I awoke to another giant dump of snow. My little Buddha statue had given up and pulled his snow blanket right over his head. ;)
I was back putting shovel to earth, but since my friend Nihan had been sending me some of her new "repeating pattern" style of art, I decided to make some "similar" art of my own. ;)
The day before, my friend Kitty had visited again, and we walked to September Morn beach and up to the Dorman Point viewpoint. It was about 5.3km (2km each way to/from to the beach, with a 1.3km detour to the lookout at the point--only the last 200m of trail off Robinson Rd was really steep). She had brought me some more special edition beers from Central City. (Thanks Gary!!)
We went to the awesome new tapas place, Barcelona, in the evening. I had accidentally discovered that their soft opening started that evening, when walking to meet Kitty at the ferry that morning. Score!! It was fantastic. :D
Speaking of recreating France, I've finally gotten all the local little birdies to come around my makeshift bird feeder. It was fun to sit in my living room and watch them all do their thing at the feeder. Kitty named two of the Varied Thrushes who kept showing up: Bocce, who looked like a little bowling ball, and Boccette, who was more diminutive. Lolololol.
Then I totally freaked myself out, thinking there was some kind of demonic animatronic bear in our cedar tree... it took me literally HOURS to figure out that the blue lights were our router lights reflecting off the window pane. >.<
(click on map to enlarge)
I walked up "Government Rd" aka Bowen Island Trunk Rd, past Village Square, and crossed the street to take the trail running along the right (east) side of the road.
When I got up to the Bowen Island Community School (Bowen's only public school), I followed the pedestrian ahead of me into the trail that cut through the front of the school. Seemed a little safer than simply walking along the shoulder of the road.
The trail dropped us off in front of the school onto Mt Gardner Rd, right at the intersection where Bowen Island Trunk Rd changed its name to Grafton Rd.
I followed Mt Gardner Rd past the front of the school, and down the hill towards the BIRD recycling depot.
As I was passing the BIRD (yes, BIRD the depot, as well as this giant raven), a guy with a big red backpack and an even bigger happy smile passed me, walking in the opposite direction. I bet that he had just done Mt Gardner, Bowen's highest peak. The access road to the mountain was not far up ahead.
I passed the intersection with Green Rd, which sported signs to Camp Bow Isle (1 km up Green Rd) as well as the entrance to Mt Gardner (1 km ahead on Mt Gardner Rd).
I soon arrived at Killarney Lake. I couldn't resist popping in to the picnic area and taking a look at the still partially-frozen water.
Then I continued onward along Mt Gardner Rd. I could have taken the lakeside trail for a while, as it had an exit onto the road a little farther along, but I just stuck to the road.
I did see another trail across from the Killarney Lake parking lot: one I hadn't noticed before, but which stood out now in the snow. Was it just for dogs to play in the little field there, or was there an actual trail leading somewhere interesting? I made a mental note to come back and check it out later.
Next, I arrived at the trailhead for Mt Gardner at Hiker's Trail Rd. There was a kiosk with a very difficult-to-read map. Yellow trails on a green map? Really? ;p
But today I had no time for such a large excursion, so I just kept going along the road.
Google maps had shown me that I could go straight through to Grafton Bay Beach along Jones Rd South (see yellow dots on map), but standing there, no "road" could be seen, past the first couple of metres. Just a big farm.
I was surprised to see an alpaca there, among the sheep. (No, not a llama; I've done unfortunately more research on this distinction that I thought I would ever need to!) Although I knew that while alpaca wool could be pricey, it was also difficult to harvest, and so it was far more likely that the alpaca was a companion animal and protector for the sheep and chickens.
As I walked by along the road, I peered into the property to see whether Jones "road" was more of a "trail." I saw a few curvy potentials, but they seemed to be heading in the wrong direction. I wasn't convinced it wasn't just their personal routes and driveways in and about their farmland.
At the intersection with Bowen Island Trunk Rd, where Mt Gardner Rd veered left, there was no street sign. There was a stop sign atop a big round yellow concrete base.
There were more downed trees in this area too.
At the intersection with Barton Rd, I took a left and walked along Barton Rd.
There was a nice clearing and a small creek on the left of the road.
I passed Huckleberry Lane, where a sign advertised Elliott's Donkey Farm, featuring miniature Sicilian Donkeys! The Elliotts moved to Bowen in 1960, and lived right in the Cove for many years. They eventually moved to Grafton Bay, and opened their Donkey Farm in 1992, and it was a popular field trip destination. Sadly, Gordon Elliott passed away in 2012, at the age of 82.
I continued along the dirt road, which was pretty icy.
I looked past the checkered sign marking the end of the road. There was no obvious trail or footprints. Since it was high tide anyway, I didn't feel like I was missing out, not getting down any closer.
However, she did pull out a map and show me the beach access from Woods Rd, which would have been useful to know before I had headed out there... ;p As it was, I didn't see it, because I didn't know to look for it. Supposedly, there was a trail leading from a "grassy area," where the road opens up after passing the narrow one lane portion.
Heading back along Barton Rd, I noticed that ravine running alongside the road, between Barton Rd/BITR and Woods Rd.
The sun was glinting in marvelous colors off the clouds in the sky, but my camera was just not quite up to the task of capturing it.
Back at the intersection of Barton Rd and Woods Rd, I hairpinned left and went along Woods Rd.
Just past that, I had to stay right to stay on Woods Rd. It was pretty icy too, past this point. Going left would take me to Xenia Retreat Centre, along Smith Rd. I decided that if there was time, I'd swing by there on the way back.
Passing a trail on the right side of the road, it seemed like it was in the right place to be one of the Mt Collins access trails... but... it had a set of bold "Private Property" and "No Trespassing" signs. I figured that wasn't the right trail, but later I read a comment online that suggested that it might indeed have been the trail up to Honeymoon Lake.
I reached a narrowed part of the road. A sign advised, "local traffic only."
I passed a house with a lovely Jpaanes-style entrance
I was looking for logging road somewhere here along the right, which would lead up Mt Collins. A man was just getting out of his truck, so I asked him if he knew about it. He told me it was "to the right, right before the cul de sac." He sounded pretty confident, so I expected it would be pretty obvious.
The road turned and followed the coast. The views were fantastic. :)
Beside the road on the left, the ground plunged away steeply. I abandoned the shoulder and walked right down the middle of this quiet roadway.
The road started heading downhill, and I could see a ravine on the right side of the road. I recognized where I was on the map: this creek ran between Honeymoon Lake and the ocean.
Just past the ravine was *maybe* a cul de sac??? There was a cleared area big enough for a car to turn around, and on the right, what looked like a driveway. There was a sign reading "End of Public Road," and a little ways further, and open gate with two signs: "Annie's Landing" and "Private Drive."
By chance, two women exited from next door and I asked them about the trail. They said that I should ask for permission to cross through Annie's Landing, but confirmed that the logging road was just up ahead. Both these two ladies (and the man from earlier) seemed very concerned that I was trying to go up Mt Collins in the snow at 4:30pm with no gear. It took much persuasion to convince them that I was merely looking for the ENTRANCE to the trail, so that I could come back another time.
Annie's Landing was named after Annie Parker, who married Frederick Billington and settled there in 1908. In fact, the name of Woods Rd changes to Billington Rd, right near where I was standing. The homestead was self-sufficient, and made money through logging. (source)
In current day, the property is owned by Annie's granddaughter and her husband, Joan and John Tennant.... no, don't get too excited... not THAT Tennant. Sigh. Tennant and Eccleston, both on Bowen... there's certainly some Timey Wimey stuff going on... ;)
Looking at the lot plan later, there appeared to be at least 8 lots in the strata. I think the portion of Annie's Landing that I would have crossed to get to the logging road would have been the "common property." But don't quote me on that!
I headed back the way I had come, and made my way back to the intersection of Woods Rd and Smith Rd. Checking the time and the sun, I decided I'd have time for a quick visit to Xenia.
A little ways down on Smith Rd, I was surprised to see an intersection with Jones Rd!! Maybe the road did go through after all?? I would have to come back to see, since that detour would mean I wouldn't have time to get to Xenia and home before dark -- especially if it DIDN'T go through and I had to backtrack.
It sure looked like a real, established road, from the corner. But I continued on Smith Rd.
The moon was out in the blue sky.
Smith Rd went straight, and Fernie Rd forked off to the right. There was a street sign at the corner, and a few metres later, another sign marking "end of public road" and "local traffic only."
I stayed left, because the entrance to Xenia and its Labyrinth was just a few metres ahead. There was space to park one or two cars, in front of the sign. A kiosk advertised "Ways of Being at Xenia," and advised reservations to stay at the centre or have a sauna. However, visiting Opa the 1000-year-old tree, walking the Labyrinth alone, or meditating in the Sanctuary was open to the public from 9am to 6pm in the winter, and 8am to 8pm in the summer. A donation box welcomed any contributions.
Beyond the kiosk was an archway with signage indicating the Labyrinth was beyond. I remembered that in past years that the gate had lovely wooden doors. I had often taken a photo of my Reiki Level 2 students standing in front of that gate, after walking the Labyrinth. Today they were gone. I supposed it was difficult to maintain woodwork in this wet climate.
After a quick walk in the woods, a clearing revealed the Labyrinth... well, kind of! It was covered in deep snow. However, someone had traced out the entire Labyrinth with their footsteps. It was a truly magical place, the Labyrinth here really felt like a living being.
"The Xenia Center on Bowen Island has two labyrinths: an indoor Chartres-style labyrinth and an 11-circuit outdoor labyrinth in the Hopi/Cretan/Celtic design." For more information: www.xeniacentre.com/treasures
As I had mentioned in my trip to the Rivendell Labyrinth, a Labyrinth is not the same as a maze, because whereas a maze can have many choices of path, and many "wrong turns" or "dead ends," a Labyrinth has only one single path to walk. It is a metaphor for the journey of our life. My favorite way to walk a Labyrinth is to clear and ground myself, then walk in with palms up, open to receiving insights about "anything I need to know." On the way out, I do either palms down or palms together, saying or breathing "thank you" with every step, for any insights or messages I received.
On the occasions when I brought my Reiki Level 2 class here, I did one of our attunements right in the centre of the Labyrinth. What an experience. I always left a large donation to Xenia in the donation box, whenever we did this.
Here's some photos of the Labyrinth that I took on a sunnier day.
After my visit with the Labyrinth, I headed back to the kiosk and signage, and turned right, down the driveway.
It was incredibly slippery on the incline. Signage warned me to slow down, but I couldn't have gone much slower without completely stopping! ;)
Another sign directed me left, to Opa the 1000-yea-old Douglas Fir tree. Beyond that was signage indicating one was entering the private area of the retreat centre.
Opa was through this wooden archway, and more signage led the way through a short path in the woods.
One cannot truly record the greatness of this tree. According to the Xenia website, it was "only one of two old growth trees remaining on Bowen Island. [...] Opa, scarred by saws and marked by the logger’s axe, somehow avoided the clear-cutting of the island."
I wandered over to the nearby Sanctuary, visible from Opa. It was locked, but I managed to get a glimpse inside, through the glass door.
I headed back, past the horse fields opposite the Sanctuary, and up the slippery slippery driveway, which was even more difficult to walk up than it was to walk down.
As I left Smith Rd for Woods, I laughed when I realized that the day before, I had gone to Dorman Point with Kitty, where I used to do the first attunement of the Reiki Level 2 weekend, and this day, I was at the site of the second attunement. I guess I was reliving my Reiki Level 2, all by myself. ;)
Arriving near the intersection with Barton Rd, the sunlight again was marvelous, and I again failed to capture it properly.
I passed the yellow-based stop sign at Mt Gardner Rd, and continued straight/left, back the way I had originally come.
Past the Mt Gardener trailhead, I enjoyed the light playing off the mountains in the distance.
I didn't stop at Killarney Lake on my way back, but just kept motoring onward. Colin had texted, and the timing would be just right to meet him at the Bowen Island Pub for a beer on the way home. I checked whether it would be faster to cut through Crippen Park, but google maps told me that the road was actually faster!
I passed BIRD and the island's only gas station.
Just past the BIRD was another opportunity to cut through Crippen Park, or up to Artisan Square, as I had done on the previous hike. But I was headed back to the Cove, so I just kept on keepin' on.
Soon enough, I was at the Bowen Island Community School. The mountains were gorgeous, hanging above the fields in pinks, oranges, and lavenders. This time, my camera did ok. ;)
After one last downhill stretch along Grafton Rd, I was back at Village Square, where skeleton of the "new pub" was slowly taking shape on the corner, and soon pulling up -- or is that pouring down? -- a pint at the counter of the "old" Pub.
That night, a wind warning was posted, advising that "strong winds of nearly 60 kmh will increase to 70 kmh overnight." Yikes! Time to batten down the hatches!
No comments:
Post a Comment