The Wildwood Mountain bike loop near Courtenay is a fun, varied ride

By Keith and Heather Nicol

There are maps at the trail head to help you navigate

     We must have driven by the Wildwood Forest Recreation Trails sign over 150 times (mostly enroute to Mt Washington to ski) before we actually stopped by to see what it had to offer. The Wildwood Forest is shaped abit like a “L” with the main access at Piercy Road. There is not much official parking there but you can park along the road (coordinates 49 41.746 N, 125 03.673 W) and on our first visit we offloaded our mountain bikes to try a 13.5 km loop. It is useful to either print a map at this link:  https://www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/parks-recreation/comox-valley-parks-trails/wildwood-interpretive-forest  or pick up a map at the trail head like we did. Our route is actually one that is presented on the map and follows the Burns Connector to the Bob Webb trail where the route then follows the One Spot trail. We followed this trail to Piercy Road and then biked the pavement back 3 km to our car. Allow about 75 minutes to do the route depending on how fast you cycle. 

The trail is generally firm gravel or dirt which makes for easy riding

Much of this route is on smooth firm gravel or dirt trails so a standard mountain bike with a front shock is a good choice although we also saw a fellow on a road bike doing it as well.We subsequently took my brother and his wife who were visiting from Victoria on this route and they used hybrid bikes with no front shock and they were fine so the route can be ridden with a variety of bikes.  We even saw a fellow with a motorized wheelchair fitted with off road tires which was great to see.  Expect to see horses and walkers on the trail so be aware of other users. The route has a good variety of landscapes from classic west coast forest with lush ferns to fields with horses and open pasture. There is not much up and down so can be ridden by a wide range of ages and stages. Also be aware of the standard wild animal cautions since black bear and cougars travel through this area.

We eve saw a fellow with a motorized wheel chair with off road tires doing the trail

The tubing season in full swing on the Puntledge River in Courtenay, B.C.

By Keith and Heather Nicol 

 Well it is that time of year again. With a forecast of heat warnings in the Courtenay-Comox area of

At the put in at the fish hatchery

Vancouver Island it is certainly a perfect opportunity to dig out that tube and head down the Puntledge River in Courtenay, B.C. What an ideal way to cool off and have lots of fun at the same time. Water levels are very good right now for tubing...you can slip over most rocks with ease if you can get in the right channel. We tried our first tubing of the season on July 24^th and we were joined by a large group of friends as well as our daughter Kristie who was visiting from Vancouver. Most people start at the fish hatchery on Powerhouse Road.  Park near the fish hatchery access road and walk around or past the gate. Part way down you will see a sign pointing to “Tubers Trail” and take that to the put in. This trail is abit steep and slippery in places and there is a rope to help you down the last section.  Good footwear really helps on this section and we tend you use kayak booties or good waterproof sandals since they give reasonable grip and are great for protecting your feet once you are in the river. We also have found that putting a life jacket over the mesh on the bottom of the tube keeps your bum and lower back from hitting too many rocks. If you are using a truck inner tube or another type without a mesh bottom, keep your “bum up” when you go over rapids to avoid hitting “bottom” in the shallow sections. 

Kristie enjoying the ride down the river

The section from Powerhouse Road to Puntledge Park has more rapids and rockier than the lower section from Puntledge Park to either the Condensory Bridge or Lewis Park. Already this summer at least one group required rescue when they took the wrong channel and ended up pinned against a tree so pay attention and if it is your first time watch tubers ahead of you. First timers or those with younger children may want to do just the lower section starting from Puntledge Park and we suggest a pull out just below the Condensory Bridge since the last part can be slow, especially if there is a high tide. For newcomers to the Comox Valley,  Puntledge Park is at the intersection of 1^st and Urquhart Avenue and the Condensory Bridge is off of Anderton Avenue. Since the river is dam controlled water levels can change from day to day so be aware of warnings posted along the river. Some other logistical issues that you need to consider-once at the Condensory Bridge how do you get to your car? In our case we had dropped a car off there before our trip down the river which could then shuttle people back up to the put in . Alternately if we haven't arranged another car we we will drop a bike at the bottom and then cycle back to get the car. Either way tubing is an institution in the Comox Valley and it is the ideal way to spend a couple of hours on a warm day. Below is a video from last summer on the river to give readers a sense of the river since it does have risk associated with it.  Also see this video for a look at the Aquaroo money belt which is what we use to keep our car keys, driver's license, etc dry on the run down the river- https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=-XrDx9R4AqU

Testing the Lowe Alpine Aeon 35 Pack

By Keith and Heather Nicol

     We use day packs well almost daily and so we were looking forward to seeing this new pack from Lowe Alpine- The Aeon.  One of the first things we noted about it was that it is so light-it comes in at just .94 kg.  Lightness isn’t always a bonus since it might be because shoulder straps are like pieces of spaghetti but this pack has full shoulder and waist bands and is very comfortable to wear. It is also adjustable which is perfect for people whose body size doesn’t fit generic sizes.  The pack can carry 35 litres and is 60x27x24 cm in size. In addition, the pack is designed to keep you cool since it has a mesh lining for your back which provides some airflow to allow sweat to escape and it has a hydration sleeve for a water pouch.

This pack is ideal for day hikes-holds, lunch, camera gear and water with ease

The pack served us well at MusicFest

       So far we have used it for hiking, biking and for general knocking around.  It came in very handy for covering the Vancouver Island MusicFest for various travel/music  blogs. It carried around our water, lunch, camera with 2 lenses as well as a video camera.  Despite the temperatures of 30 C and bright sun the pack did a great job carrying a sizeable load with ease. We also liked the large sleeves along the sides which water bottles with the risk of them falling out.  Although we only had the pack for a couple of weeks it has quickly become our “go to” day pack. They have even printed out the safety signals for mountain rescue on the top flap. Our only complaint is that the in the listing of emergency phone numbers they haven’t included Canada in the list. However Canada’s is the same as the US which is listed as 911. If you are in the market for a new day pack you need to check this one out. For more information see : www.lowealpine.com

The pack proved easy to bike with given its light weight.

Sunday was another stellar day at MusicFest

By Keith and Heather Nicol

The Grassy Knoll has had a makeover

   Since MusicFest offers 5 stages running at the same time it is often a challenge to figure where to go to hear the music you are interested in. Since moved to the Comox Valley 3 years ago from Newfoundland we always have a affection  for listening to fiddles, jigs and reels. Newfoundland is known for its kitchen parties and there was a kitchen party of sorts at the Barn at 10:00 am on Sunday when 4 groups got together to play. They included the Fretless, The StepCrew (which we had seen earlier), The Atlantic String Machine and Qristina Brooke which all feature lots of fiddles in the mix.  The Atlantic String Machine was hard for the others to join in on since they play classical music but all the others often played music they knew the others would be to join in. The volume of all those strings made for a memorable session and the StepCrew’s awesome step dancers made it especially lively.

The sprinkler system had lots of takers to cool down

     From there we stayed in the Barn to hear another mix of musicians thrust together to play under the theme of  “Influences”.   And Etage Diouf did an amazing job of coaxing the others to join in and it made for another fun sesson.  After hearing the award winning “Fretless” in the morning we wanted to catch them again at the Grassy Knoll in the afternoon.  This venue has had a welcome makeover since last year and included a huge tent which we all appreciated to get out the sun (Sunday’s temperatures hit 30 C which made it even warmer than Saturday).  It also included beer service which kids were allowed into which allowed families with children to have a drink.  

 

Eliza Gilkyson (right) and Gretchen Peters are part of "3 Women and the Truth"

       After a break at home we returned In the evening to the main Concert Bowl to hear “3 Women and the Truth” , Arlo Guthrie and The Bros Landreth.  The first 2 sessions were like we were in a time warp since “3 Women and the Truth” is made up of Mary Gauthier, Gretchen Peters and Eliza Gilkyson who are all folk singers whose songs have been recorded by Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Jimmy Buffett and many others.  Next up was Arlo Guthrie who brought us back to Bob Dylan days with songs like “Hey Mister Tamborine Man” as well as his best known songs “Alice’s Restaurant” and “City of New Orleans”.  The Bros Landreth hail from Winnipeg and they are another Juno award winning band known for their bluesy – soft rock music. We didn’t catch the last performer of the festival-Exco Levi and the High Priest – a well regarded reggae musician, since the late nights were catching up to us.  All in all it was another great MusicFest and we look forward to seeing what the organizers have in store for next year.  See https://www.islandmusicfest.com/

Arlo Gurthrie did a fine job of bringing us back a few decades.