Tag: Mt. Tzouhalem

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Mount Tzouhalem – Spring Flower Frolic

–submitted by John Young. 
 A wonderful excursion on Mount Tzouhalem today. Although the forecast was for rain, the 13 of us lucked out and even enjoyed a little sun. A profusion of flowers – including shooting stars, sea blush, and camas. We spent a leisurely 10 minutes admiring the flowers in the reserve, and then wandered along the ridge to the cross, enjoying wonderful views along the way. Although the parking lot was full, we didn’t see many other people along the way. We had lunch near the summit, before heading down, taking a more inland route back to the car. A most enjoyable nearly three hour jaunt. 

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Mt Tzouhalem — Hike & Flower Hunt

–Submitted by John Young

Another lovely jaunt up beautiful Mt. Tzouhalem. Picturesque clouds in the morning, and then cleared off, and warmed up in the afternoon. Spent a little extra time wandering around the bike trails, making it a 6 hour outing, including many breaks. Many other people up at the cross enjoying the great view. Some flowers out, and fresh growth on the Garry Oak was beautiful. 

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Mt Tzouhalem from Genoa Bay – BLAZING SUN!

— Submitted by Matthew Lettington, Read the full report on his blog…

If you are hoping to do a hike with great views of are not interested in driving logging roads and would rather instead a drive through idyllic bucolic landscapes, consider hiking Mt Tzouhalem. The hike is an easy one, with a max elevation somewhere around 475 metres it gives amazing views of Cowichan Bay and Genoa Bay.  On a clear day a hiker can see several small towns and some of the gulf islands.

View of Cowichan Bay, Duncan
The month of November has been very kind to the folks of Vancouver Island. The weather has not turned on us, in fact a few days of heavy rain not withstanding, it has been very dry. Though there have been several days as cold as -5 Celsius, the cloud cover has been limited and there has been plenty of sun. The forecast for November 16th was for sun and good visibility. Excellent conditions for this hike.

GPS Topo image
GPS Route with Photographic Annotation

Total Distance: 10.5 km
Starting Elevation: 6m
Max Elevation: 490 m
Total Elevation Gain: 898 m
Time: 5 h 35 m

We met at 8 am at the Southgate Tim Horton’s and traveled south, taking a left at Herd Road, and eventually working our way down Genoa Bay Road. In my opinion Genoa Bay is the only way to hike this route. Though many do the hike from the Old Stone Church, those folks, in my opinion, are destination seekers. Conversely, starting the day from Genoa Bay gives spectacular views and is better for folks who believe in the mantra, the journey is the destination.