Hiking or walking? When I put one foot in front of another in my neighbourhood I call it walking, even if I'm going through the woods. Hiking takes more effort and the terrain is rougher. Today's outing was definitely a hike. Up and down, clambering over rocks, huffing and puffing at the steep climbs. Several hours out in the woods on an October afternoon was most lovely.
Trees here are mostly coniferous; cedar, hemlock, and fir, with some deciduous golden maples whose leaves turn yellow and brown rather than red.
We arrive at McKenzie Bight, a shallow curve along the shoreline. The streams are dry, but will soon fill as the autumn rains come. Gentle waves lap at the shoreline, clouds dull the sky, and not a bird in sight. A crow caws loud and insistent from the top of a tree, but we never catch a glimpse.
A cluster of barnacles clings to a rock, visible at low tide. Tiny black snails perch among the rough barnacles.
Mountains march right down to the shoreline along much of our coast.
Native arbutus trees (arbutus menziesii) grow within 8 kilometres (5 miles) of the ocean. The tree's distinctive peeling bark has earned it the name of "crazy lady tree" because only a crazy lady would take off her clothes in the winter time.
Our hike took about three hours - I did a bit of housekeeping, made soup, and read for the remainder of the day. Mellow.
Bright rosehips against the forest, anchored on both sides by cobwebs. One thing I really dislike is walking into a cobweb. The feel of it on my face has me brushing frantically. This week I walked with my youngest grandchild, 3 1/2. She wanted to play hide and seek, so off she went into the woods. I kept an eye out while pretending to not watch her, so she didn't go too far. When I heard a sharp scream I asked what was wrong. Nothing. Not a peep. She stood there, frozen, completely silent, wide-eyed. Then I noticed the cobweb, with a little bug on it, across her cheek. When I brushed it away, she relaxed, but thought we should stay on the path.
Evening now. Lamps are glowing. A bouquet of sunflowers sits on the table. Time to get out some stitching and later watch Midsomer Murders.
Thank you to those who are following along with Blogtober. It's a fun challenge, and it's never to late to join in!
Crazy lady tree. What a wonderful name. It makes me think of ladies going down for a sea swim in the winter…not me! Your hike sounds like a perfect way to spend a Saturday and I too hate cobwebs across my face. B x
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos of your hike. Like you I hate walking into cobwebs and there are plenty about around the garden at the moment:)
ReplyDeleteIt must have been a lovely walk. Such gorgeous views!
ReplyDeleteI needed to google barnacles... and learned many interesting things about their names, traditions concerning them etc. In Finland, we seem to have one species.
Spider silk is incredibly stretchy and strong.
Here it's early afternoon now, it's raining and the mood is wonderfully autumnal.
Happy Sunday!
You do live in a beautiful part of the world. What a lovely walk to have nearby. The Arbutus tree is very striking, with gorgeous colours, and the yellow leaves of Autumn are beautiful beside the water. Three hours is a long walk!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Your nature is just fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHave a happy Sunday now...
Titti
Dearest Lorrie,
ReplyDeleteYou sure are lucky for still being able to hike like that and for having one the world's best views and nature!
Great photos.
Hugs,
Mariette
I can imagine the terror of having a web, with inhabitant, on the face.
ReplyDeleteThat was a lovely hike. Rose hips seem to be more abundant than usual this year. I wonder if that is in any way an indication of the kind of winter we'll have.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of spider webs on my face either.
Beautiful fall photos. I've never seen rose hips growing. I love the photo of the maple leaf!! You deserved to relax after that hike-
ReplyDeleteA lovely hike and beautiful photographs.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
You live is such a beautiful province.
ReplyDeleteSo absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWe do hope they release a new season of Midsomer Murders. Indeed a hike not a walk. All that beauty and here I am singing Barnacle Bill the Sailor....
ReplyDeleteI did a little research to confirm that those madrones (arbutus) are the same ones we have in California. I love them! My strawberry tree is also an arbutus, and evidently the manzanita is somewhat related. But I had never heard of that nickname for the ones with peely bark! It's interesting that the manzanita (arctostaphylos) shares the peeling bark with the madrone, and has almost identical blossoms to the arbutus unedo. I'm sorry that my garden is not big enough to have an arbutus menziesii here, too!
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