A day trip to Hornby Island makes for a perfect spring escape

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

 We love heading to Hornby Island and so when our daughter was visiting recently from Vancouver for Mother's day we decided an impromptu trip was in order, especially since our daughter had never been there. We caught the 900 am ferry from Buckley Bay and that got us on to Hornby by 1000 am given that we had to drive across Denman Island and then catch the 10 minute ferry crossing to Hornby Island. Since our daughter likes to hike we first did the hike at Helliwell Park and it was perfect with the blue water below the cliffs and spring temperatures that were ideal for walking (see picture below). After completing that 4 km hike we headed to Tribune Bay where we had lunch on beach front log and since the tide was low it gave a huge area of beach to explore. 

 After lunch we headed to the shoreline at Sandpiper Bay which is totally different from sandy Tribune Bay with its tilted sedimentary rocks and stray boulders dotting the inter-tidal zone. Then it was on to Ford's Cover and the wave sculpted and pitted sandstone of the shore line in that location. We ended the day with another hike at the Middle Bench trail and this is another stellar hike with fabulous views. It is under 2 km in length so doable by many people...but be aware it is along a cliff edge so watch your footing and keep small children close by. We caught the 400 pm ferry off of Hornby which put us back in Courtenay by 5:15 pm just in time for dinner. And a bonus of a trip in the spring is that there are few people around - unlike the crowds in the summer time. Check it out.

                                          Tribune Bay has as huge sandy beach --especially at low tide

                                                            The views from Middle Bench trail are fabulous

Check out the new Glacier Grove Disc Golf in Comox , B.C.

 By Keith and Heather Nicol

The Glacier Grove Disc Golf course has just opened this spring and is a great addition to the Comox Valley Disc Golf scene. It is located at the back of the Glacier Gardens Arena at 1399 Military Row. The tee boxes are great and although there is no map of each hole or a general map of the course it is pretty intuitive to follow. Be aware that it parallels a walking trail in parts so be aware of where errant discs may fly and either wait until the foot traffic has passed or yell Fore. 

                                                                 Heather getting ready to putt

The course is 9 holes and has regular disc golf baskets. The course is quite wooded but with openings to allow the accurate disc golfer a challenge. The course more or less heads into the woods and so when it ends you need to walk back to the starting point. Perhaps the idea is that with another 9 holes it will bring the golfer back to the parking lot? We liked the fact that the holes were relatively short which makes it a good beginner course but we think all disc golfers will find it a challenging course due to the close tree spacing on many holes. This is a great addition to the local disc golf scene. Thanks to those who created it.

The Tee Boxes are well made

The “Pub to Pub” trail is a scenic ocean view walk

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

We always love doing the so called “Pub to Pub” trail which is roughly half way between Campbell River and Courtenay since is a scenic trail with both river and ocean/beach views. We hadn’t done the trail for a few months since last fall and so we decided to walk on Friday May 2 with some xc ski buddies from Mt Washington who had not done the trail before.  The trail gets its name from the fact that 2 pubs were located close to the start and end point of the trail but now these “pubs” are no longer there. Since the trail is just 3.5 km (1 way) it is suited to a variety of options. If you have young children or walkers that would find 7 km too long a hike, you could park a car at each end and just make the 1 way trip. You can see from the photo below that the trail surface is well maintained and is generally flat so is walkable for just about all ages. 

 

To get there from Courtenay drive north on Highway 19A and keep an eye out for the Oyster River bridge since you want to turn right on the next road (Glenmore Road).  Then travel one roughly 1 block and then turn left on Regent and look for a parking lot with a sign Oyster River Nature Park. The parking lot coordinates are 49. 52.232 N and 125 07.616 W.  There is parking for several cars but this area is popular so we try to go mid week to be able to get a spot. There are a few forks in the trail but bear to the left and you should be fine.  After about 1 km you reach the ocean and from there you follow the Jack Hames Trail to Salmon Point. You can walk the trail in either direction although we tend to walk it south to north most of the time. On this day we were treated to some dramatic skies and we had lunch on driftwood logs part along where we had a fabulous view of ocean and mountains of the BC in the distance. Check this trail out of you haven't done it before. See you on the trail.