Tree Island is a perfect half day trip for sea kayakers in the Comox, B.C. area

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

 Tree Island (or Sandy Island as it is sometimes known) is located off the northern tip of Denman Island and makes a perfect half day paddle (or longer if you plan to explore the island or want to linger). We do the trip on an annual basis and we usually launch at the Union Bay Boat launch.  This makes it easy to launch your kayak since you can drive right to the water’s edge and there is a large car park for your vehicle.  Be sure to drop your launch fee money in the box. From here you can’t quite see Tree Island but as soon as you take a few paddle strokes out of the harbour it looms 4.4 km in the distance.

                                             Heather enroute to Tree Island - Denman Island in distance

But on this occasion we decided to try out the Argyle Road public access (49 36' 50" N 124 54' 10" W) which makes the drive down from Courtenay abit shorter but more importantly it is the closest launch point we have been able to find to Tree Island. Instead of the 4.4 km crossing from Union Bay our GPS showed a distance of about 3.5 km one way from Argyle Road which meant we could do the paddle in about 45 minutes. The big down side of the Argyle Road access is that parking is limited and it is more of a homemade boat launch over rounded cobbles etc so a high clearance vehicle is handy. However no matter which launch point you use it is an open water crossing so you want to factor in the weather and wave conditions and be competent at doing a self rescue if you run into trouble. 

                                                                            Tree Island is well named

On Thursday August 18 the wind forecast was for light NE winds which made for a very pleasant trip to Tree Island since the breeze was in our face keeping us cool. Although temperatures were forecast for the low 20’s C the following wind made it quite warm on the return trip. Be sure to bring water! We had a lunch break for about an hour before paddling back to the Argyle Shore access. Allow about 45 minutes each way for paddling depending on wind and wave conditions from Argyle Road – add 15 minutes each way if you use the Union Bay launch location. Just one more note if you do use the Argyle Road access- be sure to note where to paddle back to from Tree Island. Once on Tree Island opposite shore line looks all the same and so record your track or a waypoint at the launch point so you know where to head to your return trip. See you on the water.

 

Testing AllTrails app on the Century Sam Hike

 by Keith and Heather Nicol 

A popular hike in the Comox Valley is the trek into Century Sam Lake and it has much to recommend it.  It is relatively short and offers wildflowers, a very scenic lake and ice caves. What more could you want! The hike is located just behind Comox Lake which means that you need to use a logging road that is only open on weekends so before you head out – check the times for gate closings since you don’t want to get caught behind the locked the gate. We used the AllTrails app (https://www.alltrails.com/) which has directions all loaded into the info about the hike plus important hiking access info which was very handy. So check out this app if you are not familiar with it.  I was joined on this hike by my xc ski buddy Steve who had suggested it and since Sunday August 14 was forecasting overcast conditions and pleasant temperatures we decided to check it out. 

                                      

                                  The ice caves are a real bonus of this hike- a great way to cool down                                 

When we first started to look up some details about the hike it appeared that it really has 2 staging areas – one for regular vehicles and another for real 4 by 4 trucks and high clearance  SUV’s.  The distance between the 2 is about 1.75 km and other info suggested that this would add about 45 minutes each way to the hike so we opted to take old mountain bikes for this leg of the trip. Although we pushed our bikes up some of the steeper uphills on the road – it only took us 10 minutes to fly down this section on our bikes and we passed several groups walking down so it can definitely save you some time. We simply locked the bikes to a tree at the trail head. 

 

                                                          

                                                              Lunch spot over looking colourful Century Sam Lake

We were struck by the large number of vehicles at both trailheads. There must have been between 30-40 cars and trucks parked along the edge of the road so you know you have arrived when you see all the cars at the lower parking lot. (There were another 10-15 vehicles at the upper parking lot!).  Signage is abit of an issue so be sure to take the right hand access road (there are 3 options) from the lower staging area if you decide not to drive to the upper lot. This first section follows a logging road and faces south so it was quite hot since there was little shade. Once you have walked (or biked in our case) 1.75 km you reach the upper lot and actual trail head. 

                                

                                                                    Wildflowers near the ice caves

The Century Sam trail is about 3.5 km one way but don’t let the short distance give you the impression it is an easy hike. The trail gains close to 500 meters of elevation and instead of switchbacks the trail builders have opted to go straight uphill in many cases. There are lots of roots and rocks and even abit of mud in places so watch your footing. I found that a hike pole really helped and be sure to bring plenty of water for the hike if it is hot. Although there were a few bugs enroute we weren’t bothered by them and shorts worked well for us. Also bring real hiking footware- we saw several groups in light runners and even some people in no lace shoes. This is a real hike so bring proper footware that can grip the rock and soil.

                           

                                           The ice caves are a bonus ..a great way to cool down on a hot day

The lower part is shady since it is mostly in the trees or overgrown avalanche paths . Once you break out into the bare rock you are close to the lake where we had lunch. The blue –green water of Century Sam Lake is impressive and there are many great lunch spots overlooking the lake. The ice caves are a must visit and they are another 15 minutes walking past the lake. Another bonus about a mid August hike are the wildflowers that are out. The route down is the same as the trail up but goes by much faster. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to descend from the ice caves to our bikes. Then it took us just 10 minutes to descend to our car (rather than 45 minutes hiking down) and our total time was about 4.5 hours. From the lower car park it took 40 minutes to drive past the gate Comox Lake so be sure to allow this extra time if you get a late start on the trail. For info about road closures see: https://www.mosaicforests.com/access.  This is a popular hike so don’t be surprised by the number of hikers but it definitely a must do if you like hiking and want to see an emerald green lake and ice caves. See you on the trail. 

 

                                      Steve walking over one of the many logs in the lower section of the trail

 

The Parksville’s Sand Castle Sculpture Competition on until August 21

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

You still have time to catch the Parksville’s Sand Castle Sculpture Competition on at the Parksville Community Park before the sand returns to the beach. This international competition had a Covid 19 break for 2 years but it is back and well worth taking in. We decided to check it out when we made a recent trip to Victoria from our home in Courtenay. It makes a great place to have lunch and see the amazing sand sculptures.  People from many different countries came to build their sculptures in mid July, 2022 from July 14-17 and now the general public can view them and vote for their favourite creation. The pictures below give you an idea of the detail that these sculptures have and you quickly realize that these aren’t your everyday sandcastles. The theme this year was "the roaring 20's".  Be sure to take it in if traveling in the area and for more info see: https://www.parksvillebeachfest.ca/  But you only have until August 21 to see the sand art work and the site is open 9:30 am to 8:30 pm.

Victoria’s Butchart Gardens “music in the park” is a special treat

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Butchart Gardens has a well deserved reputation for its colourful and varied gardens and is a well known attraction when visiting Victoria.  The gardens have been running for over 100 years and started when Jennie Butchart decided to rehabilitate a limestone quarry which had been used to supply her husband’s cement plant.  We have visited the 55 acre garden in spring and summer in the past (we still haven’t seen the elaborate displays for Christmas ) but a real highlight in the summer is the chance to combine viewing the amazing gardens with music as part of Butchart Gardens summer concert series. From July 1 until September 3, on Friday and Saturday nights Butchart Gardens plays host to a variety of summer concerts.  

                                                          Canna Lilies near the Bandshell

We arrived around 5:30 pm on Saturday, August 6 so that we could see the gardens before the 8:00 pm concert.  Our group included my brother and his wife who live in Victoria and have season passes at Butchart Gardens and regularly take in the summer concerts since it is included in the daily ticket cost! We also had our sister from Arizona in tow who hadn’t been back to Butchart gardens in over 45 years. Like many people we also packed a picnic lunch to eat on the grass in front of the band stand. This is a popular way to take in the summer concerts since you couldn’t ask for a nicer, more picturesque place to have a picnic than on a grassy lawn surrounded by flowers and shade trees.

                                       You couldn't ask for a better place to have a picnic that at Butchart Gardens

 The rose garden is a special treat throughout the summer and is the only part of the garden where the plants are named. Although the Sunken Garden was in partial shade when we arrived it was still spectacular with its 21 meter Ross Fountain at the end. One disadvantage of arriving later in the afternoon is that some of the garden is now in shade so if you want to see the gardens in their best light plan to get there by mid afternoon at the latest. We also appreciated the Italian Garden and the entry walkway to the Concert Stage and lawn with its nicely spaced trees surrounded by rings of flowers. We finished up our tour of the gardens by 7:00 pm (allow about 1.5 hours to see all parts of the gardens) and then had our picnic dinner.

                                                              

                        Despite the lower sun angles which shaded parts of the Sunken Garden it is still very scenic

The Odyssey String Quartet has played at Butchart Gardens  annually for 20 years and is one of their most popular groups. They played a mix of classical and popular music including a medley of Beatles songs and show tunes. They related a story of one of their earlier concerts when the stage was in the Sunken Garden and it was a cold and rainy evening.  “The audience got up on the stage with us to stay dry” they told us.   Although there are pre set chairs for the evening concerts we brought our own chairs so we could more easily have our picnic and find shade since it was a warm evening. Just be aware that once the sun goes down temperatures can drop appreciably and we were glad we brought long pants and a fleece to put on as the concert progressed.  

 

                                                 We loved the Italian Garden with its statues,flowers and pools

Music and Gardens ...a great combination and you couldn’t do much better for a special summer evening than spending it at Butchart Gardens. For the summer concert schedule and other information see: http://www.butchartgardens.com/. 

                                Close to 750 people appreciated the varied music of the Odyssey String Quartet