Medicine Bowls

We have fabulous hikes up and down our valley with some gorgeous waterfall and rapid scenes.

I belong to a hiking group that takes us on adventures to discover scenery that few visit.

Vancouver Island has a range of mountains down the center with sharp drop down to the sea. Cover it all with a lush rain forest. We have easy hikes to Elk falls, Nymph falls, Brown River falls and many more. But if you are more adventurous there are falls that need some work to view.

A couple of weeks ago I went with the hiking group to find a spot called the Medicine Bowls. Basically a series of falls and pools and rapids cut out of hard rock. The hike was difficult because with a few preceding days of rain, the steep trails were very treacherous. Once to the bowls we could not venture out on the rocks because they were too slippery and the drops would kill you. Still I recognized a phenomenal site that I wanted to see again. Also found that there was an old forestry trail that would allow you to drive to ridge about 300 meters from the bowls.

As it happens Pat was ill on the day of the hike and I really wanted to show her the site.

We just had two days of sunshine which I thought would dry out the trail, so convinced her to go with me. We drove to the ridge rather than take the hike. The road was a goat path better done in an ATV but in 4 wheel drive in the Murano we made it. The trail down was still slippery (Pat fell) and the approach to the rocks more difficult than I remembered, but we did managed it. I have a picture of a very unhappy Pat on one of the rocks trying not to fall in, and a quick picture of one view. But if you really want to see what it looks like, open the youtube attachment. This video only shows about 1/4 of the length. There are more videos on the internet. Even more poignant when you read the memorial at the top of the ridge to 2 teenagers that drowned in the ponds. Not a trail for the faint of hearts, but one I will take adventurous guests to see. What a lovely place to live.