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There were 4 members from the Nanaimo Sidewinders (Rory, Ed, Steve, and David) and ONLY ONE guest from down island, (not so subtle guilt lay on) Jo-Jo. We met at a Micky Ds in north Nanaimo at 9:00am and left at 9:15am.

We headed north to the Northwest bay div. of MacBlo (sorry, can't call them by that US name). After we paid our $2.00 to enter (long story, at least we can still have access), we drove on a very dusty mainline for approx 19km into the northern part of the division.

From there, we made a turn onto another main line that is starting to overgrow. It seems that the new ownership is not putting that much money into road maintenance. After about 2 to 3kms we made the turn onto the spur for Marshall Lake. This is where the hubs needed to be turned in. the trail can be done by a basically stock vehicle if it is driven well but would be a poor choice if you were a rank beginner.

Also it has grown in quite a bit since last year so you will end up with west coast pinstriping no matter how narrow the truck (must be that fine dry spring we're having).

The run is a little rocky with blast rock, but other then that it's a nice place to go for an afternoon. The skeeters were bad though so we just looked at the lake for a bit and left. Gave a ride to the lake to a couple of hikers, Brad and Kathy Powell, they where happy about that, and I hope he will be sending me some pics he took with a digital cam soon.

We then took a trip to Rhododendron Lake, which is in the southern part of the division. It's a very easy lake to get to, but there is some challenging short chutes on the power lines near there. We visited the back side of the lake, had some lunch and played on the powerlines for about 1/2 an hour. After that we headed out to the main gate and home.

All in all, it was a very pleasant fathers day and fun was had by all. (more guilt)

I guess some would say, "ya snooze, ya lose.....". I wouldn't but some would, eh Jo-Jo?

Rory Brown Member, Nanaimo Sidewinders

Photos courtesy Brad and Kathy Powell
Click here to visit there Vancouver Island hiking site!