Tag Archives: nature

Interesting Nature

Over the years, while hiking the trails around Buntzen Lake, I have seen some interesting things out there. For example, in the photo below, this tree is seriously leaking ! The sap is leaking from high up and it is about an inch thick on the ground and spreads downhill for about 2 m. This tree is on the west side of the Buntzen Lake Trail.



Leaking tree
The next photo is on the east side of Buntzen Lake; it is a burned out tree with a spiral shape. Pretty cool huh ?

Burned out spiral tree



As I wrote in another post, there are numerous old tree stumps around Buntzen Lake – remnants of logging in the early 1900s. The large stumps below are on the south beach of Buntzen Lake. Obviously new trees grew on the old stumps. The new trees were later cut down and the roots can be seen around the original stump ! I wonder how many people have climbed up these stumps on stumps !

Cool stumps on southbeach



One time during a walk on the Lakeview Trail, I noticed damage about 10 feet up on a tree – it looked like someone took a hacksaw to it ! On my next visit, I was surprised to see a woodpecker doing a number on the tree. Since the first time, the woodpecker had started on second section.

More damage

One day, I hiked the Buntzen Lake Trail after a heavy rainfall, and I found this neat little ‘droplet waterfall on a mossy rock’. Check out the video and turn up the volume…



Here’s a branch on a tree that decided to do a loopy loop…

Twisty branch

The next photo below shows a tree with an interesting formation – possibly the result of some kind of trauma as a young tree ?? This tree is on the Diez Vistas Trail…

Interesting pattern on this tree

Below is a stubborn tree that decided it will grow in this place regardless of the big rock !!

Tree grew around this rock !



On the shortcut from the Diez Vistas Trail to the Lakeview Trail, I noticed this interesting pattern on tree roots…

Interesting pattern on this root

Fungi at Buntzen Lake

The forests around Buntzen Lake offer great growing spots for fungi of all types. I’m a fun guy, but I’m not a fungi expert ! So, if you know the name of these mushrooms, please leave a comment.

The best variety can be found in October and November, but you can find them all year long.  Below are a group of mushrooms on the side of a tree…



Diez Vistas - Lakeview Trail Hike

The next photo shows how these ‘shrooms have taken over the trunk of this tree !

Diez Vistas - Lakeview Trail Hike

The next photo below shows a plethora of mushrooms growing out of an old tree stump…

Diez Vistas - Lakeview Trail Hike



The next three photos are more mushrooms I’ve encountered on the trails…

Mushrooms

Mushroom

Mushroom



Below is a interesting yellow fungus, which can be seen all over the park…

Yellow fungus

In the photo below, it looks like this fungi is sweating !

Sweaty mushrooms

Below are some tiny mushrooms seen all over the park…

Tiny mushrooms

I’m not sure what the next one is, but I saw it on an old stump on the Lakeview Trail…

IMG_9180



Here is a small mushroom I found on the end of a dead tree…

Mushroom

The next mushroom looks fairly normal ??? …

Mushrooms

The next 2 photos show white fungus on a tree and then a close up of the fungus…

Small mushrooms on tree

Detail of small mushrooms on tree



Below are some funky orange mushrooms I found on the east side of the Buntzen Lake Trail…

Orange Mushroom

Mount Galiano

 

The Gulf Islands of British Columbia are a magical place and I’m so glad I got to visit Galiano Island. This hike is quite easy in terms of elevation gain and the payoff scenery is well worth it !

Distance: 6.8 km (return)
Low point: 61 m
High point: 301 m
Elevation gain: 240 m
Trailhead: 48° 52’ 29” by  123° 20’ 59” (Google Map)

Here’s the route…

Here’s the view from the top…

View from the top

Here’s a view from a BC Ferry…

Mount Galiano (Medium)

On the way up I saw an old plane that had crashed on the island…

Wreckage from Plane Crash

Bolts from airplane wreckage

I saw this cool Conglomerate Rock…

Conglomerate Rock on Mount Galiano

A view of the forest from the trail…

Mount Galiano

I saw a BC Ferry from the top…

Queen of Vancouver

When I came down from Mount Galiano, I explored the coastline and it is very interesting.
You can check out more photos HERE

★★★★★★★★★★★

Before heading out on your hike, make sure you are well prepared. This means, having the TEN ESSENTIALS. It is also important to leave a trip plan (route details and estimated return time) with someone you trust.

Bring your smartphone, fully charged and put it in airplane mode while hiking. I always bring back-up battery packs for extra piece of mind. It is highly recommended that you bring a GPS device; I use my smartphone with a GPS app (Backcountry Navigator). The GPS will work in airplane mode. Learn how to use it before your hike.

For anyone new to hiking, there is a rule to which hikers follow; it is called “Leave No Trace” or LNT. The concept is generally to pack out what you pack in and respect nature, so all future visitors can enjoy what you have enjoyed.
To learn more about LNT, please check out this BLOG by a certified LNT Trainer.

★★★★★★★★★★★