GG4 Rocky Point Road to 5512 Sooke Road Jan 29, 2013

Directions

We'll meet at last week's stop  - the parking lot at 5410 Rocky Point Road.  It's about 10 K to the next stop - the intersection of Sooke Road and the Goose.  We will board the vehicle left there for the return trip to the Rocky Point Road lot. 

We should be able to park Kathy's van here (around 5512 Sooke Road) near the Shell station and mail boxes on the right. This view is looking back along Sooke Road.



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Description from the official guide

From the parking lot off Rocky Point Road, the Goose heads straight into
Matheson Lake and Roche Cove regional parks.  The Goose changes
character again. From the pastoral setting of Metchosin, the trail crosses
into semi-wilderness. The trail surface is still hard packed and comfortable of course, but the scenery gets wilder and greener. Pockets of Western Red Cedar, low lying skunk
cabbage swamp, glimpses of Matheson Lake and Roche Cove, and
creeks emerging from fern forests reward the traveller.


Heading west past Roche Cove, the trail crosses Gillespie Road (use
extreme caution: a blind curve in the road) and skirts Sooke Basin, clinging to the coves and headlands along the north shore to the small peninsula of Milnes Landing.
Savour this section of the Goose. There are few multi-use trails along the west coast that offer cycling this close to the Pacific Ocean. The trail dips steeply down into Veitch Creek
near Hutchison Cove. Most cyclists hustle quickly over the bridge and climb up the other side. But they miss one of the gems of the Goose. Stop on the side of the bridge and
enjoy the spectacular view of Veitch Creek as it flows over exposed bedrock and out into the basin. Sooke River Valley Near Coopers Cove (3 km west of Roche Cove) the Goose heads north across Sooke Road (use extreme caution on this busy highway!) and
visits the neighbourhood of Ayum Creek before heading north into the
Sooke River Valley.

Dwayne's Track and pictures January 28, 2013




View Galloping Goose 4 Rocky Pt Rd to Sooke Rd Jan 28, 2013 in a larger map

 Lots of water and lush vegetation, with all the rain.

Matheson Lake.

Three otters frolicking - only two came close enough to have their photos taken

Steep cliffs - sounds like an invitation to go and look

 Remnants of old railway ties.

 Sooke Basin.

 Did anyone see the Spitfire near 36 km?

 Eye test.

 Ex Canadian Forces minesweeper.

Below -Telegraph pole from the old days

 Sooke Rd and the end of GG4.

GG3 Luxton to Rocky Pont Road Jan 22, 2013

Directions

We'll meet at last week's stop (parking next the the wild bird seed store at kilometer 18) at 9:15 and hike to the  day's destination - the parking lot at 5410 Rocky Point Road. We will board the vehicle left there for the return trip to the Luxton parkade.



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The hike was 12.5K




View Galloping Goose 3 Luxton to Rocky Pt Rd. Jan. 28, 2013 in a larger map

 Pictures from the hike.

Off we go

 Luxton fairground.

New Luxton station

Accelerate down the straightaway.

Rifle Range. It can get pretty noisy here on the weekend.

Lots of ferns along the route.

 Must be the right way.

 Motorcycle park, dating back to 1927. This place can get pretty noisy on the weekend too.

Below - historical monument

Duck pond.

First views of the ocean.

Just past the free ranging chickens are two Turkey Vultures. I wonder why there were no chickens in sight. Hmm. Couldn't get a very good picture with the Brownie Hawkeye

Rocky Point Rd and the end. If it seemed long, it was 12.5 km.

Thanks for the pics, Kathy and Dwayne!

Description from the official guide

Just west of Glen Lake and Jacklin Road, the Goose swings south and leaves Langford behind, entering Metchosin, one of the earliest pioneering communities on Vancouver Island. For about seven kilometres, the trail loosely parallels Happy Valley Road, crossing it twice before veering west towards Rocky Point Road at Kangaroo Road.

Where the Goose in the eastern urban sections is used primarily by commuters and neighbourhood strollers, the Metchosin section is a destination of choice. It’s easy to see why. The rural pasture lands,  small farms surrounded by hills, lazy creeks, and arbutus-clad outcrops remind users of a day gone-by — when life was simpler and slower and closer to nature.

In 1871, one of the first public schools in Western Canada opened here. The Metchosin School still stands near the corner of Happy Valley and William Head roads, only a short 1½ kilometres from the Goose.

GG2 Atkins Avenue to Luxton Fairgrounds car park Tuesday, Jan 15, 2013

Hike photos





View The Galloping Goose Day 2 Jan. 15, 2013 in a larger map

The end for this week



Directions

We'll all meet at the centre at 9:15 and car pool with at least two vehicles. We will drop off one vehicle at the trail car park near Luxton Fairgrounds and proceed to the Atkins Road parking to start this section.

There is parking here next the the wild bird seed store, and we know where the Atkins Road parking is - and how to get to it!


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This section is approximately 9K, but we make up for it next week with a slightly longer hike (11K) to Rocky Point Road.

Ad Hoc Hikers who complete any section(s) of the Goose Gallop 2013 will receive a momento indicating the distance walked. If you miss a section on any Tuesday and want to make it up to receive the coveted 55K momento for 2013, please let me know. We're planning to complete the Lochside Trail as well this year - so stay tuned!

Description from the official guide (see links section for the full guide).


Just west of the Atkins Avenue parking lot, the Goose crosses Six Mile
Road. For the next seven kilometres the Goose rides over top of
the Colwood Delta — an immense pile of gravel, up to 100 metres
thick, underlying much of  Langford and Colwood. It was built
nearly 13,000 years ago by streams flowing to the sea from glacial ice
west of Langford Lake. You can’t see the delta as such (it’s under foot)
but you can see some of the left over meltwater channels and ponds.
Road crossings interrupt the flow of the Goose all the way to the Luxton

Fairgrounds. The Goose crosses Atkins Avenue (three times), Sooke
Road (three times), Jacklin Road and a few other smaller roads. Sooke
and Jacklin are busy, major roads. Exercise caution when crossing. Use
the cross walks and if you’re cycling, dismount before crossing.


The working landscape of Colwood and Langford is partially shielded by
fern-laden rocky outcrops, pasture land, and low-lying wetlands. It’s a
delightful surprise to enter a shady former railway cutbank on a hot
summer day and imagine the rickety Galloping Goose gas car (circa 1930)
lurching along the old rail line.

GG1 Selkirk Trestle to Switch Bridge Jan 8, 2013

Selkirk Trestle to Switch Bridge GG1

Hike Report Jan 8, 2013

6 enthusiastic (initially anyway) hikers braved the constant rain to complete the first 10 km of the Galloping Goose. It was a soggy day and good test of rain gear and perseverance. A weatherproof camera would have worked well. 10 km done, with 45 km to go!

Everyone who completes even one section will receive a momento marked with the kilometres they have covered in this year's Goose Gallop.

https://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?msid=209938729472309822028.0004d2cf1ed49d86d7c64&msa=0

Directions

We'll all meet at the Centre at 9:15 and car pool with at least two vehicles. We will drop off one vehicle at Atkins Road parking (next to Star Auto) and proceed to parking near the Johnson Street Bridge.

Atkins Road Galloping Goose Parking Lot

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There is often some free parking in this area of Tyee Road

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or here on Harbour Road

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We'll then complete the first 10k of the Galloping Goose as described below (from the official guide)

The Galloping Goose Regional Trail starts at the east end of the Johnson
Street bridge — trailside kilometre markers are measured from here.
After crossing the bridge, the trail continues as Harbour Road until it
picks up the paved trail near the Point Ellice Bridge and skirts the
Upper Harbour to the Selkirk Trestle now less than a kilometre ahead.
The Selkirk Trestle — a 300-metre long, fir and hemlock trestle — spans
the Selkirk Waters, a bulge in the narrow saltwater inlet curving
north-west from Victoria’s Inner Harbour to the Gorge and Portage
inlets. Though signs of a changing downtown Victoria  dominate the
southern view, the immediate environs are mostly tranquil, with lush
poplars, willows and maples pushing to the shoreline and softening the
urban landscape.

The trestle itself is five metres wide — ample room for the hundreds of
strollers and cyclists on a Sunday afternoon outing. There’s even room
for the occasional fisher casting over the railing for herring.
Though the trestle is wide, the surface can get slippery after
wet weather. If you’re on wheels, check your speed and watch
out for other trail users. You can access the bridge at either end: from
the south, take Tyee Road to Arthur Currie Lane; from the north, drop
down from Gorge Road East, a block west of Jutland Road.
From the bridge, in rapid succession, the trail scurries under the Gorge
Road East bridge and the Burnside Road East bridge. A huge mural
brightens up one of the massive, cast concrete bridges. The Goose emerges
into the warehouse and light industry district just west of Douglas
Street. It’s stop-and-go here. The trail crosses six urban roads in a
row. At many of them, you must yield to road traffic, so stay alert. Up
ahead: the Switch Bridge. The Switch Bridge, a 100 metre span
across the Trans-Canada Highway, marks another important milestone
in the life of the Goose. Until the Switch Bridge, the busy highway
blocked flow along the Goose. When the bridge opened in 1996, the Goose
gained easy, uninterrupted access to Victoria.