Checking out the Hammerfest Bike Trails near Parksville

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We normally ride the great trails at Cumberland in the Comox Valley but are always interested in trying out new trails. So on a recent trip to Rathtrevor Park in Parksville we decided to check out the Hammerfest Trails which are nearby. We used the AllTrails app which showed us a couple of the more popular loops to try. A nice bonus of this app is that you can download the routes ahead of time and then use the routes off line while you are on the trails. The routes we downloaded were “Locomotion , Jughead and the Link” and “Pit 2 Pit, Daryl’s, Jughead and Dem Bones” . 

 

We also used the AllTrails app to direct us to the parking area which is another bonus of this app since we would have driven right past the area since the starting area is not well sign posted. Unlike the trails at Cumberland where there is a large sign at the beginning showing the trails – here there is a sign showing that logging is on going and not to use the area before 3:00 pm during the week. Since we were riding after 3:00 pm on Monday, Sept 19 we headed off on the Pit 2 Pit loop. There are very few signs showing trail names so the app really helped keep us on track. The up track starts off nicely with a good grade for climbing. But near the top the route (Daryl’s) becomes very steep and I ended up pushing my bike up the trail. This route climbs 224 meters  over 3.8 km but then levels out and the route down starts on “Jughead” which is a fun twisting descent.   And “Dem Bones” delivers you right back to the road where you parked. Over all the 7.6 km route took an hour of cycling and overall I saw just 2 other cyclists. 

 

The next day I cycled the “Locomotion , Jughead and the Link” route and this loop climbs abit less – 185 meters and is slightly shorter at 7.4 km. Again the AllTrails app came in handy since their were so few trail signs. I had hoped that this route might be abit easier but again had to push my bike up some the steeper portions before I reached Jughead for the descent.  Overall this route took about an hour since I explored a few side trails enroute to the top. I really liked the trails here – I can see why Jughead is one of the most popular trails here but a good up trail would make cycling here that much better. Also you can see where new road building for logging has cut across Jughead so I hope the rest of the trails stay intact. Another bonus of this area is that they seem to have quite a few green trails which would be a good for the rider that wants smoother trails to ride.  For more info on the AllTrails app see:
https://www.alltrails.com/  

 

Cycling the Big Qualicum River Trail a great fall cycle route

By Keith  and Heather Nicol    

On Monday Sept 19 we cycled the Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery route to Horne Lake. We fully recommend this trail for anyone interested in a great fall bike ride since it follows a shady river and there is virtually no other traffic! Our group was part of the Evergreen Club in Courtenay and we were a mix of mountain bikes and e bikes. The Evergreen Club offers many activities and the cycling group heads out twice a week – Monday for longer rides and Wednesday morning for shorter rides. For anyone wanting more info on this cycling group contact: ejkimball62@gmail.com

 

 The trail starts at the Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery (coordinates 49 23.621 N and 124 36.964 W) which is well signed from the Horne Lake Road turnoff (head Northeast on Horne Lake Road) once you leave the Inland Highway. For those people that have the Back Road Map Book for Vancouver Island this bike route is even marked on the map on page 27. We love this book since it has shows lots of places to explore on Vancouver Island which are off the beaten track. (https://www.backroadmapbooks.com/). From the fish hatchery we basically traveled on a service road for the hatchery which is perfect for cycling since it is wide and follows along the Big Qualicum River. And the fall colours added to the trip.

 

 

 The first 8.5 km are easy cycling on a gravel road adjacent to the river. But at this point our leader Hugh Ney suggested we take a short detour to see a small waterfall – take a left off the road to the Incubation Site and take the walking path for 20-30 meters to the river. Follow the small bridge to a viewing platform where you can see a falls,mossy trees and water swirling past the platform. We then returned to the main service road which now climbs much more steeply for just over 2 km to a junction with the Horne Lake Cave Road (coordinates 49 20.492 N 124 40.757 W) . Just before the Horne Lake Cave Road (HLCR) we needed to lift our bikes around a gate. From the junction we turned left and followed HLCR for a couple of hundred meters to a water works pull out which led to a short road and beach access on Horne Lake where we had lunch.

 

 After lunch everyone else headed back the same way we had come in on while we decided to check out some single track mountain bike trails at the Hammerfest trail system just down the road near Parksville. We highly recommend this Big Qualicum River bike route since it follows a lovely,shady river and ends at a scenic lake....what more could you ask for ?? The route is about 20 km in total although you could turn around at any point and return back to the car park if you wanted a shorter route.  See you on the trail. 

 

Checking out the Bowen Park Disc Golf Course in Nanaimo

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Since we started disc golfing at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic we have enjoyed playing disc golf in the Comox Valley where we are blessed with 3 courses that are well marked and maintained. We have also played the course in Campbell River, another in Victoria and 3 courses in the Vancouver area. After checking out these courses we realize that we are very lucky we have so many courses here that are easy to get on and fun to play. For instance, Vancouver with many times our population has just 3 courses and one of those is not played often since baskets locations require throws over parking lots and other obstacles. If viewers are interested in finding out about these courses simply type in “disc golf” in the search bar of this blog and previous blog posts will come up dealing with the courses we have played. 

                                            

We had heard about the Bowen Park course in Nanaimo and so when we had to be there for a medical appointment on Thursday ,Sept 15 we decided to check this course out. This course is quite open compared to the mainly wooded courses in the Comox Valley but it is longer to compensate. The 18 tee pads are concrete and there are 2 tee off locations which means that as you improve you can play the longer course. We played off the shorter blue pads and really liked the varied terrain and open nature of the course. However the course does have some drawbacks since it is very close to roads, parking areas, volleyball courts and walking trails. In fact, there were several signs warning about problems with discs ending up on the sand volleyball courts. So the course favours accurate throwing. To aid finding the starting location and course map we did screen shots of the course on our phone before we left so that we knew which parking lot was closest to the start. Bowen Park is large and has several parking areas so check out the map on the following web site before you go to make getting to the first tee location as easy as possible- https://www.nanaimo.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-trails/park-maps   Then click on the Bowen Park Map and then the Disc Golf Map.  If viewers have other recommended disc golf locations on Vancouver Island let us know as k2nicol@gmail.com  We definately want to play this course again now that we know the layout.
See you on the course.

 

 

 

Enjoying a sunset paddle over Kye Bay near Comox

By Keith and Heather Nicol

With summer coming to a close we realized that we had not done a sunset paddle yet this year so with some warm temperatures and clear skies we decided to head out on the evening of Sept 11 from the  Point Holmes boat launch around 6:00 pm. We headed out around Cape Lazo and toward Kye Bay in amazing flat seas. The high tide and calm conditions met we could check out the shore line for possible shore birds (we saw none) but we rewarded with viewing 100’s of young Bonaparte gulls and many young Harlequin ducks. 

 

We headed toward Air Force Beach watching the sun slip lower in the sky and we could see that it would set along the side Mt Washington.  As the sun slipped lower the colours in the sky began to change and views across to the mountains behind the Sunshine Coast were impressive. But then we realized that we better start to head back since the sun was now just about to set and we still had to paddle back 4 km before it got dark. We arrived back at Pt Holmes with other boats returning from fishing trips and it was abit chaotic at the boat launch as everyone was trying to get off the water in the disappearing light. There will still be some great evenings for paddling so if you had not had a sunset paddle this year get out soon before the weather changes. Remember you can always check the conditions at the Pt Holmes boat launch by viewing this web cam before you head out- http://www.pointholmesrecreation.ca/rampcam/   See you on the water.  

 

 

A fall bike trip to Denman and Hornby lsland is an ideal way to spend a day

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We recently did a bike tour of Denman and Hornby Island with the Evergreen Cycling group based in Courtenay.  These islands have much to recommend them and a bike is a good way to see these islands. And a big bonus is that if you are over 65 years old and travel Monday to Thursday your trip is free and you won’t a miss a ferry since bikes and other foot passengers load first. On Monday Sept 12, we caught the 9:00 am ferry from Buckley Bay (we parked in the adjacent parking lot) and then proceeded to cycle across Denman Island. The ferry timing is suited to drivers in cars since we had just 30 minutes to get the 11-12 km from one ferry terminal to the other. That was too short a time given the hills we had to negotiate so we cycled at a leisurely pace to catch the 1040 am sailing. We recommend taking the Lacon – Macfarlane route which gets less traffic than the main road. The roads on both Denman and Hornby have no shoulders and although this is usually not an issue it pays to use the less traveled routes where possible.

                                                                           Crossing the Hornby Island

We then boarded the 1040 am ferry to Hornby Island (another 10 minute crossing) and cycled 10 km across the island to Tribune Bay Prov Park where we had lunch overlooking the broad sandy beach. Fortunately Hornby is less hilly (following Shingle Spit and Central Road to Tribune Bay) and this took us about 40 minutes to cycle. Depending on your interest you could do more exploring by bike or walk the beach or have a coffee at the cross roads area near the Prov Park.  We returned via the same route so once you know your timing and the ferry schedule you can catch the return ferry to Denman and then across Denman  to catch the return ferry to Buckley Bay.  The total distance of cycling via this route is about 43 km but it is broken up by ferry rides so it made for very pleasant fall cycling outing. And our group included several e bikes which made the trip that much easier for those riders. For more info on the Evergreen Cycling group contact : ejkimball62@gmail.com.

                                              The roads have no shoulder but in the fall are not that busy

                                     The broad sandy beach at Tribune Bay is spectacular and a greaet lunch spot