Walk # 27 March 7th 2012 Saanich Area Lochside Trail to Royal Oak Drive and back
This was a mostly sunny day and we met at the parking area near the Don Mann Excavating company at the end of Lochside Drive; near the Monkey Tree Pub. A few hardy walkers walked all the way from Swan Lake. We decided to bring along plastic bags and wear gloves to pick up litter along the route. This way we left the trail in a better condition than we found it. Other walkers said that they appreciated our efforts. There were lots of ducks on Blenkinsop lake and a couple of horses seemed curious enough to come over to look as us as we passed their paddock. At the far end of the walk we found a house whose front property was decorated with lots of funky junk in a kind-of artistic display. Today's distance totaled 5.9 km, one of our longest to date. After the walk we had a nice lunch at the Monkey Tree pub.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #28 March 21st Gorge History Tour #2 History Walking Tour
This walk completes the Gorge History walks; (part 1 and 2). Finally; after waiting for the late winter storms to end we got another sunny day. We met along Gorge Road next to the waterway and walked through many streets on the Saanich side learning about the early landowners, their homes and lives, and admired the many majestic houses that were built between 1913 to 1925. The St. Martin in the Field church had recently changed hands and was in a state of renovation by the Baptist Church so all of the interior details and history that we had hoped to see had been removed by the Anglican Diocese upon their departure. We had a nice lunch at the Gorge Point Pub after the walk.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #29 March 28th Royal Oak Area Rithet's Bog to Rolston Trail and Return
Despite dire weather warnings we set out to discover the new Rolston Trail that connects Rithet's Bog to Broadmead. The weather system didn't hit Victoria until late that night. Following a small stream we headed east through wooded glens and across two streets until we finally came to a hidden gem of a lake complete with man-made waterfalls and a landscaped island. It was disappointing that the blossoms were still not out, but I encourage all walkers to head back to this trail when spring finally bursts fourth. We took part of the Royal Oak trail back to where we could re-enter the Rolston Trail and head back to the cars.
View Claudia's photos.
Please take the time to visit this link and take the survey that Saanich has put up to get your comments on this "Trail Pilot Project" " http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GNFY5NC
View Claudia's photos.
Please take the time to visit this link and take the survey that Saanich has put up to get your comments on this "Trail Pilot Project" " http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GNFY5NC
Walk #30 April 4th Central Saanich Gowland Tod Provincial Park - Tod Inlet Trail
This hike was an exploration of the remains of the Portland Cement Company property that was founded in 1904 by Mr. Robert Pim Butchart. This cement plant was a very lucrative venture until World War 1 when the real estate boom crashed and the demand for cement plummeted. In 1912 another cement company was established on the west shore of the Saanich Inlet by Mr. HGK Bamber; and in 1919 the two companies were amalgamated under the name BC Cement Company. In 1921 Mr. Butchart closed down his quarry at Tod Inlet and developed the famous Butchart Gardens. Along side the trail and scattered in trees near the beach we found the remains of the buildings that were the cement plant buildings and facilities. We visited the Roadside Inn on West Saanich road after the hike for a nice lunch.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #31 April 18th Gorge-Victoria area Cecelia Ravine/Galloping Goose Trail
We starting out across the Selkirk Trestle in Esquimalt and entered into the Cecelia Ravine that is part of the Galloping Goose regional trail. I had read that there was a lot of rehabilitation and landscaping that had been planned for along this trail; personally I didn't see the landscaping and planting that I found on the web site for this part of the GGRT. Maybe the parks people haven't got around to it yet. We walked all the way until we got to the pedestrian overpass that crosses the Island Highway across from the Uptown mall then turned around and headed back. The weather was sunny and much warmer than we had expected. The group enjoyed a nice lunch a the Moon Under Water pub after the walk.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #32 April 25th Colwood Area Florence lake - Strachan Trail
The nice sunny weather was a bonus as we had expected showers for this day. We parked in a tiny parking area near the far end of the lake. The Strachan Trail is part roadside path, part wooden boardwalk and part raised gravel trail. We started our walk by checking out a lakeside viewing platform near the parking area, then headed down the board walk toward the highway end of the lake. This turns into a roadside path with lots of lake views. A raised gravel path cuts across the swampy end of the marsh area and comes out on Brock Avenue. Follow the road west and soon you will see the trail signs again and in the distance the bridge-like part of the trail that goes across the end of the lake. The trail ends at Savory Road. Perhaps there are plans for a continuation of this trail in the future. Many nice views of the lake were offered from this interesting little trail. The walking group went to the Log House Pub on Millstream Road for lunch.
View Claudia and Terry's photos.
View Claudia and Terry's photos.
Walk #33 May 2nd 2012 Victoria/Oak Bay Gonzales Loop walk
The weather co-operated today for a nice hike that started with a short walk on the beach, then up to Crescent Road to the old Chinese Cemetery. From there we walked to Trafalgar Park and hiked up the trail to the viewpoint on King George Terrace. Walking east down into Oak Bay we turned left at the bottom of the hill into Sunny Lane where we found the narrow path that led up behind some houses and up at least 110 steps to exit into Walbran park. First we climbed up to the cairn at the summit of the hill for a look around and then made our way to the WW2 military lookout for a beautiful view of the Juan de Fuca strait. We followed Denison road down to Fairfield road and across Foul Bay Road to Kings road and back to Crescent road and our starting point. The Ross Bay Pub was our destination for lunch. After a long wait we finally got our drinks and eventually our food came too.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.