Trying out the Jordie Lunn Bike Park in Langford, BC

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

We were heading to Victoria for a university reunion on Sunday, Sept 29 and were traveling from the Comox Valley on Saturday, Sept 28.   Enroute we decided to break up the trip with a couple of stops to check out some mountain bike trails that we had heard good things about. First up were the trails at Mount Tzouhalem which is near the community of Maple Bay and the larger community of Duncan. For more info on what we rode there see: https://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2024/10/checking-out-mountain-bike-trails-at.html   From Mount Tzouhalem we headed to the Jordie Lunn Bike Park in Langford. This is relatively new development, opening in 2020 with some new trails added a year later. Jordie Lunn was a local mentor and highly skilled mountain biker who was killed in a bike accident in Mexico in 2019.

                                     Starting down Wildcat- one of the signature trails at the Jordic Lunn Bike Park 

There are not many trails at this bike park—the focus being on developing skills in r through dedicated skills parks with a variety of levels of difficulty. But it does have a signature trail called Wildcat that I was interested in trying out . It is ranked as a blue flow trail and it lives up to its name as it swoops down close to 900 meters with a drop of 90 meters. It is accessed by a series of climbing trails which although they were machine cut still didn’t have the flow and smooth switchbacks of Sobo No Michi at Cumberland where we usually ride. In a couple of sections I had to walk my bike up the trail at Jordie Lunn Bike Park. We certainly be back to try out some of the skills area and to drop into Wildcat again with its raised bridge to start things off-it certainly is a great blue flow trail. For more info check out Trailforks at: https://www.trailforks.com/ and Jordie Lunn Bike Park at https://langford.ca/gravityzone/   

A Skills Park is front and centre of this Bike Park

Checking out the Mountain Bike Trails at Mount Tzouhalem near Maple Bay, BC

 
By Keith and Heather Nicol

We were heading to Victoria for a university reunion on Sunday, Sept 29 and were traveling from the Comox Valley on Saturday.  Enroute we decided to break up the trip with a couple of stops to check out some mountain bike trails that we had heard good things about. First up were the trails at Mount Tzouhalem which is near the community of Maple Bay and the larger community of Duncan. There are a few mountain bike areas in this general region but the larger seems to be Mount Tzouhalem with about 70 trails. We had heard that Double D and Bumblebee were worth checking out and so parked at the lower parking area just off of Navilene Drive. There is parking for a number of cars and a large map and washroom here as well.

                         There are some nice views of the ocean and off shore islands from parts of the trail system 

The main climbing trail from what we could determine was A Grand Traverse or AGT for short.
I found it quite steep in places and often had to get off and push my bike up some sections. It really made me appreciate the well designed climbing trail – Sobo No Michi – at Cumberland which has dozens of switchbacks to cut the grade and is relatively easy to ride up.  AGT finally lead to Tzouhalem Main (presumably an old logging road) which then gave access to Double D. This is one of the most highly rated trails at Tzouhalem and is about 2 km long. It certainly is a nice flow trail and I really liked going through the more open forest than we have at Cumberland. From there I headed back to the start of Bumblebee (another highly rated trail) which is about 1 km long and again has a nice flow to it. Both of these trails are rated blue which suited me just fine. Bumblebee ends very close to the parking area at Navilene Drive. So check this area out if you are in the area . We will certainly be back. While I biked Heather hiked and there are certainly some nice hiking areas in this same area. Make sure you download the Trailforks app before you go since many of the trails here are not marked that well. It made me really appreciate the trail markings etc at Cumberland with names and finger boards at all intersections. For more information on Trailforks see: https://www.trailforks.com/  See you on the trail.

                         I liked the flow trail Bumblebee seen here and its more open forest than we have at Cumberland

Hiking the Lake Helen Mackenzie- Battleship Lake loop in Strathcona Park

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

One of our annual hikes in Strathcona Park is the Lake Helen Mackenzie- Battleship Lake loop and so far this year we hadn’t quite accomplished it. So when Sunday, Sept 15 dawned sunny we decided that this was the day. We were joined by our daughter Kristie and partner Eric and we were amazed when we pulled into the parking lot at Raven Lodge at Mt Washington to see the lot virtually full of cars. This park is a real bonus for people in the Comox Valley and the its easy access means that it certainly gets loads of use.                                           Kristie and Eric having lunch overlooking Lake Helen Mackenzie The hike starts off near the Raven Lodge parking lot at Mt Washington and the trail is initially part of the boardwalked Paradise Meadows loop. Then it branches off and begin to climb. We opted to do the hike in a counterclockwise direction and the trail is mostly in the woods after leaving the more open meadows. It passes by a small pond and then you reach scenic Lake Helen Mackenzie. The trail is easy to follow and in good shape and we were impressed that the trail was fairly dry despite the rain of the previous 2 days. After a quick lunch overlooking scenic Lake Helen Mackenzie we continued hiking along the edge of the lake.                        The runs of Mt Washington in the distance -Battleship Lake in the foreground The trail parallels in the lake for a distance and then winds back into the woods until it breaks out along the shore of Battleship Lake. Now you can see the Mt Washington Alpine Ski Area in the distance.  There are outhouses at both lakes and also a wilderness camping area on Lake Helen Mackenzie. Over all it took us about 2 ½  hours to do the trip including lunch and we measured the loop at around 9 km.  We saw lots of families on the trail and it was very popular on this day with a wide range of hikers. You don’t really get any vistas of the higher peaks in the area but it is a very pleasant hike with the 2 lakes as the highlight. We certainly recommend it.                                                Part of the boardwalked Paradise Meadows trail on our return hike

The High Note trail at Whistler-Blackcomb is an amazingly scenic “must do” hike

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

In a couple of previous blog posts we have mentioned the great deal the Summer Sightseeing Season Pass is at Whistler Mountain. Whistler – Blackcomb is a world class destination in both summer and winter and many offerings at Whistler reflect this status in their high prices. But the Sumer Sightseeing Pass is an exception and we are glad our daughter and her partner put us on to it. For just abit more than a day ticket  price you can get a season pass which allows you to ride the Blackcomb and Whistler gondolas, the amazing Peak to Peak gondola that connects the 2 mountains plus avail of the CloudRaker suspension bridge and Raven’s Eye lookout platform. And these gondola also give you access to some great alpine hiking without the climb from the valley bottom.  We had previously done the longest hike on the Blackcomb side—The Decker Loop (10 km) so on Sept 6 we did decided to try the longest hike on the Whistler side- The High Note Trail (9.4 km) .  For more info the Decker Loop see this previous blog post--http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2024/08/try-decker-loop-on-blackcomb-for.html

                                      The trail gives great views of Cheakamus Lake in the valley below

The High Note Trail is note worthy since it traverses just below the ridge which gives great vistas of Cheakamus Lake which sits in the valley bottom as well as glaciers that sit along the opposite mountain tops. Then the trail turns back and winds along the northern side of the ridge and so gives views toward Overlord Glacier and Blackcomb Mountain. The trail is well marked with lots of information at trail junctions about the time needed to complete the loop or if you are stuck for time how long a shorter return hike might take. You pass by 2 small scenic lakes on this return portion of the trail and the final lake – Harmony Lake even has some boardwalk and a ramp leading to the water’s edge. It took us about 3 hours and 40 minutes to complete the hike which includes a short lunch break overlooking Cheakamus Lake and numerous stops for photos.  

                           Daughter Kristie a the half way point with views of the Spearhead Range in the background

 But don’t take this hike too lightly – even though it is a abit less than 10 km it has an elevation gain of well over 400 meters and so is classes as a difficult (black) hike. There are many easier hikes on both Whistler and Blackcomb that we are looking forward to trying in another year. Although the Sightseeing Season Pass season is ending soon think about this option for next summer if you like hiking in the alpine but don’t want to climb from the valley bottom to get there. For more info see: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com

                                           Kristie walking with Black Tusk Peak on her right side

Tree Island makes for a perfect ½ day sea kayak trip

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

Tree Island (or Sandy Island as it is sometimes known) is located off the northern tip of Denman Island and makes a perfect half day paddle (or longer if you plan to explore the island or want to linger). We do the trip on an annual basis and we usually launch at the Union Bay Boat launch.  This makes it easy to launch your kayak since you can drive right to the water’s edge and there is a large car park for your vehicle.  Be sure to drop your launch fee money in the box. From here you can’t quite see Tree Island but as soon as you take a few paddle strokes out of the harbour it looms 4.4 km in the distance.

                                                   Heather enjoying the vistas from Tree Island

 But on this occasion we decided to try out the Argyle Road public access (49 36' 50" N 124 54' 10" W) which makes the drive down from Courtenay abit shorter but more importantly it is the closest launch point we have been able to find to Tree Island. Instead of the 4.4 km crossing from Union Bay our GPS showed a distance of about 3.5 km one way from Argyle Road which meant we could do the paddle in about 45-50 minutes. The big down side of the Argyle Road access is that parking is limited and it is more of a homemade boat launch over rounded cobbles etc so a high clearance vehicle is handy. Or you can use a kayak caddy with wheels to get your kayak to the water’s edge like we did.  However no matter which launch point you use it is an open water crossing so you want to factor in the weather and wave conditions and be competent at doing a self rescue if you run into trouble. 

                              Tree Island is well named and is just off the northern tip of Denman Island

     On August 15 the wind forecast was for light NE winds which made for a very pleasant trip to Tree Island since the breeze was in our face keeping us cool. The tide was 3.4 meters when we set out which meant had to walk our kayaks out some distance before we could launch them-however when we returned it had risen to 4.4 meters so had a much shorter carry to take out.  Once on Tree Island we had a quick lunch and enjoyed the great vistas back to Vancouver Island. There are also some short hiking trails for those that want to explore the island but due to the heat on this day we opted to walk the beach where it was cooler.  Allow about 45-50 minutes each way for paddling depending on wind and wave conditions from Argyle Road – add 15 minutes each way if you use the Union Bay launch location. Just one more note if you do use the Argyle Road access- be sure to note where to paddle back to from Tree Island. Once on Tree Island opposite shore line looks very much the same and so record your track or a waypoint at the launch point so you know where to head to your return trip. We used our Trailforks app to record our route and this helped us get back on track when we were heading back and got slightly off course. We usually use the Trailforks app for locating mountain bike trails but it can be used for other activities as well. For more info see:https://www.trailforks.com/     See you on the water.

 

Checking out the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LSCR) in North Vancouver

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Vancouver has some nice cycling routes through Stanley Park and the Seawall which we love doing when we visit Vancouver. But on our last visit we decided to check out the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve in North Vancouver. Here there are many hiking trails and a popular destination for hikers is Rice Lake. But on this trip our main goal was cycling the 10 km road that is turns out to be a real destination when it comes to cycling. And for good reason – it is a paved road with No cars that winds  through the forest so is shady and cool on warm summer days like we had on Saturday , August 3. Our group was doing various activities and we had 2 people pushing a baby carriage, a runner and 2 cyclists and the trailway was ideal for all three since it is so wide. 

                      Son Michael and his daughter (she is checking out the tall trees) cycling at the LSCR

We were able to find parking at the main parking lot where there are washrooms and we were floored by the number of cyclists that we passed on the access road that were heading to do this 10 km in and out route.  The cycling route is rolling and has some pull outs with picnic tables and also some speed control sections to keep people on their side of the road. We saw everything from ebikes to road bikes to mountain bikes on this route and even some roller skiers getting ready for the upcoming ski season. At the end of our cycle we had a picnic lunch at one of the tables in the forest near the main parking lot. Check this place out if you like to hike or cycle. To locate the main parking lot we put in LSCR parking lot into google maps and for more info see : www.metrovancouver.org

                              The 10 km wide paved road with NO cars is a perfect cycling destination on a hot summer day 

Try the Decker Loop on Blackcomb for a stellar alpine hiking experience

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

A few weeks ago we posted a blog about what a great deal the sightseeing season pass is at Whistler Blackcomb (http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2024/07/checking-out-whistler-blackcomb.html) and on August 1 we decided to use our passes to check out the Decker hiking Loop on Blackcomb. It is roughly a 10 km hike and took us about 3 and ½ hours which included stops for lunch and numerous pictures. It is the longest marked trail hike on Blackcomb and on this day we walked past numerous areas of wild flowers and the final section provides great vistas of Overlord Glacier and the surrounding mountain peaks. We started on the Alpine Loop and then branched off on the Overlord Trail which took us to the Decker Loop. We did the loop in a clockwise direction but we saw people hiking it both ways. We really appreciated the fact that the trails are well marked with signage at all trail junctions. 

                                                     The Decker Loop offers superb vistas

 We could have taken some alternate routes back by hiking the Marmot Trail or the Lakeside Loop but we opted to return via the same route we hiked in on. The other trails would have added distance and elevation to our hike  (as it was we gained over 500 meters of elevation on our hike)  but we were meeting other hikers on Whistler so were under a time constraint. On our next visit we hope to do some of the longer alpine hiking trails on Whistler. For more info on hiking at Whistler in the summer see: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com

                                           Hiking along the Decker Loop - looking toward Whistler Mtn

Hiking to Croteau Lake in scenic Strathcona Provincial Park

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

 This summer our main hiking has taken place in the lower elevations of the Comox Valley and at Whistler Blackcomb (see  http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2024/07/checking-out-whistler-blackcomb.html). But on Sunday, July 28 we decided to check out the trail to Croteau Lake which is in Strathcona Provincial Park which is conveniently on our door step. We hadn’t done this trail for a couple of years so we thought it was time to explore it again. I was joined by my xc ski and biking buddy Steve and we started from an informal trail along the access road to Raven Lodge (park in the large pullout at 49.7372 N 125.3104 W and walk along the road for 100 steps or so to access this informal trail).  This reduced our distance to the Croteau Lake by about 1 km.  Via this route the distance was about 5.4 km 1 way and this took us about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get in which included stopping for pictures in several places.  

                                                                          Having lunch at Croteau Lake

 Along the way the trail passes by Battleship Lake other scenic lakes like Kooso and Lady Lake before climbing to Croteau lake. The trail is in good shape with some roots and rocks to contend with in places. Croteau Lake is home to a large group camp site and we ate lunch in the 2 yellow chairs that face the lake.  Surprisingly there were no campers at any of the tent platforms while we were there. The lake faces Mt Albert Edward but on this day the view was obscured by cloud.  The trail continues to Kwai Lake and beyond but with a forecast of mid afternoon rain we decided to return via the same route we hiked in on. On this day there were still some wildflowers out and we saw some alpine lupins and even some bog orchids along the trail.  We were amazed at the wide range of hikers doing this trail from families with children to small groups of seniors out for a hike on a nice summer day. For more information see:  http://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/strath/ 

                                                     Steve walking along the trail next to Battleship Lake  

 

                              

Checking out the Whistler Blackcomb Sightseeing Season Pass

by Keith and Heather Nicol

We are always on the lookout for ways to hike in the alpine or sub alpine without the long hike from sea level to reach these higher elevations. At Mount Washington in the Comox Valley to love to hike in Strathcona Provincial Park since we can drive to the sub alpine and hike many of the trails that radiate out there from Raven Lodge. But we recently joined our daughter Kristie and her partner Eric at Whistler – Blackcomb to check out their lift served access to the alpine. And one of the big surprises was how reasonable their sightseeing season pass was. Depending on when it is purchased it is just a few tens of dollars more than a 1 day ticket which in our view makes the season pass a great deal. The ticket gives you access to both mountains plus many kilometers of marked hiking trails. As well you can use the amazing 4.4 kilometer Peak to Peak gondola which connects the 2 mountains and use the Cloudraker Sky Bridge and Raven Eye lookout platform.

                                                                  Riding the Peak the Peak Chair

On our intro visit with decided to hike some short easy trails,  see both mountains and visit the Sky Bridge and Raven’s Eye.  After driving up from Vancouver we arrived at the base of Blackcomb around 10 am to get our season passes and take the Blackcomb Gondola to the top. Our first hike was the short 1.4 km Alpine Loop – even though it is short it still gains over 70 meters of elevation and provides great views of the surrounding mountains. From there we walked over to the nearby Peak to Peak Gondola which took us to Whistler Mountain. We had lunch at one of the picnic tables looking out to the Peak Chair and Glacier Bowl.  Next up was a 600 meter downhill walk to the Peak Chair which took us to the top of Whistler with its iconic views of Black Tusk and other snow capped mountains.

                 View from the top of the Peak to Peak Chair toward Black Tusk and surrounding mountains

 From here we took the 800 meter Cloudraker loop which links the Sky Bridge and the Raven’s Eye Lookout Platform and then loops back to feature lookouts and vantage points to take pictures of the impressive scenery. Then it was time to download back down the Peak Chair and be warned that the download capacity is 50 % of upload so we had a 15 minute wait to head back down. Our final hike of the day was to walk the 1.2 km Spearhead loop. 

                                 Raven's Eye lookout platform extends out for views to the valley below

This was another hike rated as easy and we even saw people with baby carriages doing this trail since the elevation change is much less than Alpine Loop we did earlier. By now it was getting to be late afternoon and we decided to head down via the Whistler Gondola. We had just sampled some of the many hiking trails accessed by the lifts at Whistler Blackcomb so on our next visit we want to try some of the longer hikes. If you are interested in getting summer lift access to the alpine and plan to visit the Whistler Blackcomb area a few times in the summer then take a close look at their Summer Season Passes which cuts the cost dramatically. See  https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/  for details. 

                                      Kristie and Eric walking the Spearhead Loop trail

 

Sea kayaking to the Royston Wrecks

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

After attending MusicFest my brother and his wife wanted to check out the Royston Wrecks by sea kayak.   There is an informal boat launch just to the north of Royston Rd at the Royston Seaside Park. By informal we mean that there is a packed gravel beach that you can use to get your kayak to the water. It helps to use a set of wheels to make the carry from the car to the water abit easier.   It is best to do this paddle on a relatively high tide since this will reduce the distance needed to wheel your kayak to the shore. We launched on a 3.7 meter tide on Monday July 15th and as a bonus we had an eagle as a greeting party.  

                                                        An eagle greeted us at the launch site

                                                         Paddling past one of the many wrecks in the area  

The Royston wrecks are just about 500 meters away and make for a very different paddling experience since you can paddle right up to the remains of several ships that were intentionally sunk as a breakwater in the late 1930’s. At that time logging was important in this area and trees cut here would be towed to saw mills in New Westminster on the other side of Georgia Strait. But in the fall and winter strong south east winds would create problems for establishing log booms in the harbour at Courtenay and a breakwater was needed. Over time 14 “wrecks” were sunk in this area and included old whaling boats, schooners, freighters and tugs. They even included the "Melanope", a 79-metre 3-masted sailing ship built in the mid 1870’s. Not much is left of these “wrecks” now but they are ideally suited to viewing from the seat of a kayak. Another bonus was seeing about 20 blue herons on western part of the breakwater rocks. We are not sure what attracted so many herons but for whatever reason they seem to like this area. See you on the water. 

                                            3 of about 20 blue herons that were at the western end of the breakwater 

                                                   Using wheels to get our kayaks to and from the parking area

Vancouver Island MusicFest wraps up in fine style

by Keith Nicol and Heather Nicol

Sunday July 14 was another sunny hot day for the final day of MusicFest so again the name of the game was keeping cool. We are started our day at one of our favourite stages- The Grierson Stage where the music we heard coming into the festival site drew us in. JimJam (an Irish group) was playing with 2 other bands and since we are Celtic music fans we had to check them out. The session was called “Improv Wears Many Coats” and it was great to see how the 3 groups collaborated moving from Irish music to NY Jazz and Gypsy Jazz. We hadn’t been to the Crossroads Stage yet for this festival so we next headed for this nice shady site to learn some Latin dance moves and hear music from Chola y Gilano from Chile. The Crossroads Stage is more of a workshop stage so if you want to learn more about a style of music or a particular instrument this is the stage to check out. 

                                               Flavia Nascimento is a powerhouse on stage 

We next headed back to the Main Concert Stage to check out Tio Chorinho with Flavia Nascimento who are Canadian but play” New Orleans Jazz of Brazil”. Wow, is Flavia Nascimento ever a power house and dynamic presence on stage.  By this time it was mid afternoon and temperatures were now in the high 20C’s so we decided to cool down with a swim in the nearby Puntledge River just as we did the previous day. That cool down set us up for the final sessions on the main Concert Bowl that we  were especially looking forward to. 

                            Learning some Latin dance moves at the shady Crossroads venue

 As we mentioned earlier we are fans of Celtic music and Kathryn Tickell and the Darkening from Northern England started us off with music featuring the Northumbrian Pipes, an instrument from that part of England. She is also a great fiddler player and they played a mix of lively Celtic music. They were followed by one of our favourite groups of the festival- JigJam. We had seen them earlier at the Grierson Stage and they played a lively blend of Irish – Bluegrass music which was certainly a big hit with us and the crowd since they had lots of people up dancing. 

                     Kathryn Tickell and the Darkening traveled from Northern England to be at MusicFest

 They were followed by Canadian music legend – Daniel Lanois who has worked with a variety of big name artists like U2 and Bob Dylan. He played a mix of music but liked his down home songs of growing up in Quebec and Ontario the most. The final acts of MusicFest 2024 were local bands from Vancouver- The High Bar Gang and Lucarno. But just because they are local doesn’t mean they aren’t great musicians in their own right. Lucarno closed out the festival in classic style and had everyone up dancing to their lively upbeat music. And so concludes another amazingly varied and fun Vancouver Island MusicFest....lets hope it can continue for another 30 years!! For more info see: www.islandmusicfest.com

                       Daniel Lanois has won many Grammy and Juno Awarda and was invested in the Order of Canada in 2018!

MusicFest really heats up on Saturday, July 13

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

   The name of the game at the Vancouver Island MusicFest  (VIMF)on Saturday, July 13 was to keep cool. Although there was a light northerly breeze, the warm temperatures (high 20C’s)  and bright sunshine made staying cool a priority. We opted to start our day in a shaded area in the main concert bowl to see a Song Circle composed of 5 Canadians who represented both coasts and the prairies. We liked the song writing of all 3 groups but could really relate to John McLachlan who hails from nearby Hornby Island and who sings songs of our local area. We especially liked his song titled the “Curve of Time” based on a book of the same name that we had both just read recently!! A nice coincidence.

                                               John McLachlan playing "Curve of Time"

We always like the Woodland Stage since as the name implies it is located in a shady area. Next we scored a nice cool spot in the bleachers and enjoyed the songs Michael McGovern from Glasgow, Scotland. As is usual with MusicFest you want to sample music from a variety of stages and we noted that Tom and Kalissa Landa were playing next on the Grassy Knoll. We are big fans of the Paperboys and Tom and Kalissa are mainstays of that group. Unfortunately the shade options for this venue were not great and with the mid day sun beating down we had to stand in the shade of a small nearby building to avoid overheating. They played a great set and we told ourselves that we need to bring umbrellas next time to be able to be more comfortable in these types of hot conditions at this venue. 

          We love the music of the Paperboys who played with part of their full group on the Grassy Knoll

 Given the heat we opted to take a break and go for a swim in the nearby Puntledge River which is just around the corner from MusicFest at Lewis Park. One of the great things about the Vancouver Island MusicFest is the easy access to the water and there are lots of areas close by to either go for a swim in fresh or salt water. When we returned we visited one of our favourite venues- the Grierson stage and we were wowed by the great Celtic music being played there by 3 groups under the heading- Sonic Cluster Jam. If like musicians joining in to produce great impromptu music then the Greirson stage is where that is likely to happen.

                                          The Grierson Stage is often where great impromtu jam sessions occur

Then it was back to the Main Concert Bowl to hear the final acts of the day. And what a line up- Leon Timbo got things going with their brand of spiritual country soul music from the American South. Then it was guitar virtuoso Leo Kottle followed by American rock and roll legend Lucinda Williams and finishing the evening were the BCUC – from South Africa.  What a day of music from all over the world at VIMF. And we still have lots more great music for Sunday. For more info see: www.island musicfest.com. See you there. 

                                Lucinda Williams played to a huge crowd in the main Concert Bowl on Saturday night