Today our hiking group went on a trail that leads to the Comox Lake overlook.  I did this a year ago with the group and I remembered it as a lot of vertical and some bush scrambling but with a spectacular view over Comox lake.  The weather was spectacular and as Pat had no other business I convinced her to join us.  Now this took a bit of convincing because the last hike was the Ripple Rock where the vertical climbs were much more difficult than I remembered.

This one is supposed to be easier although there is a combined vertical of at least 400 meters.  Good trails on the climb with at least 1 km on a logging road.  Then we came to the trails down to the lookout.  The problem with trails in a rain forest is that they become wash runs for the rain.  The water washes out the sand and soil leaving the glacial till rocks.  Ankle twisting and a scramble.

We eventually came to the lookout for the lunch.  Unlike our hike to Ripple rock a few weeks ago the skies were brilliant blue and from the lunch lookout we could see the lake and across Cumberland and Courtenay all the way to Powell River and the Rockies.

Unfortunately the trail down to the lake level to the road to take us back to the cars involved more washed out rock scree.

Pat’s old hiking boots were not up to the challenge and she had a lot of foot problems on the downhill but she made it through.  The last 2 km is on easy trails and we end up at Jumbo’s Cabin built in the 1850s (see pic 2).

We have a great group of friends and all along the hike we chat and joke and just enjoy each other’s company, but we really need to spend some money on a good pair of hiking boots for Pat.

 

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