Enos Lake - my type of hike

Last Friday, my hiking partner and I chose a hike that we had not done since September 2020 - Enos Lake in Nanoose Bay.  This would be our third hike there.  Last summer and fall, the trails were closed due to the fire hazard, and then atmospheric rivers of rain made late fall and early winter hikes there ill advised.  It had been far too long since we'd been there. 

As hikes go, it is an enjoyable length for us, with just the right amount of challenge - offering some cardio on the moderate elevation gains and descents, forest trails, ponds, meadows, bluffs, views, and lakeside spots for lunch. There are loops and cross trails and lots of options allowing for longer or shorter distances, but we covered 4 miles and took about three and a half hours including stops for lunch, photography, and just inhaling the beauty around us. 

We began from the parking lot on Fairwinds Dr.  Wandering down a trail (which somehow becomes twice as steep on the return trip!), we crossed a little bridge and turned right at the t-intersection, heading into a route sometimes referred to as The Enchanted Forest Trail.

The trail of soft dirt with some roots, crosses Fairy Creek a couple of times, rustic bridges or boards and logs making the crossing easy.  There was only one mucky section this day, in an area swampy enough to sprout Skunk Cabbage, also known as swamp tulips, bear's salad bar, and several other names.  Whatever you call it, it's bright yellow popping up in early spring is always a welcome sight. 

Both times we'd visited before had been in the fall, when the creek was quite dry, so we had never seen the lovely little waterfall alongside the trail.  We caught our first glimpse of it through the trees, and then followed some little side trails to get a closer look.

It tumbled quite a ways down, levelled out, and then tumbled again.  One could almost imagine little woodland fairies sliding down the last section of falls into the clear little pool below, giggling and chattering as they play.

Continuing on, we spotted the first blossoms of the red currant bushes (edited: actually, I think these are probably salmonberry blossoms. Both are in bloom right now, and they look very similar), native to the island. We soon saw the first glimpses of Lake Enos and chose a lower trail that skirted the bottom of a hilly section before climbing up to join the upper trail across the mossy bluffs. 

From the bluffs, we passed a pond, rounded the end of the lake, and headed along a trail down the other side.  Eventually, as we knew we would, we ran out of trail at a lovely little spot where a fallen log offers the perfect lunch spot by the water's edge, a canopy of evergreens overhead, and perfect solitude in which to listen to the many birds, the frogs, the splashing of ducks.  

Our beautiful, very solitary lunch spot on the lake.

The lake is home to an evolutionary phenomena where two species of fish have devolved into one.  An article in the Times Colonist in 2016  tells how the three-spined stickleback (a little fish common to coastal BC) has two distinct populations, with different sizes and habits. One type Benthic) lives closer to the shore, feeding on aquatic plants and insect larva. The other, smaller species (Limnetic) live in deeper water and fed on plankton.  But back in the 1990s, someone introduced the signal crayfish to Enos Lake, who then disturbed the deep water species, eating the eggs and preventing others from hatching.  So what did the deepwater stickleback do? They started interbreeding with the inshore sticklebacks, lived closer to shore, and changed their diet until finally the inshore and deepwater subspecies merged into one single hybrid species, sometimes referred to as the Enos Lake Stickleback. The implications are far reaching as it has since affected both plankton life and insect life in the region. 

We didn't see any little fish, though we did see lots of little insects. And out in the water on a small island covered with sedges and reeds, we could hear birds enjoying the spring weather.  Zooming in, I spotted two little brown singers, wrens I think, picking away at seeds on the sedge. 

To our knowledge, there is no trail that circumnavigates the whole lake, so we headed back the way we came.  Back to the end of the lake, we stopped once more to admire the view:

We then continued back up to the pond, but took the trail to the opposite side where we followed it alongside the pond, stopping frequently to watch the many ducks - mallards and hooded merganser and even some ring-necked ducks. 

View of the pond - and two of the very few people we saw all day.

Ring-necked ducks (no ring around their necks, but they do have rings around
their very funny looking beaks). Mallard in background. 

Hooded merganser - more often seen in ocean bays.

Hummingbirds were zipping around though none let me get a photo of their brilliant colours - just one silhouette against the sky. 

We took a different trail back, to come out to the left of the first Fairy Creek bridge where we had previously turned right.  Wandering back up the trail to the car, we spotted several little wooden creatures perched in trees. Wooden owls have shown up on trails all over the island, and most were likely from the same carver, but this little guy that I posted the other day was different from the typical owls and ended our delightful day with yet another smile as we headed home. 

Compared to our previous week's hike to Ammonite Falls, with its many stairs and dozens of people, there's no doubt in my mind that this is the better choice.  The falls may be much smaller, but the journey so much better! 

(Note:  Nearly every review and summary of the Enos Lake hike mentions something we also found:  the trails are very confusing and the maps are not very accurate as they omit a  lot of the cross-trails. The trails themselves have no markers, and maps are infrequent.   We also discovered at least one of the maps has the 'you are here' pin at the wrong trail intersection!  Our first hike here was the only time in years of hiking together that we have had to use our compasses to find our way back to the car.  Fortunately, there are several trails that lead out to residential areas so, while you may not end up back where you parked your car, you are unlikely to have to spend the night in the wilderness.)