Hiking Destinations and Places to Explore on Hornby Island

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We recently traveled to Hornby Island to sea kayak in 2 of our favourite places on the Island (http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2022/09/sea-kayaking-destinations-and-tips-for.html) and also got a chance to do some exploring on foot as well. We find that hiking nicely compliments sea kayaking since one tends to use the torso and upper body while hiking is mainly exercise for the legs.  We love the hike around Helliwell Park and it is must do if you visit the Island. The full circuit is 5 km and you should allow about 60 to 90 minutes to do the loop depending on how long you spend taking photos! You can also get great views of the garry oak meadows and elevated cliffs if you simply walk out to end of trail which is just under a 1 km one way so this is an option for people that might not be able to walk the 5 km loop. 

 

                      Walking along the cliffs of the Helliwell Trail

We also love exploring the shoreline and find the beach and adjacent sloping bedrock intertidal zone at Sandpiper Beach Park an interesting place to explore. This is best seen on a lower tide. We also head to Grassy Point Park on the north end of the Island to see the sunset and on Sept 26 when we were there we were joined by several other groups with the same idea in mind. Part of the Island is underlain by sandstone and it has been carved into some interesting wave cut formations which can be seen at Ford Cove just along the shore from the Store and Restaurant there. We also make sure that we drive up Mount Rd to walk along the middle beach trail which provides great vistas of Lambert Channel between Denman and Hornby Island . This trail is a real gem is one we always check out when we visit Hornby Island. If readers have other suggestions of hikes to check out on Hornby , let us know.  See you on the trail.  

 

     Walking along the Upper Beach Trail with Lambert Channel below 

Sea Kayaking Destinations and Tips for Hornby Island

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

We recently returned from a 2 day trip to Hornby Island where the focus was sea kayaking. We also had time to do some of our favourite walks which will be the focus of a second blog post. We have sea kayaked on Hornby Island on a few occasions but our favourite go to locations are Whaling Station Bay with a destination to Flora Island and Ford Cove with a destination to Heron Rocks and Norris Island. These off shore islands are home to sea birds, seals and often sea lions and in the past we have seen orcas cruising these waters in search of a meal. On our most recently trip on Sept 26 and 27 we saw no orcas but we did see 100’s of seals hauled out on the rocks as well as a couple of dozen large California  sea lions plus a large variety of bird life. 

 

Our first destination was Flora Island and our first tip is to bring wheels to help tow your kayak if you arrive at Whaling Station Bay like we did at low tide. We had a 200m trip from the car to the water and the “wheels” made all the difference. From there we paddled along the shoreline and paddled roughly 4 km around the 2 islands that seem to make up Flora Island. The first had dozens of seals lounging on the beaches and adjacent rocks and the later had a big colony of sea lions (see photo below)  on it which we heard barking well before we got there.  We paddled around the outside of the islands and snapped many pictures of the seals and noisy sea lions. In all we paddled about 8 km and allow about 2 hours for your trip. Although we see many seals when we paddle near Courtenay we don’t have the off shore islands like Hornby does to attract the big colonies. 

 

The next morning we had the tide in our favour and we set off from Ford Cove just a couple of hours after high tide. The “boat launch”  here is just a small path to the water adjacent to the wharf and again the wheels came in handy.  Here though instead of hauling our kayaks 200m across the sand like we did at Whaling Station Bay we only had to cover about 20 meters of beach to get to the water.  The paddle starts in the protected water of the Ford Cove marina and then we turned south and paddled past Heron Rocks and out to Norris Island. In this case we saw large colonies of seals and sea birds but no sea lions at this time. The distances and timing are similar to paddling to Flora Island – we paddled about 7.5 km  in one hour and 45 minutes.  Although we have paddled in other locations on Hornby Island we have found that these 2 areas provide the best wildlife sitings and are both a great overall paddling experience.  You can pick up a visitor map that shows the locations discussed in the this blog on the ferry.  See you on the water. 

 

 

Sea kayaking at Goose Spit in Comox at sunset

 by Keith and Heather Nicol
Goose Spit is a favourite destination for many people in the Comox Valley and for good reason. You can go for a beach walk, have a picnic, or go paddle boarding or kayaking. One factor to consider when kayaking is the carry to the water from the car and so we usually kayak at the Spit when the tide is quite high to avoid a longer carry. Recently with high tides in the early evening and warm summer like temperatures we decided to do an evening paddle on September 24 in hopes of also getting a nice sunset.  The tide was about 4.6 meters and so that meant we just had short distance to carry our gear to the water and winds were very light from the north. 

 We started our paddle around 5:00 pm and proceded around the Spit and saw many people enjoying the many pullouts that are possible along the spit since much of the shore line is sand or small gravels at this tide.  We pulled out for a snack with a great view of Denman and Hornby Islands in the distance after paddling about 3.5 km.. We then turned around and paddled back the way we had come. And ended our paddle just as the sun was setting so it was a perfect ending to our outing. For those not familiar with Goose Spit it is at the end of Hawkins Road in Comox.

 

 

 

 

The Sobo No Michi climbing trail is a great bike workout in Cumberland

 
By Keith and Heather Nicol

The Sobo No Michi climbing trail is a perfect way to get to the upper single track trails in Cumberland and is a great workout at the same time. The name Sobo No Michi apparently means Grandmother’s trail in Japanese and is a good name since the trail builders have built a well designed climbing route.  This trail veers left off of Davis Lake Main just past the bridge over Preseverance Creek and involves countless switchbacks to gain elevation.  This trail is an up trail only for good reason- you don’t want anyone coming at you as you steam uphill. The trail can be ridden with a front suspension bike only but if you want to come down most of the trail accessed by this route you will want a full suspension bike. However if you want to use this route for fitness only and are not comfortable on the single track Cumberland trails you can always take Trent River Main down since it is a wide logging road with a good grade. 

                                            Steve cresting the top of the Upper Part of Sobo No Michi

You can do the trail in a few different sections- the lower section climbs 117 meters in 1.8 km and accesses popular routes like Old Vanilla, Middle Vanilla and Lower Vanilla and Blue Collar. From the upper section which climbs 163 meters in 2.6 km you can access popular routes like New Vanilla, Upper Climax and Blue Print.  Note that to get to the base of the climbing trail you need to climb up the lower part of Davis Lake main so this is definitely a good workout when you add up all the climbing. Fortunately much of it is in the shade and only the upper part breaks out into a cut over (see photo below) and is in the sun. But the grade of the trail means that you can keep peddling and there are no roots to jump over or interrupt your progress. One reviewer who has cycled all over Western Canada and the US gives it 2 thumbs up and thinks it might be the best climbing trail in the entire region. So if you are getting ready for the xc ski season like I am or just want a great way to get to the top of the trail system check it out if you haven’t already. See you on the trail.