Tuesday March 6, 2012 Mount Wells Regional Park

Directions, instructions

Our hike on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 will be in Mount Wells Regional Park.  Click here to see and or print the information sheet.

Car poolers will be leaving the centre at 9:15. If meeting at the car park next to Humpback Reservoir on Humpback Road - please be there at 9:35.


How to get there from Victoria:


Follow the Trans-Canada Highway from Victoria, and turn left on Sooke Lake Road. Turn left on Humpback Road. At the intersection with Irwin Road, stay right. Follow Humpback Road to the park
entrance on the right. Allow approximately 30 minutes driving time from Victoria.

Google map with directions from the centre: (Approximately 20 minute driving time from the centre)


View Larger Map

The hike to the summit is 1.3 km.

Hike Description from the official guide:


Hike on a steep and challenging trail to the 352-metre summit for sweeping views of Juan de Fuca Strait, Victoria and the Sooke Hills. The trail climbs through Douglas-fir forest and sensitive Garry oak ecosystems to open rocky hilltops dotted with arbutus trees, hairy manzanita and a mosaic of lush mosses. In the spring, native wildflowers such as camas, shooting star and satin flower carpet the slopes. Mount Wells is the only place in Canada where the endangered prairie lupine grows. Please stay on the trail and keep pets on the trail to protect this fragile habitat. Even if wildflowers are not visible, walking off trail can damage bulbs that lie dormant under thin soils. On your journey to the summit, you may see turkey vultures and band-tailed pigeons, or hear the drumming of ruffed grouse. The park is also an important wildlife refuge for animals such as black-tailed deer, red squirrels and alligator lizards.

Dec 11, 2012 Pearson College

Those meeting at the centre will be leaving at 9:15.  Those meeting at the Pearson College car park should be there at 9:45.

How to get there - google map

View Larger Map

Here are pics from December 11, thanks again, Dwayne!

Read about Pearson College. It opened in 1974: http://www.pearsoncollege.ca/

 

https://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=209938729472309822028.0004d09ce8b6df632d626&msa=0&ll=48.349356,-123.568663&spn=0.012307,0.027874

 

Pedder Bay, across from the college.

 

Use at your own risk today meant cross this bridge and go the wrong way.

 

Lots of rain, lots of water in the creek.

 

 

Identify this plant and win a prize.

 

 

Lots of water for the waterfall, unlike in the summer.

 

The famous Barde Knockie trail.

The Godin/Newton Observatory, and lavatory.

 

Relax at the table near the observatory. If this picture looks blurred you need to relax. ;-)

 

Port Angeles seemed very close today. We could see individual buildings, despite the distance being 30km. (see below) Hmmm...

 

 

You can't go to the observatory without seeing the Milky Way.

 

The other end of the famous Barde Knockie trail.

 

We finished up with a little whale watching.

 

Here are some pictures and the track we did at Pearson College on Feb 4, 2012.  This is a great place for a hike, and we will certainly be revisiting.

It was a beautiful day..

... and we found this historic trail that linked to the Galloping Goose.

Part of the trail and a sign post to the observatory.

The Goose.

CSI Pearson College!

The observatory - it has a cosy washroom next to it - running water in summer and electric lights!

Marina. 

Due to a lunch date, some of us didn't make it to the falls - only about ten minutes further on, but that's treat in store for our next visit.

Name:		Pearson College
Date:		Feb 4, 2012 9:31 am
Map: (valid until Aug 2, 2012)		View on Map
Distance:		5.64 kilometers
Elapsed Time:		1:01:28
Avg Speed:		5.5 km/h
Max Speed:		17.9 km/h
Avg Pace:		10' 54" per km
Min Altitude:		0 m
Max Altitude:		83 m
Start Time:		2012-02-04T17:31:41Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	48.348152º N
	Longitude:	123.566609º W
End Location:
	Latitude:	48.348314º N
	Longitude:	123.567439º W

Devonian Park walk information

On this walk we pass by Lombard Road.  Here is some information about it.

In 1863,  Helgesen purchased Section 5 which consisted of 180 acres.
This land stretched from the ocean foreshore up to about Tavane Road I
believe.  The original small home was built just east of William Head
Road and south of the Creek.  They built a large home on the hillside
overlooking the straits in 1879 and Lombard Road was their driveway so
somewhere at the crest of the hill, their large home sat.  It burnt down
in 1933.  I believe it was either to the right or left of Lombard where
currently sit two houses that were owned by the same family when we
moved here.  When Rocky Point Road was built in 1873, the Helgesen's
acquired a strip of land to access that road and thus extended the
ownership from the sea to Rocky Point (albeit this would have been
termed a right of way that ran from their property line to the new road
in today's terminology).   They built a cottage for a sick relative
between Tavane Road and the railroad (now the Galloping Goose).  Isabel
Tipton who is a descendant of the Helgesen's tells me it was on our
land.