Bowen Island 1: Crippen Park and Killarney Lake

Nov 21, 2016

Morning dawned grey, and looked like it might rain, as it had been every day that week, but by noon the sun was peeking out and blue sky emerging.

My planned trail was from the intersection of Miller Rd and Bowen Island Trunk Rd, in "downtown" Snug Cove, then 2 km through Crippen Park, 4 km around Killarney Lake, and back to my starting point.  A total of about 8 km, not counting my walk to/from my home.  Besides the hill from my home to Snug Cove, the rest of the hike was relatively flat, with an elevation change of only 75m.

I made my way to the village of Snug Cove by cutting through various right-of-way trails.

Bowen Island has many easements and right-of-ways that you will not find on any public map. I started locating them via the city hall property titles, during the inspection process of buying our property. I plan to do a blog entry about them after I map out enough of them to create a nice walking tour.

From the intersection of Miller and Bowen Trunk Rd/Dorman Rd, I walked up Miller. There was a gravel path running on the right side of the road. On the left side of the road was Bowen Island's Historians Museum and Archive.

That "thumbs up" sign in the photo is stop for the Bowen LIFT program. While hitchhiking is common throughout the Gulf Islands, Bowen was the first to municipally sanction it in 2013, calling it a "rideshare" program.

A few blackberries held on to the vines, although they were far past their prime.

Where the trail met Killarney Creek, the crosswalk was clearly marked. So I crossed Miller Rd to head towards Killarney Lake. A Parks Board map showed the trail I wanted to take: Killarney Creek Trail.  (You'll see that I didn't end up on KCT, as planned.)

I strode confidently forward. As the noise of the cars on Miller Rd receded behind me, the birdsong came to the forefront.  I walked between two (fields of) ferns, parallel to the Creek. Huge cedars and white-barked alder lined the trail.

At the trail junction, the way to Killarney Lake was clearly marked with Parks arrows.  I followed along easily, taking the right-hand fork.

The bark mulch trail was a bit muddy in places, after the past week's rain, but for the most part was clear and dry..... -ish.  ;)  Even the muddy portions didn't hold a candle to the trail between La Espina and Tineo on the Camino Primitivo in Spain!!

A little path ran off to the right of the trail, towards the bubbling water of the Creek. I couldn't get far down it though, due to a big cedar that had fallen so recently that its needles were still green.

Huge trees bore marks of logger's springboards.  I have no idea why they were not cut.

Most of the trees on Bowen Island were second-growth forest. Smaller trees emerged everywhere from the fern-covered forest floor.

It was only when I crossed a creek that I realized I had taken the wrong path!  I was on Hatchery Trail, not Killarney Lake Trail, because if I had been on Killarney Lake Trail, I would not have crossed a creek.

This trail would still get me to Killarney Lake, but I had hoped to loop BACK on this path AFTER circling the Lake. I realized that I had made an error in crossing Miller Rd before the Killarney Creek bridge-- I needed to cross it after the bridge. The creek I had been following was Terminal Creek, not Killarney Creek.

Just past the Terminal Creek bridge, a jogger passed me as I gaped at a row of impossibly big cedar trees. One had been hollowed by fire. I stood there long enough that another hiker passed me too.

I knew I needed to find a trail that turned right, in the near future. Then I crossed ANOTHER bridge... ?????? This one was much bigger in scale. I think THIS one was the Terminal Creek Bridge.

At least I could see some more park signs not long after this bridge!  While I stood there, trying to get my bearings, another jogger passed me. And two separate walkers. This was indeed a popular spot!

The signage said I had taken Hatchery Creek Trail, instead of Killarney Creek Trail. Now, I turned right onto Meadow Run.  Here, I am pointing to the trail I wanted to be on, while the re "you are here" dot showed me for below.

Suddenly, the trail opened up to the sky, and an equestrian ring, benches, and garbage pails popped into view. It seemed that this ring was open to the public, but to be used at one's own risk.

I didn't know where the grassy path on the right went... the map didn't show two paths through the meadow.  So I took the gravel path on the right, that everyone else seemed to be taking.

A bubbly bouncy puppy came by to say hi and check if I had any treats, just before the turnoff to the off-leash area.

A small group congregated on the bridge amidst the white alder trees. As I passed I heard them discussing natural selection in the hatchery.

Just past that, I reached a trail junction. On the right was a bench. This is where my planned route would have taken me.

I turned left and passed the same jogger I had just seen at Terminal Creek bridge. She smiled knowingly and said hi. Then two diamond-tailed ravens flew over my head. :)

I took Cedar Trail at the fork.  Both trails would have taken me around the lake; however, I had a plan to be "efficient" by taking Cedar Trail out, then Killarney Lake Trail back.

At a yellow vehicle-blocking post, a sign indicated "busy roadway" (but not which road!), and Killarney Lake in both directions. I was confused. Google maps told me this was Magee Rd, and that I wanted to turn right.

Behold!  The "busy roadway"!!

However, I should have re-checked the Bowen trails map, instead of trusting google maps in this case, because the former would have told me that I needed to go left for a tiny bit, to get to a foot trail that went right, and ran parallel to the road. Incorrect assumptions seemed to be a theme for the day.  ;)   Instead, I walked along Magee Rd.

At the next fork on Magee Rd, the road to the right was clearly marked as private property. the next one too. On that property, the sound of heavy machinery boomed through the forest.

Just past the junction: a lovely set of bridges crossed over tiny creeks, replete with croaking frogs. Between the two bridges, the trail forked. This was where I realized that I had turned the wrong way on Magee Rd. This was where the correct footpath would have brought me to. So I took the right hand/straight ahead trail to continue onward.

The trail continued to be breathtakingly gorgeous. The sun peeking though the forest strew beautiful patterns off the trees, and buoyed my spirits, after a fairly stressful month of moving.

The trail turned, got thinner and rougher, as it descended towards the lake. Gnarled route reached up for unsuspecting ankles. Then, at the bottom, a boardwalk appeared. It went right over a small creek.

Mossy trees "flashed" me and winked. They must have known that the trail would start back uphill again.  I wished that I had brought some snacks with me.

A nurse log was host to a handful of young trees that would later likely end up in the same perfect line as the giant hollowed-out cedars I had encountered back by Terminal Creek, as they outgrew their "caretaker" and the nurse log decomposed into the earth.

At the top, a Parks sign indicated a viewpoint, so I went. It had two nice flat areas, perfect for a rest and/or a picnic. If, you know, one had brought food with them on their hike... ;)

I sat a little while and felt the warm sun on my face. It was welcome after the cool shade of the forest.  I also laughed when I accidentally caught myself on film while setting up the camera for a shot of the view. Sometimes the "imperfect" shots are the best ones.  ;)

On the way out of the viewpoint, I could see that the viewpoint trail basically looped off the main trail, so I took the left fork back, instead of retracing my steps. (I quickly rejoined the main trail and a Parks marker ensured I was on the right one.)

The trail then headed downward again. At the bottom, another boardwalk. And the first walkers I'd seen since the jogger!

Then, not long after, a spanking new boardwalk!!

Walking over this same portion a few days later, I was shocked to see all of the land underneath that same new boardwalk converted to rushing water!

After a short stint in the forest, this boardwalk led out over a marshy section of the lake. Dead trees stood like ghostly soldiers at attention.

Just after the boardwalk re-entered the trees, was Frog Trail, an unmarked path to Xenia. I recognized it because of its <ahem> "distinctive" tree.

But I didn't take that trail. I stayed on the main trail, to continue circling the lake.  Still wished I had snacks with me.

The path came right down to water level.   On the lake, tiny lily shoots tried desperately to surface. In summer, lily pads covered a big portion of the lake.

The sky had completely cleared. A squirrel foraged near the shore. A duck swam placidly by. The path turned back into the forest.

At the next junction, I took the boardwalk. The parks board map confirmed I needed to stay left at the next few junctions.

The path became wide flat and graveled again. This side of the lake was definitely a faster walk than the other side!

I followed a path beside a tiny Creek, that came out on a rocky beach offering a 360° panoramic view of the entire lake.

(click to enlarge -- sorry for bad/"fake" pano-- I need to relearn how to pano!)

HOLY CRAP LOOK WHAT MY NEW PHONE DID WITH THIS, ALL ON ITS OWN!!!!!  I am amazed and a little bit scared!  :o

(click to enlarge)

Again, a few days later, the spot where I had stood to take the above panoramic was now underwater! We certainly had had a lot of rain lately, but I didn't expect such huge differences to the waterways in a matter of days.

Cars whizzing by on Mt Gardener Rd startled me out of my nature-induced reverie. I was approaching the parking lot and picnic area.

The picnic area had several picnic tables under the shade next to the lake, and a couple more in the sun on the roadside.  There were trash and recycling barrels, bike racks, a map, and a well-appointed set of porta-potties.

At the other end of the picnic area a bench sat overlooking the boat ramp, and in front of the dam. The trail led past the dam, and back to Magee Rd.

From the road, I got a nice view of the little dam. The air tasted like skating rink. I wondered if it would snow this week. I had seen snow on the nearby mountains this past weekend, and the weather was supposed to drop to an extremely uncommon -5°C in Vancouver this week.

Magee Rd dipped down here, and then rose up again quickly.  Killarney Lake Trail branched off to the right.  It was clearly marked with additional signage pointing "To Snug Cove" and "Ferry."

As I reached the junction where I passed the smiling jogger, the sun was slipping behind the mountains, and a Raven flew over my head, exactly as before!

I was about to run over to take a photo of the bridge where the chatty group was previously congregated, but a couple was there now. Just then, the second Raven flew over.  :D

Just before the parking lot, I encountered a woman with two border collies. One came over to give me a sniff, and I commented how my shih-tzu couldn't handle a walk around the lake.

Arriving back on Miller Rd, my stomach was grumbling. My original walk plan had me exiting near Artisan Square, where I could grab a treat at the Artisan Eats Café. This way, I would pass the Ruddy Potato Café, but I also felt a little guilty buying a treat when I was so close to home.

I decided I'd head straight back. Passing another hitchhiking sign on Miller Rd, I wondered how many people came out tuckered from a hike around the lake and just wanted a ride home.  In the distance, I could see the bridge over Killarney Creek that I was supposed to have crossed at the beginning of this walk.

I soon arrived at it, crossed at the crosswalk, and headed back along the path beside Miller Rd.  It didn't take long at all to get back to the intersection where I had started.

However, the promise of a home-baked croissant urged me onward, and I made a nice warm cup of decaf at home to accompany it.  A pretty satisfying ending to the day.  :)