A Walk in the woods

Most days Franklin and I walk a lot. In cities that usually means lots of short walks, otherwise, we go to parks and take long walks.  Preferably in forests with big trees.

I thought I'd post some photos of some of the gorgeous forests where we walked this summer. I'll start with one of my favorites, Heritage Forest in Qualicum Beach. This isn't a dense, old growth forest, the kind Vancouver Island is famous for. This one is small, second growth so the trees are big but not huge, and not very dense so you can really see the shape and size of the trees. It is my favorite because there is an old manor house hotel right in front of it. We stay there and have this gorgeous little forest in our backyard.

The wide trails are lined with cedar chips and there are maps posted at most intersections. An elegant, well maintained forest- in fact, we met the man who maintains it when he was cleaning and polishing his laminated maps found at each intersection. It is a classy little forest, and if Queen Elizabeth had not visited one down the road a few miles (Milner Gardens and Woodlands) I imagine she would have liked this one quite a lot.

  I find the variety, textures and style of paths interesting- boardwalks, pebbles, cedar chips, dirt, pine needles, etc. I  hope you don't think they all look too much the same.

Well-maintained trails covered with cedar chips in some places. 

These nicely shaped holes were made by a pileated woodpecker. 

I guess in photos it looks like a lot of other places but in person, it is sort of magical. I think it is the soft, wide footpath covered in cedar chips that pleases me. And the maps. I like the combination of raw nature and civilization.

Speaking of magical forests, once again we went to Tofino which is on the sparsely populated west coast of Vancouver Island. It is more of a rainforest and another of our very favorite places.  There are lots of really big trees in Pacific Rim National Park. Some of the trails are covered in boardwalks because it can get very wet here. 

This is a rarely used path that we discovered. The boardwalk was overgrown with foliage

These next photos are from the Campbell River, famous for salmon fishing.  

Can you see the salmon in his left hand?  This trail is along the Campbell River.