After meeting at Saywell Park last week, the Retreads group drove over to Jean and Bill Cozen’s place on North Shore Road and set off to hike up over ATV trails to the base of the satellite tracking dishes.
The trail from North Shore Road crossed the old railway right-of-way, then up and over Youbou Road. From there it was a steady climb up through the younger forest until we emerged right beside two of the satellite tracking dishes.
Here we looked in awe at these technical wonders and pondered what exactly is the purpose of these dishes which are now owned by Tata Communications, a major corporation based out of India. After taking in the view we moved west past our beloved cell phone tower and down a trail that winds back and forth across the now defunct motorcycle hill climbing site. We emerged onto Youbou Road near North Shore Road and found the old railway right-of-way near the cement batch plant. We hiked east from there until we again picked up the trail that lead us back to the Cozen’s place.
It was a good two and a half hour hike up, down and along the trails.
Some members limited their hike to the walk down the steps from the Cozen’s parking lot and back up. They had a variety of reasons, including the fact that some arrived by boat.
At the Cozen’s we assembled in the sun or sat in the shade of a huge maple tree for drinks and to eat lunch. After much talk, some members decided it was time to don bathing suits and have a quiet swim in the clear, but somewhat cool, Cowichan Lake.
You can see this hiking club has its benefits. As well as providing a cardio workout, it allows time to socialize and enjoy the beauty of Cowichan Lake and surrounding area.
—submitted by David Kidd