Hikes to Thames Creek and the Beaver Lodge Forest

The Probus hiking group has been doing some forest wanders lately and have been enjoying seeing spring unfolding.  Last week we did a favourite outing, which was to Thames Creek where we saw big trees, wild currant blooms, and the "therapy tree".  This week we went to a new-to-us location in Campbell River.  The Beaver Lodge Forest Land is a gem that our leader for the day, Tim, is very familiar with.  He led us through a network of trails that took us through deep coniferous forests, open alder groves, and sword fern alleys.  Along the way we saw a beaver dam and streams and even a few early trilliums.  Although the land is squeezed between the inland highway and Dogwood Street, we felt like we were miles away from humanity.