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Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
 
On August 12 I hiked with friends from Sombrio Point to Sombrio Beach on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. We had vehicles at each end to save the walk back to the start.
The four hour hike took us along the rugged west coast of southern Vancouver Island and across the forest ridges that skirt the coastline, past gorgeous water falls and above deep ravines. We had to stop many times before we could get by the terrific views!
The weather was mainly overcast but it was mild, with a gentle wind, and perfect for hiking.
One of the highlights was exploring a sea cave at Sombrio Beach. There is a sense of spine tingling, knowing that you have to pay attention to an incoming tide so you don’t get trapped by the rising water.
Before leaving we watched surfers work the waves at one of the best surf beaches on the south coast, a locals favourite that they don’t usually talk about to visitors.
Our dog Rosie loved the hike as much as we did!
Mark Ziegler
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
Neil & I picked a perfect morning, last Thursday, to go fishing, no wind and no foggy start to the day. It had been awhile since I had been fishing, or even on the water, so my excitement woke me at 3 for the 6 am departure. The boat was a big 5 minutes away, good thing I woke early. We got off the dock just before 6 and quickly settled in between the west end of East Sooke and Secretary Island. Neil was the perfect host and got all the rods ready to fish, spacing them at depths between 70 and 120 ft. We sat back with a coffee and waited. Not long mind you, caught our first Spring about 45 minutes in, a nice 20 lber. I was designated to bring the fish in, a test maybe to see how I’d handle it, and all went great! Neil brought in the first Sockeye about 20 minutes later. I did my best to knock it off the hook when trying net it for him – drove the net right into its head – must be the bifocals. He kept at it and we landed it a couple minutes later. Another 20 minutes and we hooked our second 12 lb Sockeye but as Neil was playing it we doubled up with an 18 lb Spring, so things got a little more interesting. We landed both, then leaned back thinking what a great morning it had been. It was time to get back to the dock, happy to have fish to clean.
Randy welters
August 2010
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
  
This morning, we headed west from Sooke, travelling the South portion of the Pacific marine Circle Route, towards Port Renfrew. At the wheel was well know Giant Tree hunter, Maywell Wickheim. I was riding shotgun with Jacques, Paddy & Beverly in the back. A few kilometres down the road, we picked up a hiker heading for Port Renfrew and the Juan de Fuca trail. Our destination was Avatar Grove, just north-west of Port Renfrew. An hour later, we dropped the hiker at the Coastal Kitchen and took the road towards Lake Cowichan. After we crossed the second bridge, over the north arm of the San Juan River, we turned left, leaving the road to Cowichan. Seven kilometres farther, along the Gordon River Main, we arrived at Avatar Grove. Just across the small bridge was our parking spot for the day.
To our immediate left was Upper Avatar and downhill we would find Gordon River Avatar Grove. As soon as we left the road and climbed up the steep bank leading into the forest, we found Ancient Trees. The uphill wall became easier as we entered the tall forest. After spending an hour, rooming amongst the giants, some as much as 34 feet around the trunk. We crossed a small steam and faced what is now known as Canada’s Gnarliest Tree. The area was scattered with huge, old trees, some of them older than Maywell, some would be about 900 years old. Moss and ferns were everywhere, making a blanket of spring green that even cover a few of the trees. No wonder photographer, TJ Watts loves this place.
Back to the road for lunch on the bridge, a bit of a break looking down at the creek far below the bridge deck and then downhill to check out the lower portion of the grove. Lots more to see, but a bit tougher going. The trees were not quite as large, but they were certainly a sight to behold.
The scramble back up hill to the vehicle was a workout. Back at the vehicle, the R.C.M.P. were waiting for us. They were looking for someone starting a backwoods horticultural operation, but when they recognized Maywell, we all had a good laugh and headed back home. Truly a day to remember.
Neil
Saturday, April 17th, 2010
WOW!! What a great way to spend a Saturday morning.
Three friends decided to take the plunge and do the Adrenaline Zip Line. We arrived at our appointed time to meet two very professional and excited young guides who instructed us with all the safety procedures and helped us with the gear. There were 6 others in our group; a young couple from Victoria, a couple on their honeymoon from Yellowknife and two ladies from Portland. We headed up the bank to the practice line. You hook on; you step off and fly along until the guide puts the brakes on at the other end. We were all proud of our first run and excited to continue the adventure. We were then escorted into ATV’s that take us up the mountain to the start of the 7 other runs. OMG what fun, we climbed up boardwalks hanging high in the air to platforms attached to huge trees and started the next two hours of laughter and shrieks as we all took turns flying through the air, hanging only from a small thin line. (They don’t ask you your weight but they have a maximum of 270 lbs.). We are high off the ground flying from tree top to tree top. We hang upside down, we swing our legs and arms and we curl up in a ball to go as fast as possible. Before we know it the two hours are up and we’re back on the ground. We thank our guides and head to the 17 mile pub for lunch, where we toast our bravery and review all the great photo’s we took, laughing all over again. What a great day, try it, you won’t be disappointed.
Mayor Janet Evans
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Jonathan Heerema
Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours
Phone: (250) 642-1933
Fax: (250) 642-1937
5128C Sooke Road
Sookel, BC V9Z 0E2
www.adrenalinezip.com
For Immediate Release
Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours Announces Hiring of Jonathan Heerema
Sooke, BC, March 8, 2010: Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours is excited to announce the hiring of a new Sales and Marketing Manager,
As Sales and Marketing Manager, Jonathan Heerema will be responsible for all sales and marketing decisions made by Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours. Jonathan comes to Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours with a strong industry background which includes posts at Holland America Line and his previous position as Product Manager at Clipper Vacations in Seattle, WA. He brings over 6 years of tourism industry experience.
We believe that hiring Jonathan for the role of Sales and Marketing Manager will accomplish many significant and positive gains for our organization and he will bring a unique understanding of selling and marketing our product ,” owner Jeremy Wilson noted. “Jonathan is in a position of understanding how we can move forward in becoming a significant player in the domestic and international markets, which we believe will contribute to the profitability of the company. We also believe that his work will be beneficial to the local tourism industry through his ability to build strong and positive partnerships with both clients and other industry partners”, said owner Scott McQueen.
Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours has built a solid reputation by providing safe and exciting zip line tours for tourists and adventure seekers on Vancouver Island. Adrena Line offers zip line tours daily in 2010, from February 12 through the end of October, as well as Night Zipping offered on Fridays and Saturdays starting on May 21st, we are accessible for almost any client. Be on the lookout for exciting events and new adventures in the near future!
Media Contact:
Jonathan Heerema
Sales and Marketing Manager
Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours
250-642-1933
www.adrenalinezip.com
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Scuba Trip Near Sooke BC
It was so promising with the great weather forecast predicting 10 knot westerly winds. I literally dreamt of the unseen things we were finally going to discover on our highly anticipated dive trip to this untouched 50 year old 80′ Trawler. This Vessel sank in 1965 off Sherringham point. We arrived at Sunny Shores Marina at 730am. It was just as nice as was forecasted the night before. By 7:50 am the Basin had become frosted with white caps. As we listened in dismay to the weather channel on the VHF calling for gales, we decided to take peek out past the spit to see what it was like. We found two meter swells.. This sent us searching in the Basin for a decent plan B site. We decided to try Welters Rock. We were all pleasantly surprised by the diverse & abundant sea life, 45 foot visibility, large cave packed with cod, anenomes and signs of numerous octopus and old artifacts to boot!! All in 60 feet of water in our Sooke basin? Who new! Im guessing you can count them with your toes. Ohh and huge Nudibrnachs… not bad for a plan B dive.
Jessie
Pacific Pinnacle Scuba Adventures
www.pinnacledivecharters.com
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Today I walked 6.6km in the Sooke Hills between Glintz Lake and Impala Roads. Dustin invited me to join him and three friends to walk the Sooke Pipeline. Dustin’s walked this section before so warned us about the pipe-bridges which needed crossing. These river crossings on the elevated pipeline were the best part and one of the reasons Dustin chose this section for today’s walk.
I would have to rate this hike as moderate inasmuch as it took us 2.5hrs to cover the 5.2km distance. There’s one section where the old waterflow line is made from wood; much of it still intact, which follows the terrain contour down and then up 30metres. Some good cardio exercise here.
Thanks again to Dustin for arranging the outing and for his superior outdoor skills in guiding us safely along the pipe.
P.S. 6.6km was the total distance recorded by my GPS handheld unit after joining Dustin to set some Geocaching items farther east on the pipe from Impala Road. The pipeline is .43km up the hill on Impal from Sooke Rd. The 5.2km distance between Glintz Lake and Impala roads is correct.
Video Clip of the walk
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Goin’ to Port Renfrew
The rental company’s offer of an upgrade to a Toyota Prius sounded like a good opportunity to try out a hybrid car.
An hour and a half later, the more nimble Ford Focus seemed like a lost opportunity. Canada’s newest highway, between Lake Cowichan and Port Renfrew in the southwest corner of Vancouver Island, was made for driving in a smaller car with a sportier suspension.
No one would have said that last year. The old logging road between the two communities had been around for a long time. It was locally notorious for damaging even the four-wheel-drive vehicles that were the only feasible alternative to the big trucks.
But the British Columbia government decided to upgrade the road and rename it as part of Pacific Marine Drive. The last five kilometres of paving was finished early this summer.
The new hardtop surface allows visitors to take a circle route north from Victoria to Duncan, west to Cowichan and Port Renfrew, and back thru Sooke to Victoria along the old coastal highway (or the other way around, of course).
It’s limited sightseeing country. This is a slice of the real working-life Canada, an uncrowded highway winding through trees, the occasional lake and expanses of logged-out hillside where fireweed adds a welcome decorative touch to views of big stumps and baby conifers.
The road itself can be an attraction, though, if you’re in a car built to take twists, turns, dips and climbs. Here is a place to try it out without stretching the law or common sense. A top speed of 80 or 90 km/h will provide plenty of excitement for an hour or so. It’s also about the most anyone would rationally want to do on a road dotted with blind curves and one-lane bridges. No dividing lines yet, either.
Nearer Port Renfrew, there’s a nice stop along Lower Harris Creek at the site of the Harris Spruce, one of the surviving giants of the original forest.
A one- or two-minute walk from the roadside parking lot leads to the huge tree and the nearby creek. Both are worth the visit, nestled in a quiet landscape of smaller spruce, wildflowers and plentiful ferns.
At the end of the road lies Port Renfrew. It’s a lower-cost, far-less-crowded alternative to Tofino and Long Beach, which are located much farther north along the coast. You won’t find anything here to match the sandy sweep of Long Beach and its massive breakers.
Port Renfrew has its own charms, however. Hiking trails abound, including the southern end of the West Coast Trail and one of the easier portions of the Juan de Fuca Trail — so named because it follows the shore along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
While there’s no walking along hard sand or sitting on a stranded log at night to watch phosphorescent breakers roll in, the local alternative known as Botanical Beach offers plenty of walking through a stretch of tidal pools full of unusual rock formations and odd sea life.
Sandstone and shale outcrops show the geological history of the region. Odd pits and bowls in the rock host purple urchins and green anemones. Crabs, sculpins, mussels and bull kelp are also present everywhere.
If the day is hot, take the approximately 10-minute drive east of town to Lizard Lake, a charming little forest swimming spot. There are more trees than beach, but the water is warm, there’s a long wooden dock to serve as a diving platform, and the lake is small enough that moderately strong swimmers should be able to cross it with ease. We saw a trucker pull off the road and run in for a quick dip on a scorching day this summer.
If the weather isn’t conducive to rambling, a good alternative is the deck of the Port Renfrew Hotel at the west edge of town. You can sit at an outdoor table with a cool beer in the late afternoon shadows and watch the charter fishing boats return with loads of fat salmon and halibut. For those who’d rather spend the day out on the water doing the fishing themselves, the prize is a cooler full of fillets the size of fire logs.
Accommodations are limited and probably best reserved in advance. They vary in type but can be found at the town’s tourism website. They’re also one-third to one-half the cost of motels and B&Bs in Tofino.
Restaurants are even fewer. But there are some gems. The hotel serves good, full plates. If you make reservations by no later than the morning, you can sample the work of the Cash brothers, two highly trained chefs who own the Soule Creek Lodge. (Keep in mind that they take Mondays and Tuesdays off, and that the lodge, while a pleasant place to stay, lies at the end of about two kilometres of rough, uphill gravel road.)
Don’t tell anyone, but the Coastal Kitchen Cafe, located on the main road near the hotel, is a vacationer’s dream — a spacious, rustic (but not overly cute) establishment that serves heaping plates of imaginative salads, juicy burgers and sea-fresh halibut, all done with an eye to good nutrition at prices that even thin-walleted campers will like.
You’d better like hiking and/or organized fishing if you plan to spend any time here. But the air is fresh and the views terrific
This article taken from the StarPhoenix, Canwest News Service.
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Letter to Sooke News Mirror about our Boardwalk
We would like to express our thanks to the District of Sooke for the excellent job of constructing the boardwalk at Ed McGregor Park.
Last Sunday afternoon, we gained a new appreciation for the facility when we visited the site with our friends. One of our friends is confined to a wheelchair. He was delighted by the beauty of the setting and by being able to travel through the woods and over the water effortlessly.
Our friend, when he was able to, always enjoyed camping and fishing. It was a delight for him and us to be able to participate in activities he has not been able to for some time due to his progressive disability.
Thank you so much for this wonderful facility.
Rintoul family
Sooke
Letter reprinted from the Dec. 3, 2008 issue of the
Sooke News Mirror.
Friday, July 24th, 2009
It was mid September. Most of the recreation fishing boats had finished for the season. A Tuesday afternoon, so there would be very few boats out fishing. I decided that the weather was too good to pass up a few hours of fishing. Off I went with my trusty companion, Salty the dog. Salty was quick to jump aboard as he does love a boat ride. Most other yellow labs would do the same.
We fished for about two eventful hours with much success. The Northern Coho were here in good numbers and the last of the big Chinook salmon were still in the area.
We started off just west of Secretary Island, a local favourite. The water was as calm as a small lake and the bites began immediately. In the two hours, Salty and I hooked into a dozen salmon, including a bunch of Coho and a nice ‘Spring’ which was the fish that we brought home. After the first 45 minutes passed, we had a visit from two transient Orcas. They came up just behind the boat, showed us their tails and disappeared. The fishing continued until a huge sea lion checked us out. It was so close that I could smell it’s breath. ‘Care for a tic-tac?’
For some reason, the fishing was suddenly slow, so we decided to make a loop into deeper water just south of the little island in search of the Coho. As we made the turn, I noticed something glistening in the water. Another short loop and I was able to pick the shiny object out of the clear water with my net. ‘Just a bottle’ I first thought. When I pulled it out of the net, I realized it was a special bottle. Not the clear bottle itself, but the whole package. The top was sealed with red wax and there was a piece of paper rolled up inside. Salty wisely suggested that I do not open it until we reached home to share the fun with Maggie.
The two of us sat on the deck and curiously peeled off the wax. The anticipation was high, but our expectations were realistically low.
As we pulled out the paper and unrolled the mystery, we found more than we could have imagined, a message that we will never forget. Together, we read the message and then looked at each other in silence. The hand written words were a most unexpected message.
“This ring no longer serves a purpose in my life. May it bring you joy, luck and abundant prosperity.
Taped to bottom of the page was a wedding band, the kind that my mother had. A gold and silver band made into a simple ring. We can only speculate where the strong Juan de Fuca current may have carried this most unusual package. We will probably never know.
Neil and Maggie Flynn
Salty Towers Oceanfront Retreat
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