By Keith and Heather Nicol
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| Keith walking into the wind along the scenic Helliwell Trail |
With the weather
playing havoc with our mid September sea kayaking and mountain bike plans we
decided to do storm watching – Hornby Island style. The weather for the week (Sept
9-16) was definitely more windy than normal and bands of showers and rain made
their appearance on several days. But we found that the prevailing Southeast storm
winds striking the south facing cliffs of Helliwell Provincial Park produced
some great vistas of crashing waves. In fact, looking at the layout of the Gulf
Islands, Hornby might be the best place to see waves striking cliffs in all of
the Salish Sea!
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| The cliffs at Helliwell produced fine storm watching |
We love the
Helliwell Provincial Park trail since it provides fine views of Garry Oak
meadows fronting on the ocean. This open feel is rare in the Comox Valley and
with the elevated views of the ocean and views of Mt Arrowsmith and the
mountains of Vancouver Island in the distance you can’t beat this hike in good
weather. But we found it equally impressive in stormy weather. So if you like
storm watching there is no need to head to Tofino, just head to Hornby Island
when the fall and winter storms are raging. Just make sure the wind is from the
south east (which it normally is in storms) since that will produce the best
viewing conditions. The Helliwell hike is 5 km and is easy to do for most ages
and stages since it is mostly level and well maintained. For more information on
Hornby Island see:
http://hornbyisland.com/
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| Storms crashing into the shore line at Helliwell |
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