Colin and I decided to try to find one of the trails that on the Schedule E map that led to Apodaca Provincial Park. We had already managed to get into the north end of the Apodaca Eco-reserve via the Cates Hill trail. However, this time, we wanted to try to the route around the east side of the Reserve, hitting both the Reserve and the Provincial Park.
Confused yet? Let me clear it up for you: the Provincial Park is actually a small square of about 8 hectares (20 acres), nestled into the far east side of the much larger, 397 hectare Apodaca Ecological Reserve.
According to BC Parks, "Apodaca [Provincial Park] was named by Major J. S. Matthews, honouring the name given to the islands at the entrance to Howe Sound by the Spanish navigator Don Jose Marie Narvaez, who explored the Gulf of Georgia in 1791, one year before Captain Vancouver. In the early part of the century, Major Matthews' son was in a small boat which was stranded one evening. His son fought his way through the brush late at night at Snug Cove. When his son died at age 22, the Major bought this property as a memorial and in 1956, donated it to Provincial Parks."
We had already tried and failed on several occasions to find the trail to the park that branched off from the Valhalla Trail. So this time, we would try to find the one that led off the end of Channel View Rd at Taylor Rd. The trail on the map (see below) looked about 2 km from the road to the park. We hoped to find a route through the Crown Land (colored in peach on the map below) and the Eco-reserve (in green), avoiding as much as possible the adjacent private land (in white).
(see bowenisland.civicweb.net/document/34548 for full map)
We weren't really sure what to expect, as far as trails, since the Schedule E map wasn't always super accurate (sometimes the trails didn't even seem to exist!), and the only other map we found (in the BC Ministry of Parks, Lands, and Housing's Apodaca Master Plan, dated 1984) didn't seem to quite match the Sechdule E map.
(click image to enlarge)
Both maps showed a trail cutting through private property, immediately off the public road. However, I had heard that the owner of that property had given standing permission to cut across the corner of his property so that hikers could access the small triangle of Crown Land between his property and the Eco-reserve. That would mean that, at the very least, we could access the Provincial Park through the Eco-reserve.
Most people don't realize that, like in Crown Land, the public is allowed to walk wherever in Eco-reserves. Eco-reserves were initially established in Canada as part of a decade-long (1964-1974) world-wide initiative to identify ecologically important sites. BC became the first province to give these sites legal and permanent protection. According to BC Parks, the principal uses of Eco-reserves are scientific research and education, preserving rare or unique plants and animals, whereas "All consumptive resource uses, such as tree cutting, hunting, fishing, mining, domestic grazing, camping, lighting of fires and removing materials, plants or animals, and the use of motorized vehicles are prohibited... Most ecological reserves are open to the public for nondestructive observational uses such as nature appreciation, wildlife viewing, bird watching and photography. "
The 397 hectare Apodaca Ecological Reserve was established "to preserve the dry subzone forest ecosystems in the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone at a location convenient for research." Ironic that the majority of the trees within it are actually not Hemlock, but Douglas Fir. ;) Doubly ironic, that the Warden's 2011 report noted that research in Apodaca is actually NOT very convenient, because of the difficulty of access (e.g. steep terrain surrounded by private property). That is why the report states that "The reserve is not being used for research: it remains as an untouched reservoir of relatively low elevation maritime inland flora and fauna that can serve as benchmark or control for comparison with other areas in the lower mainland." The very limited human impacts on the reserve solely result from "infrequent recreational hiking by nature enthusiasts."
Even though hiking is allowed, trail-building is strongly discouraged. Therefore there are no official trails through the reserve. Any trails that occur must evolve naturally, through repeated use. To our surprise, we did find the remains of what appeared to be old logging roads, although they were being slowly eaten up by the forest. Interestingly enough, the Mt Apodaca area is said to be one of the very few areas on Bowen Island that has never been logged. But a fire in the 1920s destroyed nearly all the old growth on the mountain. The "logging roads" were more likely access roads to the Bowena mines that extracted copper/gold ore and silver in the first few decades of the 1900s.
Therefore, once we got into the Eco-reserve, we would be likely bushwacking our way through to the Provincial Park. But it would be hard to say how many potential routes actually would give access to the Provincial Park. Much of the Eco-reserve is along a 300m ridge, and the terrain plunges steeply down on each side. If we couldn't get through via the Eco-reserve, we would probably only have to "fudge" our way through at least one other private property. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.
Here, I've reconstructed the route we took, based on my GPS checks while we walked. As for distance, it's hard to calculate, but I am guessing the grand total for this hike was just over 5km, with a total elevation change of ~320m. It's short, but it's steep! ;) To break it down, in case you want to just do the trip up to Optimist Fen or the trip down to the Park: I'm guessing it's about 1.5km to Optimist Fen from paved public road, and about 200m in elevation change. It was probably about the same (1.5km) from the paved public road to the water access in the Provincial Park, and about 120m in elevation change.
(click on map to enlarge)
Just past the mailboxes, the pavement gave way to a dirt road. A short distance later, we reached a gate with a city sign declaring "end of public road." As I've mentioned several times on this blog, this sign is about who pays to maintain the road, and doesn't necessarily dictate whether the public can use it. A well-worn foot path led right past the gate, next to the sign. To the left was a "no trespassing" sign, but as I've also previously mentioned, these signs can be misleading. In this case, it likely referred to the terrain to the left side of the gate, and not the trail itself.
We figured we were traversing the corner of the first private property, and watched for a trail leading to the right into the Crown Land.
We passed a collection of abandoned equipment, some in pretty decrepit condition. We later learned that some of it was old mining equipment, abandoned nearly a century ago. However, much of it seemed much more recent to me.
We passed a giant pile of cut logs on the left side of the trail. Just past it, a trail branched off to the left. That was confusing, because we were looking for a trail to our right. We didn't expect any trails on the left.
I checked my GPS. It said we were about half way down "Channel View Dr" from where we left the paved public road. It seemed likely that "Channel View Rd" was the path shown on the Schedule E map. We made a mental note of the spot where this unexpected fork appeared, and actually came back and tried that route [spoiler alert!] after failing to get to the Provincial Park through the Eco-reserve -- it turns out that you can get through to the park via this other trail.
But at this point, we were still hopeful to get through to the park according to our original plan, and we did make it up to the gorgeous Optimist Fen, so bear with me as I describe "the scenic route" we took: it was still worth the trip up!
We stayed on the right-hand fork and were rewarded with another fork in the trail a short distance later. A few vehicles were parked on the left side of the left-hand fork. We thought that maybe that left fork was a driveway, so we took a peek down it, as we reached the junction.
(click image to enlarge)
As Colin and I stood at the previous junction, about to take the right-hand fork away from the vehicles, I joked, "Do you need a boat dock? I saw a whole dock back there!" (I later asked around to see whether it was a commercial salvage yard, but locals who knew about it seemed to think that the items were part of a personal collection.)
The trail headed steeply uphill for several switchbacks. It stayed wide and clear for the first few switchbacks.
We reached this hairpin turn to the left, around this clump of trees and stumps, and noticed what seemed like another, rougher trail heading off to the right. It took two more weeks before we'd be back and understand how we could have cut through the Crown Land that way. Apparently, there was a closer entrance that we had missed, between the mining equipment and the wood pile. On our next trip, we took that route with Warden Alan Whitehead as our guide.
As we continued onward, the trail disintegrated into more of a rough creekbed. It was fairly steep and I watched my step on the loose terrain.
Then we hit a patch covered with fallen trees. We picked our way around it, along the right side of the trail. Soon after that, the trail was flooded out, and again we picked our way on the higher bank to the right of the trail.
We reached a small clearing, where a broken tree was balanced on top of itself, like a T. It took us a few minutes to find the continuation of the trail, up the small hill to the left of the tree.
A closer look revealed a little square tag on a small tree growing on a stump, and a faded ribbon marker was nearly hidden in the boughs of a nearby tree. [UPDATE: On a later hike, through the Eco-reserve from the Golf Course through to Valhalla, I would arrive at the "T" tree above from yet another path, and notice that the square marker had fallen off of the little tree, and was sitting at its base. Obviously, on this first trip through here, we never saw that path to the Golf Course.]
I just loved the colors of this moss-covered log. I loved the quiet of this forest. Everywhere I looked was trees. BC Parks noted that "Except for one swamp and some rock outcrops, the reserve is entirely forested." We were headed up to the "swamp," called Optimist Fen, even though we didn't know it at the time. I later learned that "Major Matthews named the creek in the park 'Optimist Creek' from the Optimist's Club, which had planned on putting a youth camp on the island."
At points, the trail was nearly invisible. I used my experience on other Bowen trails to notice things like chainsaw-cut logs, to guide our way. I would later hear from the Warden that these logs were probably cut by dirt bikers, who were not supposed to be riding in the Eco-reserve.
There were a few pink ribbon trail flags, but not many. You definitely cannot rely solely on them to make your way in. Still, they offered us periodic reassurance that we were on the right track.
There was a fork in the trail here, unbeknownst to us. We just kept walking straight, but on our next trip out, Allan took us on the fork to the right. [spoiler: we ended up in the same place again later, so either way is ok]. In this photo below, you can see more of those chainsaw-cut trees, helping to show us the way.
We could hear rushing water, and it appeared to be coming from over the side of a steep embankment to our left. Colin climbed down over the edge, while I stood paralyzed, higher up on the slope.
It was unclear, but it appeared that the path we were following went up the hill to our right, away from the creek. We followed it up. It really felt like an old logging road. While steep, it was fairly flat, underneath a few random fallen trees. Many of the fallen trees had been pushed to the side of the trails, which served to highlight the trail up the hill.
At the top, we were again unsure which way to go. It seemed like the "logging road" split. The right side went uphill, while the left side ran on ahead. Colin decided to check out the left path. He walked up to two very large fallen trees, and climbed up on them. There he saw some fragments of pink ribbon. "There is a trail here down across a small creek," he called. I followed.
We stumbled down a steep incline and carefully picked our way across the tiny creek.
As Colin wandered around on the other side, I told him to look up: a yellow ribbon! I checked the GPS. We seemed to be right on the border of the Eco-reserve!! We had made it!
Then we noticed a golden glow, coming from a clearing past a couple of fallen trees. It was Optimist's Fen!! [On our next trip up, with the Warden, he would lead us out onto the Fen itself, but on this first day by ourselves, we weren't sure how safe it was, so we just looked at it from the edge.]
Next to the fen, we found a large collection of bones. Colin got very nervous: "These are really big! What kind of animal is that big here? And what would have killed it?!" I assured him that there are no large predators on Bowen. "It was very likely a deer," I announced. "And maybe it just died... that happens... and the bones are still here because so few people come through here to disturb them." Colin was almost convinced, but still wondered how the bones could have been picked so clean. "Ravens and Turkey Vultures?" I offered. There were certainly plenty of both on the island.
I wanted to take some home to put in my garden, but with no plastic bag with me, I didn't feel great about carrying them all home loose in my hands. "Picked clean" doesn't really mean "clean." ;p I think Colin was relieved at my decision to leave the deer skull where it was.
We retraced our steps to the little creek and up the hill to the two big trees which had fallen onto each other.
Then we scrambled back down the other side of the hill, back to the familiar flat ledge next to Optimist Creek.
Coming back was a lot faster, now that we recognized the route. (The fact that we were also now walking downhill helped a lot too. lol). I happily passed the broken "T" tree, feeling self-assured that I knew where I was, geographically.
I started telling Colin about my recent hiking difficulties. The weather, the injuries... I was just saying how I was so happy with the successes of this trip, and as I descended the steep river-bed trail, my foot slipped and I fell over on my ankle. >.< As it collapsed, the prickles from a small holly bush jabbed me through my jeans. With no other option available to me, I did some energy work until I could stand again, and tried walking it off.
We descended the last few switchbacks, and Colin complained he felt things "falling" on him. He had me checking his shirt for ticks. This trip was definitely starting to go sideways...
But by the time we got close enough to see the truck at the junction with "Channel View Rd," my ankle felt a lot better. I bet it helped that the last few switchbacks were on a flatter, more "logging road" type of trail.
We turned right onto the "road," away from the salvage yard, back towards the public road. Then, we turned right, just before the woodpile. A few large boulders marked the trail.
This trail was incredibly varied! A narrow footpath turned into a pebbly creekbed, then we tromped through some broken branches onto a huge rockface.
On the rock, we climbed over a fallen tree with vines wrapped around it thick like cables. Each vine was as wide as two of my fingers put together!
Muddy footprints assured us that someone else had come through this path not long before us. The trail made a quick right turn, then plunged us into a rushing creek bed. A faded ribbon urged us to make our way down the creek.
From there, we were almost at the coast again! But again, the trail swung right.
But we were soon there, looking at the amazing views. Along the shoreline to the right, was a little cove. Past that, we could see the North Shore: the houses of West Van, and the mountains of Cypress Provincial Park looming behind. I wondered whether that cove was the "water access" to the park, but it didn't seem like the right place. [spoiler: it wasn't!]
At our feet was the remnants of a campfire. More evidence of prohibited behavior! I had to admit, this would be a great place to camp.
The plan noted the year-round fresh water provided by Optimist Creek, which spilled out at the beach access, and the mossy ledges that would serve as great walk-in tent sites. It also expressed the need to establish better access paths and side trails, signage, picnic areas with an outhouse, and 6 tent sites, with improved cliff safety. As far as I could tell, little to none of the plan had come to fruition, over the ensuing 3 decades. The only thing that seemed to exist was the trail in.
(click on image to enlarge)
Reading the plan's call for safety measures brought to mind a camping trip gone awry just last summer (2016)... A Burnaby man who had been camping with friends on private bluffs adjacent to the park had wandered off the 12m bluff in the middle of the night, and spent a harrowing 6 hours battered by waves while clinging to the cliff at sea level, after breaking his foot and three vertebrae on the rocks below.
Standing in the bright sunlight, looking out at the calm ocean, I still shuddered at the mental image of that poor man. He was lucky his head and spine injuries didn't cause brain damage or paralysis. Last I heard, he was working his way through physical rehab, and hopeful about his total recovery.
In front of me on this day was 32-acre off-the-grid Passage Island. The low tide revealed an underwater bridge to the tiny unnamed private island off Passage Island's southern tip. Past that, huge tankers bobbed empty in English Bay, waiting to fill at the Port in Vancouver Harbour.
Further South, UBC loomed, seemingly close enough to touch.
The trail continued along the shore for a while. We encountered a woman with a barking dog who apologized for his rambunctiousness: "He thinks it's his own private trail... Do you live on Bowen...?" She squinted at us, before relaxing at our answer. This probing question had become familiar to us, when encountering people on the trails. We had already had similar experiences on the Cape and in Miller's Landing.
We asked her whether this trail led to a beach, and she said we were almost there. Despite hints on the Schedule E map (and various local rumors) that the trail continued on through the Eco-reserve to the Golf Course Seymour Landing, the woman told us --unprompted-- that the trail ended at the beach. [UPDATE: I was later shown that trail to the Golf Course! It DOES exist!]
Soon enough, we were at the beach... well, sort of... we were somehow ABOVE the beach, and needed to find a way down.
(sorry for crappy "fake" pano -- click photo to enlarge)
Finding the steep rough trail to the beach, we celebrated our victory in reaching the Provincial Park water access by fully exploring the area.
We leaned over a huge log to capture photos of the Optimist Creek Grotto.
We clambered around on the giant logs that had washed in on previous tides. I supposed that these would provide difficulties to water access, if the tide were higher.
We walked along what was left of Optimist Creek, as it slithered through the pebbly beach to the sea. I took off my shoes and frolicked in the cold fresh water. At the shore, mussels clung like jewels to larger rocks.
The woman with the dog had told us to look for a plaque near the beach. We didn't see it, but according to a post on Club Tread, "If [you] look hard enough you should be able to find a dedication plaque (from the official park designation date) on a rock face along one of the overgrown trails."
Apparently, "There is [also] a mine adit just to the north of Apodaca Cove at sea level. Evidence for this is in the form of hewn timbers covered with material from the roof of the adit. No data on this feature could be found, but a considerable number of mineral claims were staked on the island before the war. This was probably a test shaft." We didn't see that either, although that would have been neat. Fortunately, there are currently no mineral claims remaining on the property. Obviously, like the rest of the island, mining was not found to be viable in this location.
We headed back up from the beach.
Back up at the top of the rise from the beach, we noticed another trail that led off to the left. We decided to follow it. It led to a "plaque" type structure, perched atop a pile of rocks. If it ever said anything, it was blank now. We wondered whether this was "the plaque." Probably not, but it was hard to tell what it might have been. Perhaps an interpretive sign??
It looked like there might be another trail leading off past the plaque. It was quite hard to tell, because it was very overgrown, but the map suggested that it might be a trail continuing through to the Apodaca Eco-reserve.
We decided to leave it, and turned right to take us back to the path we came in on. Just there was another skeleton, like the one we found up at the Fen. This time, it was much more intact, and we could tell for sure it was a deer.
We retraced our steps back out the way we came... along the bluffs by the water...
Up the creek that ran under some fallen logs...
Up and over the natural rock "stairs" to the vine-covered fallen tree...
Through the dry creekbeds and the grassy footpath...
It felt like no time at all when we spied the pile of cut logs that signaled our re-entry onto "Channel View Rd." Of course, this was still the unpaved portion.
But it was only another 400m or so to get back to the car, parked at the post office boxes just past the gate.
It was a gratifying hike, but boy, I was sure ready for cheese time and a nap! After "recharging" we went for an easy evening stroll up to the Cates Hill Labyrinth. FINALLY, I got a view of it, clear of snow!
Getting ready for bed that evening, I took off my shirt and a tick fell out. >.< My second tick of Bowen Island. Thank goodness I was covered in DEET: I am sure this is why he had not latched on. All hail DEET!!
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