Plenty to see at the 21th Artisans’ Festival at the Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We have attended the Artisan’s Festival at the Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens in the past and were very impressed by the range of artisans which presented their wares in this relaxed woodland setting. We attended on Saturday,  Sept 5 and there were close to 70 exhibitors featuring jewellery, pottery, paintings, wood work and everything in between so there is alot to choose from. The event is pet friendly and there is an ATM and food trucks on site.  The 24 acre Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens offers a tranquil setting to enjoy nature and this weekend there is an added bonus of the artisans’ festival.                          Pottery is just one of the many handicrafts that you can see at the Artisan's Festival  From the map we picked up at the entry gate we could see that there are many trails that wind through the forest and so we will have to return for another visit to fully explore the gardens. We did take one side trail to the labyrinth which is a special spot worth investigating.  We also appreciated the musicians who were playing music along the way at Artists Glade and on the Main Stage in Sunset Gardens.                                                               Many booths are in open fields  We are looking forward on coming back to see the gardens when the rhododendrons are in full bloom since they have one of the largest collections of rhodos on the Island.  The gardens are located about 15 minutes north of Courtenay off the North Island Highway. This year the festival runs from Saturday, September 5 to Monday, September 7 so you have a couple more days to catch this Labour Day Long weekend event.  For more information see:  http://woodlandgardens.ca/                                  Other booths are along some of the many paths that criss cross the gardens

                                                

 

Swimming with salmon in the Puntledge River

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

On Thursday August 17 we headed to Puntledge Park in Courtenay to check out the salmon in the river. We had seen salmon jumping the day before when we tubed the river so we thought we would see quite a few when we returned on the 17^th with snorkels and a water proof camera.  The day was sunny and warm with temperatures hitting 27-28 C so it was perfect day to see what lay below the surface.  We headed for the pool just off the gravel beach and we quickly saw many salmon. We usually see pink salmon at this time in the river and they seem to have a 2 year cycle with every odd year showing a big return. So 2023 should be a good year and we weren`t disappointed.

Salmon are now in the Puntledge River

 The current is strong in places and the rocks are slippery so you need to pay attention. We wear water shoes to protect our feet from the rocks and wade out several meters from shore before diving in and swimming over the salmon. The current will take you down near Morrison Creek and then  you need to swim hard to get to shore. You can also swim to the other side of the river where the current is slower and you can more easily stay in one place. With some warm weather forecast for the next several days this is a great chance to swim with salmon. Puntledge Park in located just off of 1^st Street in Courtenay. Check it out if you want to see an amazing show of nature in our backyard.Click this video link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YWL060GokU    to see the huge numbers of salmon that are currently in the river (as of late August 2023) .

Using Alltrails for the Lake Helen Mackenzie and Battleship Lake Hike

 by Keith and Heather Nicol


Alltrails is a great app for hikers to know about even if they know the trail they want to hike and have been on it several times. Alltrails has a free and paid version of its app and although the free version has lots of utility the pro version allows you to download maps and use them off line as well as off route notifications etc. But if you already know the trail and have hiked it a few times why would you go to Alltrails to get route info etc? The main reason is to find out what conditions are like at the present time. Since users provide regular updates you can find out if a trail is muddy or full of mosquitoes at the present time if people have posted updates on conditions recently. Note that not every trail you want to hike will be on Alltrails or would have had recent posts about trail conditions but it is always our first "go to" .

 For instance, we hiked the Helen Mackenzie and Battleship Lake trail on Friday, August 4 with our daughter Kristie and her boyfriend Eric and used the app to find out what conditions were like.  We have done the hike previously so didn’t need the route info and trail description that Alltrails supplies. It turned out that any people had done the hike in the past week and posted info to Alltrails.  Although a couple of hikers mentioned bugs were annoying at times most people remarked about how great the swimming or views were along the trail. In fact 1 person said it was the nicest hike they had ever done!! Given this report we decided not to carry much insect repellant and in fact weren’t bothered by bugs at all. A slight wind that came up on the last half the hike probably helped abit as well. Overall the hike took us about 2 and 1/2 hours which included about 15-20 minutes for lunch at Lake Helen Mackenzie- see picture below. Our total distance was measured at 9.2 km which is higher than the Alltrails distance of 8.2 km. But we recorded our distance from the Raven Lodge Parking lot and we did an extra small loop around a small peninsula sticking out into Lake Helen Mackenzie which might account for some of this difference.  

                                            Kristie and Eric along the shore of Lake Helen Mackenzie having lunch  

Of course the main application of Alltrails is to get trail info about hikes that you have never done and it is a great tool for this. In this case, the paid version might well be worth it. For information on Alltrails see: https://www.alltrails.com/  .  See you on the trail. 

                                    You get great views of Mt Washington Ski Area from Battleship Lake 

The Filberg Festival has something for Everyone

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

The Filberg Festival is this weekend in Comox and offers something for just about everyone in terms of music and artisan vendors. Over 100 vendors have displays of art work, pottery, food, clothing and many other unique products and over 40 musical groups are playing on 2 stages through the 3 day event. Saturday, August 5 was hot so we really liked the shady setting of the festival . We would have melted had been out in the sun the whole day. 

                                       Alex Cuba played to an appreciative standing room only audience 

Another tip is that we  recommend people be sure to check out the music on both stages. Although the Rotary Main Stage is the place to be for the headliner acts we love the Garden Stage for is more intimate setting and location by the ocean. You never know who you might here and we loved the performance by Le Ren from Montreal who was joined by her friend Ella Korth. But if you missed her performance on Saturday she is going to be back on stage on Sunday with Ella Korth at the Garden Stage. Her folk music was a real highlight for us. We also really liked the music of Alex Cuba who shows you the kind of talent that the Filberg Festival attracts. In his case he has won both Juno and Grammy Awards!! And even though Alex Cuba was born in Cuba he now lives in Smithers, BC – who would have guessed?

                                          We love the Garden Stage with its more intimate setting- Le Ren and Ella Korth

Sunday promises to be another warm day so prepare by bringing water , sunscreen, sun hat and sunglasses. Also a blanket might not go astray since you can lay it out under a tree and take a break when you feel you need a break from the hot weather. 

                                                       There are lots of vendors to choose from!

Remember that the Festival is the main fundraiser for the Filberg Lodge and Park so you have one more day to come out and support this fine festival. Also on tap for the last musical act of the night is Jill Barber, another Juno award winner.  You won’t want to miss her show. When you consider the inexpensive cost of a day or weekend pass given the quality of music you can listen to, it must be one of the best bargains around. For more info see filbergfestival.com. See you there.

                                           The Festival is a fundraiser for the Lodge and the surrounding Park

Movin’ and Groovin’ at the Filberg Festival in Comox – Friday, August 4

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

   The World Renowned Filberg Festival is back again this year and we love its combination of music and artisan crafts. And the setting is perfect for the hot weather we have been having since most of the site is shady and it is on the ocean so you usually get a nice breeze close to the water. This makes this location ideal since the forecast for the weekend is hot and sunny.

 

                                            Elise Leblanc and The Ridgeriders played to a full house on Friday

With over 100 vendors displaying their wares it is overwhelming to try to see it all at once so we suggest getting a weekend pass to be able to leisurely return to check out those vendors that you want to buy something from. And since the line up of musical groups numbers close to 40 for the weekend- a weekend pass lets you hear much more music than a single day pass.

                                    The seaside setting makes for a great location for this event

 Some other tips that we have learned from attending past festivals-  1) get down early you can get better parking places closer to Filberg Park. 2) Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, hat and sunglasses. 3) We usually don`t bring a folding camp chair since they have lots of seating at the 2 musical stages but a seating pad won`t go astray. 4) Pick up a programme so you know who is performing when and where and it also has a map to all the vendors. 5) Scout out the vendors on the first day and once you know who has the items you are interested in you can go back on the next day to pick up the unique handcrafted gifts, clothing, food or art work that is available at the Filberg Festival. 6) There is lots for kids to do so make this a family event.

                          There is lots for kids to do- so make this a family event - check out the Enchanted Forest

Also a reminder that the money raised for from the Filberg Festival goes to restoring and improving Filberg Park and Lodge so come out and take in the great music and arts and crafts displays.  For more information on the Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6 line up of artists and performers at the Filberg Festival see: http://filbergfestival.com/   . We are really looking forward to catching Juno nominated singer Jill Barber on Sunday afternoon and Alex Cuba who will be performing with his brother and father on Saturday evening! See you there!!

 

 

 

Angelique Francis puts on a great show to wrap up MusicFest 2023

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

The sun was back out on Sunday, July 16 for the final day of MusicFest and temperatures were again going to be in the mid 20 C so it promised to be a great day for listening to music as long as you coustay cool. We always like the Gospel session in the Concert Bowl and this year was no different. The energetic collaboration of 4 groups had the audience up and dancing on the lawn. Nikki D even got out and danced with the hand clapping enthusiastic audience!!

                            The Gospel session had the large audience up and dancing - don't miss this next year!!

Next we took on a session on the Grierson Stage (called Musical Travellers) which allows you to hear performers that you haven’t heard since it featured several groups playing individually and at times together. After all with 6 stages going on almost all at the same time you obviously can’t hear everyone perform individually so the collaborations that are featured in the Barn and at the Grierson stage are ideal for getting a chance to hear several groups at once.   

 The Grierson stage is perfect for catching a variety of groups playing at one time-Shown here Dougyang Gozupa from Korea

 We ate lunch watching The Blue and Gold which is another group composed of young musicians and we really appreciated their brand of the blues. Watch for them if appreciate country –blues style music. We then took a break and went for a swim in the nearby Puntledge River which really cooled us off. We recommend this for those hot days when you really need to cool your whole body. Totally refreshed we returned to the Barn to hear another collaboration called “Fiddle Me This” composed of fiddlers from many different groups.  We are big fans of fiddle music and appreciated the varied individual and impromptu jamming that we heard in this gathering. 

                                 Kalissa Landa (left) and Daniel Lapp fiddle up a storm in "Fiddle me this"

 We ended the evening in the main concert bowl where the show started with the Jack Semple band and then we were bowled over by Angelique Francis who is just off winning a 2023 Juno for best Blues Album of the Year!! We loved her energy and her band is composed of members of her family with dad on drums. They got most people up dancing and they are a “don’t miss” if you get a chance to see them. The evening finished with the Bros Landreth and Curtis Clearsky and the Constellationz to wrap up another great Vancouver Island Music Fest. Don’t miss next year’s event and we will see you there.For more info see www.islandmusicfest.com

           2023 Juno Award Winner- Angelique Francis and her band put on a high energy set in the Concert Bowl

Staying Cool at the Vancouver Island MusicFest

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Saturday, July 15 was forecast to have temperatures in the high 20 C and humidex values abit higher so the name of the game for much of Saturday was staying cool. The water fill location got lots of use as did the mobile water fill ups run by some of the 1300 MusicFest volunteers. Congrats to all the volunteers. For us it was a day of sampling the amazing variety that Doug Cox brings together for MusicFest. For instance, we caught Out of Bark and Bone, a dance group from Montreal to start on the main stage.

                                 Out of Bone and Bark - a dance company from Montreal performed on the Main Stage

From there we sought shade and wanted to hear one of the young guitarists invited to MusicFest – Liam Docherty who was at the Grassy Knoll Stage. He has been playing publicly since he was 7 and has been the youngest person to be nominated for Maple Blues Award! Then it was into the Barn where we knew we would have shade but the fact that the place was packed meant that you really didn’t cool down. The set we saw was called “Groove a Go-Go” and featured Jack Semple, the Paperboys and Sprig of That. They played their own music but then did a fun collaboration which produced a standing ovation from the full house. 

                                                    The Paperboys wowed the crowd in the Barn

Then it was to our favourite stage for beating the heat- the Woodland Stage to hear Persian powerhouse Tissa Rahim followed by Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman who played banjo and fiddle. Both groups features young performers which is great to see at the festival. Then we took a break in the afternoon to cool off and recalibrate for the evening performances in the Concert Bowl. 

                                                Tissa Rahim is a young singer to keep your eye on

We caught part of the Brother Brothers who was followed by Roy Forbes and then headliner Rickie Lee Jones took to the stage. She is a Grammy Award winner who has who has just written a book about her life called Last Chance Texaco. Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Galactic followed Rickie Lee Jones to conclude the evening. And there is still a full day to come. For more info on Sunday’s performers  see www.islandmusicfest.com  See you tomorrow.

 

                                Rickie Lee Jones headlined the evening performance on the Main Stage on Saturday

Sarah McLachlan opens Vancouver Island MusicFest in fine form

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Friday, July 14 offered a perfect night for enjoying a wide range of music at the Vancouver Island MusicFest. Temperatures were ideal and wispy clouds streaked the sky. My brother and his wife from Victoria joined us again this year and by the time they arrived and we had a quick bite to eat we were just in time to see STORRY who was nominated for a 2021 Juno Award in the Adult Contemporary Album alongside the likes of Celine Dion and Alanis Morrissette.

        Grammy and Juno award winner Sarah McLachlan put on a performance the MusicFest crowd won't soon forget

Next up was Nikki D and the Sisters of Thunder who hail from Toledo, Ohio and Nikki D wowed the crowd last year as part of HER MAJESTY. It is not often that artists return 2 years in a row to MusicFest but she was invited back this year with her band, The Sisters of Thunder. She had the crowd up and dancing with their brand of gospel /blues and they even incorporated the name of street that runs along side MusicFest – Headquarters Road-- into one of their songs.

                                    There was a huge crowd for the opening night in front of the Concert Bowl stage

They were followed by the legendary Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan from Vancouver. She has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has won 3 Grammy Awards and 12 Juno Awards!! She gave an amazing heartfelt performance and returned to do a couple of encores to an appreciative crowd for which she received a well deserved standing ovation. Blackburn , an R and B band from Toronto, rounded out the type of highly varied Concert Bowl Evening Performances that MusicFest fans have come to expect.

                                                            Nikki D energized the crowd with her band on opening night

And this was just the first night. There are 2 more days of music to come, so if you haven’t got your ticket come on down and listen to some of the best music the Comox Valley will feature this summer. With the weekend forecast to be hot and sunny you need to be prepared so bring plenty of sunscreen, water bottle (plastic), sun hat, low rise or high rise chair, tarp or blanket, flashlight, munchies, and sunglasses. Again this year there will be a shuttle for those that don’t want to park near the Exhibition Grounds, the MusicFest site. First Student shuttles will be travelling back and forth from the Driftwood Mall in Courtenay and the Comox Presbyterian Church in Comox. The shuttles will run until 1 am every evening and if that shuttle is full they will return for remaining riders. For more information see: www.islandmusicfest.com. See you there.

Tips for tubing the Puntledge River in Courtenay

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

It has been a record breaking summer in the Comox Valley in terms of heat and drought conditions but fortunately with dams on the Puntledge River, water levels can be controlled which is good news for “tubers”. Tubing is an institution here and for good reason –it is a great way to cool off on those hot summer days. With a forecast of 2 more weeks of warm weather ahead it is certainly a perfect opportunity to dig out that tube and head down the Puntledge River in Courtenay, B.C. if you haven’t already done so. So far this year we have been done the river several times so here are some tips that we can share if you are new to tubing. Tip 1 -Where to put in? Many people start at the fish hatchery on Powerhouse Road.  Park near the fish hatchery access road and walk around or past the gate. Part way down you will see a sign pointing to “Tubers Trail” and take that to the put in. This trail is steep and slippery in places so may not be suited to people with smaller children.   The section from Powerhouse Road to Puntledge Park is abit faster with more rapids than the lower section from Puntledge Park to either the Condensory Bridge or Lewis Park (see Tip 6 for first timers)  Tip 2-Good footwear really helps on this section and we tend you use kayak booties or well fitted water shoes since they give reasonable grip and are great for protecting your feet once you are in the river. Tip 3- We sometimes use a kayak paddle to help steer and manoeuvre but most people don’t use one. If you have one bring it along since tubes on their own are not very manoeuvrable. 

                             Heather and Keith in the easier section below Puntledge Park 

Tip 4- We also have found that putting a life jacket over the mesh on the bottom of the tube keeps your bum and lower back from hitting too many rocks. If you are using a truck inner tube keep your “bum up” when you go over rapids to avoid hitting “bottom” in the shallow sections. We hear people complain all the time about the rocks that they hit and how sore their back or bum is- a life jacket in the bottom really helps. The photo below shows our set up -the life jackets neatly fit across the bottom of the tube and rest on the mesh. Tip 5- Bring along a real water proof case for car keys or anything else you don’t want to get wet. A ziplock bag likely won’t cut it. Tip 6-First timers or those with younger children may want to do just the lower section starting from Puntledge Park and we suggest a pull out just below the Condensory Bridge since the last part can be slow, especially if there is a high tide. For newcomers to the Comox Valley,  Puntledge Park is at the intersection of 1^st and Urquhart Avenue and the Condensory Bridge is off of Anderton Avenue.  For those that want a real float with few rapids then the trip from Condensory Bridge to Lewis Park is recommended. Tip 7- Since the river is dam controlled water levels can change from day to day so be aware of warnings posted along the river. Tubing shouldn’t be taken lightly and accidents do happen on the river. Look ahead and be prepared to get off of the river if you see hazards ahead. Although few people wear  life jackets they are recommended for people who are poor swmmers. Tubing is an institution in the Comox Valley and it is the ideal way to spend a couple of hours on a warm day.

                                      Keith in the faster upper section with more rapids

 

 

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.