story and photos by Scottee Giles –
Dry leaves crunched below our boots and jackets were zipped a little higher against a crisp autumn breeze, the afternoon sun already low in the sky, as we set out for a hike into Kanishay Park. With family in town for a long weekend feast, our group ranged in age from six to 75 and this easygoing adventure was perfect for everyone.
We discovered a little-known stretch of wooded groves on the northernmost tip of the Peninsula marked by alder and arbutus, cedar and fir. Huge ferns, snowberry, wild rose and currant were changing into their red, orange and brown foliage. Birds, rabbits and squirrels darted about, stocking up for the winter months.
We entered from Kanishay Road, where wide sandy trails lined with blackberry bramble and thistle soon gave way to well-maintained gravel paths winding past beautiful horse farms into a thicket of hawthorn and mossy old maples.
We made up a scavenger hunt for the kids. Can you find a spinning spider with a bejewelled web? Or lichen, a mushroom, a burl on a trunk?
Coming out of the bushes onto Lands End Road, we decided to explore the Woodcreek Viewpoint a couple hundred metres to the east. Down another short trail and a set of wooden stairs we found a secret beach. We thought a porpoise was watching us, but it was just a resident stone formation at low tide. Kelp, shale and bone-white shells adorned the shoreline.
The young Métis man in our group gazed out across Satellite Channel to Salt Spring Island, one foot in the present, one in the past. Remembering his journey, I trailed my fingers in the sand, thinking of the third of 94 calls to action. We were quiet on the steep climb back up the hill past fallen logs and vines twisting overhead, thankful to have this time together and call this beautiful place home. Nature has a way of bringing perspective, and a step toward understanding truth and reconciliation can begin anywhere. Will kindness guide our path forward?
Things to Note:
- Entrances to the trails can be found on Woodcreek Drive, and West Saanich, Kanishay and Lands End roads
- There is very little parking and no washrooms
- Bus 85 services the area
- Do not enter private land surrounding the park
- Trails are accessible but steep in places and shared with horseback riders
