Matheson Creek, Sooke Area, BC, sunny and warm.

Hiking Matheson Creek, A Nice Change Up

Yesterday we enjoyed a decent length coastal walk in the city on a beautiful August morning. The type of morning which reminded me of waking up early on our sail boat while at anchor. A very still, calm time of the day. The perfect summer morning, but not so good for sailing!

We’d walked this way a number of times in recent months, but never had we seen it this calm and reflective. Very unusual with all the wind we’ve experienced this year. Perhaps one of the windiest spring and summer seasons I can remember. Presently at the end of our day the winds are gusting to around 45 kph. Pretty typical this year, and there have been many windier days.

Out beyond the anchored vessels you can just make out the sails of the small boats with the young kids being towed out to begin their morning sailing lessons. We watched them on our return and they weren’t moving a whole lot!

Today we were looking for something completely different and decided to drive out and walk in the area of Matheson Lake. 

It’s a nice lake with the first trail leg fairly straight forward and the backside a bit more of a scrabble. A nice mix.

I kept expecting to see moose wandering through the shallows, but of course, not here. No bear sign either.

A single late season bouquet on the lake shore, daisy like flowers. 



We climbed up from the west end of the lake to join the Galloping Goose Trail which we’ve both cycled and walked many times. Being an old rail bed it’s a delightful tree lined path that runs some 40+ kms out into the Sooke Basin. Trees along some parts of the trail were still green, but there were other areas where the trees reflected the extremely dry conditions which have recently become the norm on the south end of our island. Leaves were changing colour and falling prematurely, adding to the beauty.

The occasional cyclist passed by and at one point there were a couple of larger groups. None of them warned us by ringing a bell. Clearly a pet peeve! However, all were generally courteous and we exchanged greetings with those who were moving along a bit slower. An older couple had pulled off the trail to share a lunch break in a nice sunny location. We chatted with them as we passed. Clearly everyone seemed to be in a good mood while they were out finding a little nature today, something we all need a bit more of during these unusual times. 

We’d loosely planned something of a circle route which would initially bring us back along the Matheson Lake Trail and then eventually along the opposite side of Matheson Lake. We set off down the trail away from The Goose and immediately entered a completely different micro climate. It was a delightful surprise! Generally only accessible in the dry summer season, it reflected a wetter environment. My camera came out.

Best of all we had the trail all to ourselves. Clearly it’s not heavily travelled and there was still lots of mud close to the stream bed. At some points the trail actually was in the stream bed confirming accessibility issues at other high water times.

This tilted tree groaned and creaked loudly as the wind shifted it. We passed quickly underneath! 

Back to the lake we found a flashback to the arrios in Spain. Another sign of how wet it can be here fall and winter.



The wind was really kicking up as we finished. A nice mix of walking experiences the past couple of days. Tomorrow we will change things up a bit and again climb onto our bikes. After all, just 6 weeks until fall arrives!