Mount Tzouhalem

We were off this sunny morning to look at some of the work done by a landscaping company that has quoted on designing and installing our garden. The townhouse complex is located nearby Mount Tzouhalem in North Cowichan and Shelagh thought it would be a fine day for a hike up the hill. The gardening job looked great so we have hired Apex Landscaping to get the job done here at home. I hope they'll get started soon and don't have too much of a mañana outlook on life...

A hunter has taken out some frustration on this sign...

We parked the car at the base of the trailhead in a neighbourhood called "the Properties" in North Cowichan. Very posh homes here with stunning views. The hike is pretty much straight up to the top from where the view of Cowichan Bay is breathtaking. I am surprised that with Shelagh's dodgy knees and my dodgy hip we made it to the cliffs to take in the view. A little bit farther stands a large Christian cross. The original wooden cross was placed by local Catholic churches in the 1970s and it was replaced more than once due to weathering and vandalism. It was finally replaced with a metal one in the 1980s by the Knights of Columbus. We did not make it all the way to the cross, we will attempt that on our second climb up.

Just shy of the summit.

Along the walk, we met a young couple from San Francisco who were traveling up the coast. It's so nice to see twenty-somethings hike up the mountain with no effort. Aging sucks! About halfway up there is a spot to practice your rock stacking skills. Many cairns and some inukshuks have been built here. Great fun for young and old alike. The walk down was a bit harder on the joints and when we got back to the car both of us were a bit wobbly. Shelagh has gone for X-rays of her knees and we are waiting to hear if she'll qualify for knee replacement surgery. Our next hike will be on more level ground...