A mid April trip to the Comox Bluffs

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

 The Comox Bluffs are along the north side of Comox Lake and there is an ecological reserve there to protect the unusual plant life that exists in this dry rocky sun drenched area. Trees like Arbutus and shrubs like hairy Manzanita are common along this area where as they are pretty rare in the rain forest environment of the Comox Valley. We hadn’t been to this lookout for a couple of years and never in mid April so we were interested to see what wildflowers we might see.

                 The viewpoint overlooking Comox Lake is only a 20-25 minute walk from the trailhead

 This trail starts at a small parking lot at 49 38.477 N 125 06.256 W on the left hand side of the road a few hundred meters past the bridge the crosses the Puntledge River where it empties out of Comox Lake.  This route is called the Tomato Creek trail and it leads to a lookout which gives fine views of Comox Lake and is surrounded by the rare plants of the Ecological Reserve. It can be reached in just over 1.2 km (20 minute walk one way ).  Some of the many flowers that bloom here were out although if you come at various times in the spring you will likely see a  variety of different flowers in bloom. We saw lots of sea blush out on this visit. 

                           Sea Blush was out in bloom in mid April on our most recent trip to Comox Bluffs

 A longer trail continues from the lookout and it traverses the entire Ecological Reserve and ends up at the main logging road which you can then follow back to your car. Be aware that logging trucks may be using this road and it can be dusty so you also can return back via the same trail rather that do a loop.  This longer route is about 5.5 km and takes about 2 hours. But the shorter hike to the lookout would suit people families with smaller children or others that want a shorter hike.  Just be aware that the trail is hard to find in some places and it does have forks which makes route finding abit challenging. In fact we ran into a couple that was off route trying to reach the Bluffs and they followed us to the Lookout. The full route can be found on AllTrails and is under the name “Tony’s and Tomato Creek Loop”. If you use this app route finding should be easier. For more info see: https://www.alltrails.com/ 

 

 

Cherry Trees are in bloom in many places in the Comox Valley

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Vancouver and Victoria are well known for their cherry trees in bloom in the spring and although the Comox Valley does not have the number of trees of these bigger centres they do have some trees worth checking out. One of our favourite streets to view every spring is Anna Place which not only has many well established trees in bloom lining the street but it also has a superb view of the Comox Glacier as you can see in the picture below. Another tree that is very impressive is at the intersection of 14^th and Cumberland in Courtenay. It is also one of the nominated trees for Tree of the Year for 2024 (an event run by Comox Valley Nature). So be sure to check it out! If readers have other favourite cherry trees in the Comox Valley let us know where they are.  

 

The “new” Lake Trail Disc Golf course in the Comox Valley is great

 


By Keith and Heather Nicol

We started disc golfing through the CV19 pandemic and it became a great way to get some fresh air and socialize with friends at the same time. It is easy to socially distance while playing so we played many times on the different courses in the Comox Valley but always returned to our favourite at Lake Trail. When we started out the course had 12 holes and that then morphed to 9 holes but the tee boxes were always rough and ready unlike those at the disc golf courses in Comox and Cumberland.

                    Heather getting ready to throw off the new tee boxes with a map of the hole as well

 The Lake Trail course also lacked signage info but over the past several months both of these areas have been corrected. There are now small maps of each hole at the tee box and the new tee boxes are well made making this course now even nicer. So thanks to those that have made these improvements. On our most recent round we even saw some nice wildflowers like trilliums in many places which is a nice bonus of an early spring round of disc golf.   

                                                              Keith tossing in a putt on the last hole

 We enjoy this course it since it has some elevation changes and now has some variety with an open shot across the playing field at Lake Trail school. Since we are new to the sport we thought that another advantage of this course was its relatively short layout and reasonably open understory which means finding an errant disc is pretty easy.  This course is right next to Lake Trail school and there is parking for several cars at the start. Check it out if you haven’t already.  

Trilliums were out on our last visit in early April

 

Thanks for a great cross country ski season

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

   It was a sad day when we cleaned out our ski locker at Raven Lodge on Sunday, April 7 to end the 2024 cross country ski season. Raven Lodge is the base of operations of cross country skiing and snow shoeing at Mount Washington near Courtenay, B.C on Vancouver Island.  It was a strange year weatherwise with snow late to arrive at the start of the season and then a rain storm in early February closed the resort for a couple of days. But somehow the trail crew got things going again and then in March lots of snow fell which gave Mt Washington the cushion of snow they needed to be able to finish up the season. The Strathcona Park cross country trails were even open for awhile which everyone really appreciated.

                           We had some great times on the Mt Washington Cross Country Ski trails this winter

So next year if you have thought about trying cross country skiing or snowshoeing then check out Raven Lodge at Mount Washington. They have over 50 km of trail groomed for skating and classic skiing as well as many snowshoe trails. Raven Lodge has great mountain views and inside you can have a bite to eat, book rentals and lessons, buy day tickets and even have a sauna.  Lets hope next winter brings more snow and continued great skiing to Mount Washington.  For more information see: https://www.mountwashington.ca/  

 

                              Mt Washington Ski Resort has great trails for cross country skiing

Spring Wildflowers are out along the Tsolum River in Courtenay

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

        On Friday. March 29 we had a pleasant surprise when we had a walk by the Tsolum River. There were carpets of fawn lilies and trilliums in bloom along the trails which really brightened up our walk. The trails are located behind the Exhibition Grounds off of Headquarters Road in Courtenay, B.C. Take the main trail toward the river and we found many clusters of fawn lilies on the side trail to the right. If you are handy with a GPS turn right at this junction - 49 42.284 N 125 00.373 W. You don’t need to walk very far before you see the flowers along the trail.  We are not sure how long they will last but if like early spring flowers check out this area and don’t forget to bring your camera. We usually check out this area in early April so it seems like this year the flowers are abit early. A pad to kneel on for getting up close to the flowers for photography will also be helpful. 

                                     Fawn Lilies are out and we love those first signs of spring wildflowers

                                                    We didn't see many trilliums but they are there if you look closely

The Park trails are now open for Nordic Skiing at Mount Washington Ski Resort

 

by Keith and Heather Nicol

  Many skiers’ favourite trails at Mount Washington Ski Resort are in Strathcona Provincial Park and for good reason.  They are scenic and generally well suited to the beginner and intermediate skier with lots of flat areas or gently sloping trails which are easy to negotiate. With the very unusual winter that has generally negatively influenced skiing across North America, Raven Lodge at Mount Washington has been usually able to keep 20 plus km of Nordic trails open but when you think that they have 55 km of trails – that is alot that were closed due to lack of sufficient snow cover.  So it was great when the last big March snowfall added just enough to open those trails. Of course, conditions can change quickly so if you want to ski those trails you should do so sooner rather than later, especially with the double digit temperatures that are hitting us right now over the March 16-17 weekend. 

                                    The nordic ski trails are in great shape at the moment

There are just 3 weeks of skiing left at Mount Washington Ski Resort so now is the time to take advantage of the nicer weather and longer days to get in some exercise on your snowshoes or cross country skis. Next weekend (March 23-24) is Nordic Fest which always has alot on the go and is a great time to get some advanced ski lessons as well as checking out the other activities that are organized. You can also go on a scavenger hunt, check out Rossignol ski demos and much more- see https://mountwashington.ca for details – search under upcoming events for more info.  See you on the trails .    

                 The nordic trails in Strathcona Park are currently open - check them out