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.

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.

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

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

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