Salt Spring Island with The Outdoor Club of Victoria

Salt Spring Island is just a 35 minute ferry ride from Vancouver Island. It is small but quite mountainous and excellent for hiking.

Thirty Two members signed up for between three and five hikes each of four days. One evening we also met  for dinner at a pub in Ganges. The other meals were enjoyed in our comfortably rustic cabin at Cusheon Lake Resort.

Day 1: This is our beautiful hike, led by C, up and around Mt Maxwell.

These are apparently called calypso orchids. So dainty and pretty. We saw many beautiful specimens.

A morelle mushroom.

This part of the hike was through an open forest, it was quite unusual how little underbrush there was. We were later informed by a local that the deer take care of the underbrush.

                                                           Small Flower Woodland Star

We hit about six viewpoints, all of them stunning.

Looking down on Burgoyne Bay. Saturday's hike will be up that slope.

        And a bit further east, this photo shows a typical SSI scene, lots of farmland and lots of trees.

I did not note the exact results but the hike was advertised as 460 meters and 11km, great day!

Now off to the resort to move into our accommodation.

We were very pleased with our cozy cabin right on the lake shore. We could hear and occasionally see red wing blackbirds. Also see and hear many children, they were part of a school group which thankfully left the next day.

A and I each have a comfortable king size bed in our own bedrooms, the kitchen is well stocked with everything we need and we have a nice size table where we enjoy our meals and play Bananagrams.

Day 2

As we prepared our packs for the day and ate our hearty breakfast we were downhearted about the pouring rain. However once we got outside the vehicle we found it was not bad.

The scenery at Ruckle Park was still lovely even in wet, misty conditions.

A was the leader for this hike, we had done the reccie a couple of weeks earlier.

 I over compensated with not only my gortex jacket but a poncho as well. At first I found the poncho an issue as when I was hiking downhill ...I could not see my feet. Eventually I clued in and used the hip belt on my pack to rein in the excess fabric.

Three of our small group of five.

I am the overcompensator in the middle.

My dear Mom asked who was the dumpy one in the middle.

                                               The calypso orchids were in this area as well.

A soggy colony of mushrooms

The very Mossy Rain Forest.

Day 3

Very calm Cusheon Lake from our deck

Burgoyne Bay, led by L

It is always a treat to hike with L, especially this time of year when the wildflowers are so abundant. She is very happy to share her wealth of plant and mushroom knowledge with her fellow hikers.

note the slug enjoying ...not sure what ...the mushroom or perhaps water within the mushroom cup?

Once again, stunning views rewarded us at our (not THE) summit.

We walked along this ridge and sat down for Elevenses

It turned out that these rocks were not as stable as they appeared. C's foot dislodged a wee avalanche. She calmly backed up to safety with no sense of panic.

We came across several recently caused landslides.

Western Trillium, according to L they turn purple if they have been pollinated.

We say many of these beautiful indigenous signs carved onto cedar boards.

This ended the Burgoyne hike portion of the day. 11.3 kms and 485 metres.

The entire group was inspired to keep walking at the end of the Burgoyne Hike.

We hiked Daffodil Point which is located on the other shore of Burgoyne Bay, at the base of Mt Maxwell.

Here the leaders discuss photos of a rather large colony of Calypso Orchids. 

A very beautiful destination tho we did not stay very long as a cool wind had come up.

Camas, which is currently in full bloom, was a major food staple of our indigenous peoples.

We saw a few old wrecks along the way.

Daffodil Point was 3.2 km and 117 metres

Another great day!

Day 3 a half day hike up Mt Erskine.

An A1b hike so we were accompanied by our elders of the group, many in their 80s and still strong hikers. I hope I can continue hiking into my 80s!

Salal flowers at the viewpoint

looking west towards Crofton

On our descent we were charmed by this Fairy Door

Knock Knock, who's there?

Hike over, we all rushed to get into the expected long Sunday afternoon lineup at Fulford Harbour ferry. Amazingly the line was non existent and we were all home for dinner.

A warm thank you to all that organized and led the many hikes. You all did an amazing job. I loved every moment of the four days and look forward to the next multi day excursion. 

SnowShoeing Forbidden Plateau

Winter Sports are not something I have ever indulged in even though I do love snow and I am physically active. I believe that my past lack of interest was due to the expense of skiing.  The nearest ski mountain is a 4 hour drive from home. Thankfully having a dear friend in Whistler has been a huge benefit, through her, a few years ago,  I was introduced to snowshoeing, basically walking, which I am very good at haha. So when my friend A suggested a three day snowshoe excursion up to Mt Washington, I immediately agreed. She booked a condo up on the mountain, three bedrooms and baths and of course a kitchen. The location was within walking distance of the Nordic area. Another friend, L, agreed to join us, volunteering to drive which was a huge relief to A and me.

As our date approached we could see that the weather was forecast to be warm, so warm that it was expected to rain on the mountain. Indeed, as we approached the Nordic area it was miserable. No worries, we unpacked, got out the Scrabble game and settled in front of the electric fireplace to just chill.

Since we were staying 3 nights we each took a turn to provide dinner. I had brought Very Good Butcher vegan sausages and created a comfort food casserole ... potatoes, sauteed onions, garlic, carrots and kale, a dish inspired by my previous Dutch mother in law. After dinner, entertainment was an animated series of Bananagram games. We did attempt to see if we could get Netflix on the TV set but that proved more than my technical abilities. However, we did not miss the TV at all.

The next morning did not look promising, it was still raining. So we took our time, indulged in coffee, (tea in my case) breakfast, Wordle, Worldle and Canuckle. By 10am, perfect timing, the weather had improved enough for us to happily venture forth.

Suddenly the weather cleared.

I think there was a base of about 150 cms.

We walked along the road to the lodge, it was nice to be able to leave the car behind.

The passes for snowshoeing are only $13 per day. There are 2 sections for snowshoeing, basically in the Paradise Meadows area.  With the Outdoor Club of Victoria we had hiked this park in a previous September, so fun to visit and explore in a different season. 

Here is the initial (steep!) path leading down to the trails.

The conditions are perfect, let's go!

We started small with the easy 2.5 km Old Cabin Trail

It was breathtakingly beautiful!

At one point we could see our condo, the building with blue tarps on the bottom floor.

After enjoying our packed lunches at Raven Lodge we set out again on Old Cabin Trail but adding on 1.5 km Tree Beard's Trail (which is where the above photo was taken) and 2 km Crooked Creek Trail. Then unfortunately, too soon, it was time to return to the condo. We all felt great after all the clean fresh air and exercise.

 A and I had rented our snowshoes at Sports Rent in Victoria while L was renting daily. Being mid week, there were no waits for equipment.

Since we all had enjoyed our previous evening's routine, we repeated it, this time with L creating our meal... lasagna and salad. The salad included pineapple which was a delicious surprise.

I enjoyed L's Scrabble rules, it was like writing an open exam. We had access to and permission to use the Scrabble dictionary and a very helpful cheat sheet.  

The next morning I was walked bleary eyed into the living room to a gorgeous sunrise!

A photo just does not capture the beauty.

Day 2 ~ I forgot to take my phone/camera today.

We tackled the black diamond rated 3 km Rossiter's Rise. It was great workout.

At the crossroad of Rossiter's Rise and Tree Beard's Trail we met 3 women that had brought birdseed along and were feeding a group of 3 whiskey jacks. Being a bird lover, I was thrilled when one of the women shared birdseed with me, took the above photo and on the spot emailed it! So kind! Ya gotta love technology, even miles from anywhere on a trail.

I recall the cheeky whiskey jacks from our September hike. They obviously thrive here all year round. We also saw many equally cheeky stellar jays.

After lunch we set off across the parking lot to a different section. The first challenge was a steep uphill on the 3 km (black diamond) Great Big View. Only 1.5 km was uphill which got us to the beginning of the supposedly easier 4 km Finger Glade. By this time it was after 2 pm, I was expecting that we could not possibly cover all those kms, even though the going was fairly easy.  Also the weather started to deteriorate. At 3pm we were about 1/3 the way around the loop, there we were stopped by a volunteer who advised us that the trail was soon to get very difficult and that we would never make it before dark. I was grateful that he saved us from a very difficult situation. So we reversed our way and L was able to return her equipment in time. More importantly we were safely back in our comfortable condo when darkness fell.

Since our evening routine worked so well, we had no problem with repeating it for a third time. A brought a delicious tofu in a spicy delicious peanut sauce dish. Oh and 2 salads! So much food!!! 

The morning of day 3 was at first very uninviting. Thankfully L jollied A and I along, convincing us not to miss out on our final opportunity. So we packed up the car, drove to the lodge, donned our snowshoes in a bitter wind and set off. Amongst the trees the wind lessened and we ultimately enjoyed the day.

It had snowed 5 cms overnight, the snow covered trees were very beautiful, even in the fog.

We repeated the relatively easy Old Cabin Trail and Tree Beard's Trail. We had few options as most trails had not been broken. I was so thankful that L had convinced us to get out. 

My two travel companions, we were very compatible.

The sun even came out a few times, but I seemed to have missed those brief photo opportunities.

L and I, we even have identical jackets.

Happy L

My dear friend A, whose enticing plans constantly get me out of my sewing room and into the great outdoors. 

An example of the barely broken trail after 5 cms of snow had fallen overnight.

Three seniors having fun!

More whiskey jacks hang out near Raven Lodge.

Another packed lunch then unfortunately it was time for the long drive home. 

I am a convert, at least to this winter sport, even to the point of considering buying (most likely used) a pair of snowshoes. AND the three of us are hoping to repeat this activity next year, possibly the year after that and then ....

Life is Good!