Mt Manuel Quimper

we are headed to the top of that hill

Hiked up Mt Manuel Quimper with my neighbour friend today.drove out to Saseenos this morning at 730 and parked at the end of Harbour View road. There is an old forestry lookout at the top of the mountain and I wanted to get up to see the view from there, and see what wildlife we could find. The Regional district is building a parking lot at the entrance to the park and have now allowed mountain bikes into the park, I believe it  is a big mistake. The first mile and half is dlimbing an old logging road. We came across a Ruffed Grouse while walking along the road .  I pished for awhile when I heard some chickadees in the trees above and managed to bring in a Warbling Vireo and a townsends warbler as well as many chickadees. From there we headed off road and hiked straight up to the summit over some rock outrcrops. From the rock outcrops we could see the Sooke Basin below through the trees. A Sharp-shinned hawk flew up from chasing a few juncos, and a loose flock of Stellers Jays flew from tree top to tree top in front of us, 22 in all.

half way up 

forestry lookout with Sooke Basin in the background

one of 50 red squirrels we saw or heard

the climb got steeper on the rock outcrops and soon we reached the 1500 foot level and the top where the forestry lookout is located . From there you can see a whole vista of the East Sooke and its Basin. The lookout was built in 1951 and is the last one left on vancouver island. it is empty inside except for a sleeping bag and a ladder to the loft . alot of graffiti inside as well. From there we hiked down the north side on a pretty good trail. We couldnt believe all the Red Squirrels we saw and heard on the trip. must have been atleast 50. they were everywhere. We ended up back on a logging road and walked the last 2 miles back on that to the car. In all it was a 6.2 mile hike and took 3 hours and 15 minutes
http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=374532
this is the link to the map and trail we took
 also some more photos here
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/40391990