Day 50 - Duncan, Mount Tzouhalem

Duncan, Vancouver Island, 55 miles total and 26.4 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7664 miles, 27.5* mpg. Those are the stats.

It’s Sunday. Woke up at 6:30 for reasons unknown, and managed to futz away 3 hours before getting started. It wasn’t totally futzing, I guess. We did finish the Saturday Blog, and we did decide what we planned to do today.


The first thing we planned to do is the dog park. This got in front of eating because it is on the way. The dog park was unoccupied when we got there, and the boys spent a lot of time hunting and not so much running, but they did run some. We were there for quite a while when another dog arrived, a Rottweiler, and we don’t know what communication there was between the dog and Jake, but there was a problem, and we had to keep them apart. That dog left right away, and we left shortly thereafter. I don’t blame either dog – they just couldn’t agree on something – who knows?!


Next it is time to eat something. We had turned down the easy and acceptable food here in the motel and opted for a little bakery in Cowichan Bay called Grain Bread that was recommended. Cowichan Bay has a deep sea dock and a marina. It’s an interesting place, small, with buildings on stilts (concrete poles for the most part). We just had bread and a latte, and it was great. While we were eating there was a parade of sorts going by of restored vehicles, most looked quite nice. I don’t know it this was a special parade or an every Sunday occurrence, but it was interesting. It wasn’t a formal parade – it was interspersed with ‘normal’ traffic.
The shop next door was a deli (Hilary’s Cheese Company) and had great cheeses – Sally-Heath got us a small wedge for dessert ( S-H: A stilton with lemon), and it was great too. We walked the dock, we walked the town. Took pictures of the harbor and boats, and the town from the wharf. When you look at the shore from the wharf it is surprising how many homes/houses/condos you see!



Leaving Cowichan, we decided to take a scenic loop route down the coast, returning on route 1. We took one detour down to the beach, got out and walked the boys to the beach, where we saw a seagull in apparent distress – we couldn’t tell what was in it’s mouth, but it didn’t look natural or normal – we think it was stuck.

On the way we passed the turnoff to Cherry Point Winery, which was on our list to try, so we stopped in and tasted three wines. They were all good, and we bought one bottle. As we scurried back up route 1 we went to Blue Grouse Winery, another recommended winery and sampled the only red they had – and bought a bottle of that. Sure hope they are as good as they seemed when we tasted them!


Lunch was in Duncan at a small café, and after lunch it was finally time to hike! It has been quite a while since our last hike, and we are hoping the threatening clouds are only threatening so we can get in a full hike this afternoon. In fact, when we start the sun is shining. Our hike is supposed to be a fairly easy hike up Mt. Tzouhalem, which is approximately 1633 ft (498 m, 1 m = 3.28 ft). The trailhead is at least half way up, so the elevation change should be no more than about 800 feet. The thing is, we don’t really have a good map or description of the trail.

We got to the trailhead and there were about 5 other cars parked there. As we got ourselves together and ready to go, a caravan of vehicles arrived, and no less than a dozen (what is that in metric?) people with as many dogs got out, and almost immediately started up the trail. These folks did not look like they were ready for a hike like this, and I’ve gotta say, I almost packed it in at that point. My nice quiet hike in the woods was apparently ruined by too many people. But, we persevered, and took what we thought would be a short hike in a different direction to give the group a head start.

The main trial is essentially a road that is blocked off, but apparently still used for ‘official’ purposes occasionally. The trail we started on was an actual trail through the forest, and a beautiful trail and forest it was. I think we touched on, or perhaps were in, the Mount Tzouhalem Ecological Reserve. But soon the trail turned in the direction of the mountain, and it became obvious that the trails were now bike trails primarily. We don’t know where we are going, but the distances are not too great, so we plug ahead, always going up and towards the mountain or the main trail.


Eventually we came to the main trail, and we were alone. As we hiked there were several branches in the trail, and we had only a rudimentary map which wasn’t very good –but as luck would have it, we must have made all the right choices, because after only an hour and a half we were at the overlook we were hoping to find. For those who know, it is similar to the Mingus Mountain overlook of Cottonwood, but not quite as tall, and there are trees in you view, so you don’t have a clear view of the bay or surrounding countryside.


We never saw the big group again. We did encounter several people coming down the hill, hikers and bikers. We were alone except for a couple of passers-by at the top, where we stayed for about 30 minutes taking pictures, cooling down and enjoying the view. It is a great view, and we are looking at Cowichan Bay (!), and on the far shore is Cowichan Bay village, where we had breakfast this morning! Sort of closes the loop, don’t you think!?! The hike back out was nice and uneventful – took about an hour as projected. Yippee! We finally did a hike!

For dinner we chose the Craig Street Brewing Company. Craig Street BC is owned by Jake, the same person who has owned and operated the restaurant next door, Just Jake’s, for many years. Craig Street BC is only a couple of years old. But there is a story here. This place is special. It has been put together with not only care and attention to detail, but with planning and intelligence and, and, well, let me try to explain. It is not a new building – I don’t know what it was before, but it has been set up wonderfully. There are three levels. We sat at the ground level, right next to one of the many large front windows. There is lots of glass on the wall facing Craig Street. At our level there are raised areas (we’re on one), a fireplace, nice chandlers, a fireplace (with one hell of a lot of wood stacked on each side – probably 2 chords), nice artwork on the walls, and a comfortable feeling. The music was somehow at the perfect level – allowing easy conversation, and the music selection was excellent. There are no televisions.

On the second level, which is much smaller than the first, there is one large screen TV (showing the Olympics, volume off) and just a couple of tables. It looks like a nice intimate place for a small group. On the third level is another bar (the third level was not being used tonight), an inside area and an outside (rooftop) area. There were a couple or three televisions (volume off). I wish I could provide more detail, but let me just say that if I were going to own a bar/restaurant, I would model it after this.

A couple of other tidbits. The food fare is not just the usual pub food. And it is great. We had excellent, experienced service. The experience was the best we have had, I think, on this trip, and we have had some pretty good dining experiences. If you are ever in Duncan, stop in at the Craig Street Brewing Company, on Craig Street. You probably will not be disappointed.

We’re back in the room. The boys have been flat, very flat, for a long time. Could we have tired them out, with dog park and hike? Maybe. Well, I’m tired too. Got to take them out, then to bed. Goodnight!