Checking out the Malahat Skywalk

By Keith and Heather Nicol

On our way back from a recent visit to Victoria we decided to check out the Malahat Skywalk which opened a couple of years ago in the summer of 2021. We were joined by my brother Bruce and his wife Mary Ellen from Victoria who had bought season passes last year and suggested we join them on this tour. As the name suggests it is just off the hilly Malahat section of highway between Victoria and Duncan. As we found out there is much more to the Skywalk than a 40 meter high tower that has been constructed to provide amazing vistas of Sannich Inlet and beyond.  You start out on a 600 meter long  walkway that is elevated 20 meters above the ground so as you walk you are in the tree tops of some of the arbutus and douglas fir trees typically found in the area.  As well, along the way are artistic driftwood constructions of various animals you might see in the surrounding wilderness like cougars and owls. 

                          Heather looking at some of the Interpretative Panels with Sannich Inlet below

Once you get to the tower itself you follow a gradually ascending ramp that is stroller and wheelchair accessible that winds to the top of the 40 meter viewing platform. Once you get to the top you can get a 360 view of the surrounding area which includes scenic Sannich Inlet Fjord, forested hills and our day we could even see to distant Mt Baker in Washington State. The platform is situated on a promontory so you can view the steep sided Sannich inlet from many different vantage points. There are interpretative panels in many places and even a fairly rigid adventure net that you can walk out on and look straight down to the base of the Skywalk structure. 

                           The Adventure Net in the foreground lets you peer down 40 meters to the base

 Once you have finished taking pictures and appreciating the view you have 2 options for getting to the bottom of the platform. You can walk down the ramp or take the spiral slide to the bottom! This takes just a few seconds as you quickly slide down the twisting enclosed tube to the base.  What a great way to finish your tour. We opted to try the slide since it looked like alot of fun and we were told by one of the attendants  that the oldest participant so far was a 97 year old! So it is not just for kids. On the walk back to the car we followed a road past various large pieces of art and more interpretative panels explaining how the tower was constructed. Allow about 90 minutes to fully appreciate this new attraction and for more info and specials check out : https://malahatskywalk.com/    We fully recommend it and suggest that if you are visiting Victoria from Duncan and points north (like we were coming from Courtenay) that you visit the Skywalk on your way north since exiting and entering the Malahat Highway is easier this way.  Check it out!

                                                  View of distant Mt Baker from the Malahat Skywalk

                             To get down you can either take the ramp or the tube slide seen on the right 

Hornby Island makes a great 1 day get away

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We just returned from a great day trip to one of our favourite islands -Hornby Island - with some of our xc ski buddies - Steve and Marg. They hadn't spent much time on Hornby so we decided to show them  some of the places we like to visit. On Thursday, June 22 we caught the 900 am ferry from Buckley Bay which put us on Denman Island 10 minutes later. We then headed directly across the Island to catch the Hornby Island ferry which left at 9:40. Ten minutes later we were on Hornby Island heading toward one of our favourite hikes on Vancouver Island- the Helliwell Park trail.

                     Along the Middle Bench Trail on Hornby Island with Denman Is in the background

We usually go to Hornby to sea kayak but Steve and Marj don't paddle so we stuck to dry land and started with the very scenic 4 km hike at Helliwell Park to start. This is a must do trail since it is right along the ocean for the most part on a dramatic cliff face that gradually gets lower as you head east. It took us about 80 minutes to do the hike, with frequent stops for pictures, and by now we were thinking about a spot for lunch.

                                Heather walking along the scenic Helliwell Park trail overlooking the ocean

We had  packed sandwiches so decided to be by the water at Tribune Bay Beach which has one of the nicest beaches on the east side of Vancouver Island. A few people were wading in the water and so we decided to check it out and managed to get up to our knees in the chilly water.  From Tribune Bay we  then headed to Sandpiper Beach to see a different type of shoreline with its tipping layers of shale and sandstone. After that we decided to go to the end of the road to show Steve and Marj Ford's Cove and then it was back to do a short hike along the Middle Bench trail which has the most amazing views of Denman Island and the Beaufort Mountains of Vancouver  Island behind.  We caught the 400 pm ferry off of Hornby which put us back in Courtenay by 5:15 or so. Even though we had been gone only 6 or so hours it seemed much longer since we had seen so many different landscapes. And Hornby also has great mountain biking and sea kayaking so you can easily spend several day here. But for us a 1 day get away was just the ticket. Check it out before the summer tourism season begins in earnest. 

                                                          Checking out the cool water of Tribune Bay

For fun, value and challenge try Mulligans Golf Course in Courtenay

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

 Golf is popular in the Comox Valley with many courses to test your skills but if you want to try a fine little course that allows you to still play 9 holes for less than $20 then check out Mulligans Golf Course. They are certainly offer the best prices in the Comox Valley and perhaps on Vancouver Island .Where else can you play 9 holes for golf for just $18 ( 7 am – 2:30 pm) and this drops to $16 between 2:30 and 4:50 pm and then to just $14 after 5:00 pm.

The greens were in a great shape

 They offer an executive course which means there are mostly par 3’s with some par 4’s and the longest hole is 337 yards. Total length from the blue tees is 1763 yards which is about a mile so it is also easy to walk for many people from younger children to older adults. But just because it is short doesn’t mean it is easy. There is water on 7 of the 9 holes and many strategically placed sand traps so depending on where the pin is placed, making par can be a real challenge. In fact on our last round there on June 20 I ended up in several traps which certainly didn’t help my score. The course also gives scenic views of the Beaufort Range of Mountains and has been landscaped to create undulations and mounds which add to the layout of the course. We were interested to see how the course was holding up given the lack of rain this summer and were impressed by how well the fairways looked and the greens were in great shape.   

                                Heather teeing off on the first hole with the Beaufort Mtns behind

In addition to a small clubhouse with an outdoor patio , there is a large driving range, a putting green and a sand trap practice area where I need to spend more time. The driving range is another bargain since a bucket of balls is just $3.75.   One of the friendly staff, told us that it is usually busiest between 8 am and 2 pm and it is easiest to get on after 3pm . Mulligans is located right outside of Courtenay and it took us about 90 minutes to play 9 holes. For more information see: http://mulligansgolfcourse.com/  or phone 250-338-2440. This course is ideal for families or friends wanting to meet for a couple of hours of enjoyable golf. 

                                                           Keith chipping on to the second green 

 

The Trailforks app is for more than mountain bikers

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

The Trailforks app is a god send for mountain bikers since it has amassed 1000’s of trails around the world that people use for mountain biking. But where I mainly
ride in Cumberland on Vancouver Island I see many other users on the large trail system. There are dog walkers, trail runners, people out for a walk or hike as well as mountain bikers and but with over dozens of trail options it is always good to know where you are and this is where Trailforks comes in. Most mountain bikers already have Trailforks on their cell phones but many walkers and trail runners may not. 

                                      The trails at Cumberland are for more than just mountain bikers

Once you load the free app on your phone you will get a map of the trails with trail names and difficulty (difficulty for biking) and the gps in your phone will locate you on the map. So if you want to hike or trail run on the Cumberland trails and want to know where some trail might take you the trailforks app can tell you. Or if you twist an ankle walking and need to get out via the shortest trail possible the app will show you the options. It also gives the distance of a trail and a profile of it so you know the ups and downs.  The app is easy to use and with the free version you get a large local area you have access to.  With the Cumberland trails there are 3 different trail types- Nature Trails which are mainly for walkers or hikers, Multi Use trails which as the name suggests are good for hiking, biking etc and Gravity trails where hikers and walkers must yield to mountain bikers. 

                                                            Trail runners on the Cumberland Trails

Be aware that the app is was developed  for single track mountain biking so paved trails or easy trails in city parks usually will not be featured. In the Comox Valley the Trailforks app includes trails around the upper Puntledge (in and around the dam) down to Nymph Falls, the Cumberland Trails, many trails at N E Woods and the multiuse trail at Seal Bay Park. It also features the mountain bike trails on Hornby Island as well as steep trails descending down from Forbidden Plateau. So check it out for your next outing- https://www.trailforks.com/ See you on the trail. 

 

 

Exploring Point Holmes tide pools in June

By Keith and Heather Nicol

    We like to head down to the Point Holmes shoreline of Comox when there is a very  low tide since it is one of the few places we know of in the local area that has small tide pools and exposed bedrock which can hide sea stars and other organisms. The tide at 3:00 pm on June 7 was just 0.3 meters and with the sunny and warm weather it was a great day to check out the tide pools. And Point Holmes is a great way to beat the heat which on this day was forecast to hit 30C.

 

For those people not familiar with this area it is to the right of the boat launch and there is parking for a number of cars just off of Lazo Road. Because of the large tides in this area the tide pools are 200-300 meters from the parking area and footing can be tricky especially near the rocky outcrops. We wore hiking shoes but some people we saw were wearing rubber boots. Flip flops or similar sandals are not recommended given the slippery, seed weed covered rocks.                                      The midshipman can be seen to the right with the orange eggs it is guarding to the left

    And we weren’t disappointed. Under a rock we saw were surprised to see a midshipman fish guarding eggs that likely were deposited in May. If you do move rocks take care to put them back exactly as you have found them. We saw many ochre sea stars clinging to the underside of clefts in the rock and in the tidal pools including one collection with purple and orange sea stars. You don’t tend to see many orange ones so we counted ourselves lucky to photograph one this time. We also managed to see 3 leather sea stars which does feel like wet leather. And we also saw a river otter swim along and then get out on to the rocks just ahead of us. So check this place out if you like exploring nature in the Comox Valley. Bring your camera and binoculars since you don’t know what you might see.  Also a kneeling pad helps protect your knees if you want to see what is under clefts in rocks.  So check this place out when the tide is low. See you there. 

                                               A river otter also decided to see what low tide had to offer