Finlayson.

Orange route markers mark the suggested way up and down Mt. Finlayson. Bear Mountain development in the background.

Not really evident in this photo, but there quite a few people at Mt. Finlayson today. Thankfully, we only saw one person in loafers who looked like they had gone beyond their comfort zone.

More roots on the way down from the top of Mt. Finlayson.

Molto greenness on the lower reaches of Mt. Finlayson. I was somewhat disappointed at the lack of slugs today, but there will be other opportunities.

Apparently, there are no wizards allowed on Mt. Finlayson.

Road bike racing action at the Bastion Square Criterium. The weather held out this year so the racing was pretty much full sauce instead of the wet road tip-toeing action of last year.

The bunch heading up the slight, but probably annoying, hill from Wharf Street to Government Street on Broughton. This was about 10 laps to go in the Bastion Square Criterium.

Some expensive Wilier Imperiale road bikes hanging around in the Total Restoration team pit area.

The Total Restoration team vehicle at the Bastion Square Criterium. I think they're based out of Kelowna still.

Getting close to the end of the Bastion Square Criterium in favourable weather conditions. I think the guy in fifth position here ended up winning.

A tasty dinner courtesy of Michelle. Noodoos (rice noodles), spinach, cilantro cream pesto, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and pine nuts. I have been advised to advertise that this was a 'delicious gluten free dinner' by the cook. I didn't notice the missing glutens:)

Dead Fish and Mountain Climbing

Kris — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:53:44 +0000

In Victoria dead fish and “mountain climbing” (I am using this terminology loosely) can and do go together. Tis the season for the annual salmon run, and Goldstream Park near Victoria offers easy access to the action. On one hand I feel a little bummed out for the swimming-dead and already dead, but on the other hand the salmon run is an awesome example of how life ends, but continues, in a way, in other forms (trees, other animals, etc.)

So where does the mountain climbing figure in? If you haven’t been to Goldstream Park, there is a fair-sized chunk of rock in the vicinity known as Mt. Finlayson. As already noted, the “mountain climbing” terminology is probably not quite right since Mt. Finlayson really isn’t that big. Following our walk along the creek/river to check out the salmon, Michelle and I headed up the mountain and down the other side; sometimes walking, sometimes running.

Here is a map and some pictures from our outing to Goldstream / Mt. Finlayson today.

A map of our 8km hike/run route at Goldstream Park and Mt. Finlayson. Click the image to see our GPS stats on the Garmin website.

This is what the salmon look like when they are alive...

... and this is what they look like when they're dead.

There are some pretty big trees in the Goldstream area. I failed to notice the sign that said - Only children are allowed in the log.

Michelle is seen here sporting the latest fall fashions from the designer Mauricio Enzo Cacciatore (MEC for short).

Domo arigato Mr. Reflecto. Looking north towards Finlayson Arm from the Goldstream Nature House.

Ahhh, what a pretty pathway through the rainforest.

That actually looks kind of creepy, but it's just a tree growing on the remnants of another tree.

Not so easy to see, but here are some of the swimming dead.

I suspect these trees enjoy the nitrogen contributed to the soil by the dead salmon.

Apparently the seagulls are somewhat choosy about their food. They seemed to be more interested in hanging out around the nearly-dead than the definitely-dead.

There are some stairs on the first part of the climb up Mt. Finlayson. Michelle informs me that the contestants in Canada's Next Top Model were required to climb these steps as part of a fitness challenge. Why not the whole mountain?

Ahhh, some lovely rainforest trail.

Ohhh, that's a pretty creek running down the mountain. Why don't the lazy salmon swim up here?

Looking through the trees to the east. This view probably wouldn't have been possible five years ago. Thank you Bear Mountain

No rain today, but lots of low-lying cloud, one of my favourite features of west coast winters.

Michelle is an expert mountain climber

Why have I not noticed Arbutus tree berries before?

And finally, the summit of Mt. Finlayson. This is the view to the south / southwest.

Pose and go. No picnic action on the mountain today. It was a wee bit windy.

A nice little waterfall on the way down the backside of Mt. Finlayson.