Checking out Cumberland’s Coal Creek Historic Park

by Keith and Heather Nicol

      Our last visit to this area of Cumberland was in February when the ponds in this area had frozen, we could skate on the ice and people were skiing down the trails! See:

 http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-ice-skating-near-cumberland-is.html  But with spring in the air we decided to check this area out again to see what ducks or other birds might be around as well as to visit the Chinatown historical walking tour. So on Friday, April 12 we drove through Cumberland and took the road toward Comox Lake. At “Jumbo’s Cabin” (a can’t miss log building on the left) there is a small parking lot and large plaque discussing the Coal Creek Historic Park which features trails, picnic tables and interpretative signs.Be sure to pick up a map and information sheet  about this area in a plastic case at the trailhead.

Heather at the Interpretative sign near Jumbo's Log Cabin

    From there we headed down a few meters to the Wellington Colliery Trail  that heads toward a

There were many lively robins along the trail

wetland area and small ponds. There was much bird life about and once we reached the ponds we could see several Lesser Scaups as well as a pair of Buffleheads in the water. Greater and Lesser Scaups are difficult to tell apart but by carefully checking our photos against our bird book we decided they were Lesser Scaups- a duck that we don’t see that often. We had also been told to watch out for Wood Ducks but we didn’t see any of those colourful ducks on this trip. And we saw more robins that we have seen in quite awhile. They seemed to be everywhere chirping away.  Since we also wanted to go on the short walking tour through Cumberland’s historic Chinatown we turned around and headed back for 600 meters or so to where the Chinatown plaques are displayed.

 

Lesser Scaups in a small pond

       Chinese were brought in to work in the Cumberland coal mines as well as help build a railroad

Heather checks an interpretative sign on the Wellington Colliery Trail

which brought coal to tide water at nearby Union Bay. This settlement lasted for 80 years from 1888 to 1968. Not much remains today but at one time this area was apparently the second largest Chinatown outside of San Francisco! The walking tour passes by 17 plaques which have a photo of what buildings used to stand in that area or information about the  settlement.  The trail can easily be walked by a variety of ages and abilities since it is just a few 100 meters long along smooth gravel trails. The variety of buildings that once stood here is impressive from a bakery to general store to a restaurant that once served 10 course meals and was a ticket outlet for steamship travel to China! There is even a picnic pavilion so that you can enjoy your lunch here as well. This park is an ideal place to visit for anyone interested in nature or learning about the history of this area. For more information on Cumberland’s Chinatown see: https://cumberland.ca/coal-creek-historic-park/ 

The picnic pavilion is a real bonus

We had a great season of cross country skiing at Mount Washington

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

A ton of snow for the last day of skiing-Raven Lodge deck chairs

2019 cross country ski season. Especially given that overnight 12 cm of snow fell and close to 50 cm had fallen in the last 48 hours - it was looking more like mid winter at Mount Washington rather than the end of the season. We joined some friends for a tour of the upper trails and I even jumped on the Hawk Chair for a ski down “Upper West” – my first time on that trail all winter!!

        Raven Lodge is the base of operations of cross country skiing and snow shoeing at Mount Washington near Courtenay, B.C on Vancouver Island. The year saw lots of relatively cool weather (especially in February and early March) which was perfect for us since we like to classic ski and this meant we could use grip wax for much of the winter. Often temperatures at Mount Washington are around zero and this means that waxless skis work best for those people that don’t like to get into finicky waxing conditions. But waxable skis are faster and more enjoyable to ski on so this was a real bonus. 

Heather skiing on the "Ponds" trail

      I was involved in teaching cross country skiing and this year seemed to have more people from Victoria and Nanaimo than usual. Skiers can get a variety of lessons at Mount Washington from “Discover Classic” lessons for people who have never been on skis before to skate lessons for advanced skiers trying to improve their time in the “Snow to Surf” Relay. Either way a lesson will help you enjoy the sport a whole lot more. 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.  And new this past season was fat tire biking. Lets hope next winter brings the same great skiing to Mount Washington.  For more information see: https://www.mountwashington.ca/ 

 

Keith skating along the "Ponds" trail

  

Spring Wildflowers in their prime along the Tsolum River in Courtenay

by Keith and Heather Nicol

   On Thursday, April 4 we decided to take a break from skiing at Mount Washington to check the fawn lilies and other wildflowers along the Tsolum River in Courtenay. Although much of the winter was colder than normal in the Comox Valley, the last couple of weeks have seen some record breaking temperatures so we weren’t sure what to expect. But we weren’t disappointed! 

Fawn Lilies are delicate spring wildflowers

  There were carpets of fawn lilies and trilliums in bloom along the trails which really brightened up our walk. These trails are located behind the Exhibition Grounds off of Headquarters Road in Courtenay and there is lots of parking. Take the main access trail (really a road) toward the river and we found many clusters of fawn lilies on the trails to the right near the river. You don’t need to walk very far before you see the flowers in bloom along the trail and under the trees.

A Trillium surrounded by Fawn Lilies

  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. If you are into pictures you might want to bring a tripod and something to kneel on since the carpets of flowers are best photographed low to the ground and the ground can be wet. Another bonus of our walk was siting a pileated woodpecker working away on a tree. 

We heard calls of a couple of Pileated Woodpeckers and managed to see this one fairly close

 

Fat biking is worth checking out at Mount Washington Alpine Resort

By Keith and Heather Nicol

    Fat biking is new to Mount Washington Alpine Resort this season and before it got too slushy out we decided to try it. Since you need snow temperatures below zero and firm snow- the whole month of February and early March has pretty much been ideal for a test run. With warmer temperatures in the forecast we decided to head out on Sunday, March 10 since early morning temperatures showed -5 C at Raven Lodge.

The scenery is impressive from West Passage

      Fat bikes are pretty much like a regular bike except that they come with huge tires for reducing the pressure on soft surfaces like sand or snow.  For our test trip we just ventured along the West Passage trail which is an all purpose trail between Raven Lodge and the Hawk Chairlift. It is wide and although it is groomed for skiing many people also snowshoe or walk on it. It has just a few ups and downs so it is an ideal place to try fat biking out.  We were impressed by the fact that the bike left just a slight track in the snow and that it climbed up the hills just fine.  Given that fat bikes have brakes they must give way to all other users but this trail is so wide that it isn’t really an issue most of the time.  Braking on the downhills was also easy and the bike handled very well with no sign of skidding out on this dry firm snow.

The West Passage trail is a perfect place to try out fat biking

 Next time out I want to try Raven’s Revenge which is a steeper, longer trail and it will provide a good workout.  Mount Washington has fat bikes (and helmets) to rent at Raven Lodge (the cross country ski centre) but cyclists are invited to bring their own bikes as long as they meet the tire and pressure standards.  Also remember that unlike skiing or snowshoeing you are not allowed on the trail when temperatures climb above zero since slushy snow, bikes and skiers don’t mix.  So check the temperatures before you head up.  For more information see:https://www.mountwashington.ca/

The bikes left just a light imprint on the snow surface