Horne Lake Regional Camp ground

We have been here twice.. this was the first place we went camping when we got back into the outdoorsy lifestyle once again.. and it was the best place to start out!

Our first trip we were in a tent.. how weird that was to sleep in. The tent was huge so that was great, I was able to stand up right in it and I am 6'2". The air mattress was a floppy, leaky sieve of an air mattress so we spent that weekend pumping and deflating... pumping and deflating.. It was promptly returned to Walmart and we bought the massive pillow top queensized air bed!! OMG!! this is an amazing thing.





So one of the reasons people love this area is the caves. They have some amazing caves for you to go into and explore. There is the lower caves which is self guided and then there is the upper caves which is part of a tour. Being the cheap guy that I am I opted for the self guided. Up the hill we trudged to the opening.. went in and guess what!!! I was too thick in the chest to squeeze thru! I thought about wiggling in under the main huge rock but I would for sure get my ass wedged in there and they would have to destroy much old growth forest to get a crane up there to drag me out.


Well not to be out done by a mountain, a hole and my HUGE chest we went to the lower..lower caves.. these were knee deep in water.. so I spiderman crawled along the wall.. had a look and shouted "Victory!" as I defeated the mountain and entered into its belly. I really need to stop watching Lord of the Rings.. gah.

We went up with our friends, Tammy and Jacolby. These 2 are younger, more outdoorsy (well Jacolby is for sure!!) and like to camp a bit rougher then us. They are fun to camp with and will try anything we want to do and they are the same.. kind of a dangerous mix at times! HAHA!!

As with all our camping trips they start out with Cheezies on the way up, the first night is fire roasted hotdogs and then relaxing with a beer and sunflower seeds... not a creature of habit at all am I.

Teddi and I are hiker, walkers and explorers.. we like to see everything we can on foot, in a boat, by plane or in a car. This place affords lots and lots of walking so we did ! We headed up the river the first day, very peaceful and wet.. I am not as graceful as I was as a teen when crossing slippery rocks.. but I do give a great show as I pirouette and flay and spin to avoid falling flat on my ass. I guarantee a great show everytime!!

Lots of lake and mountain views, wildlife and people..

Grouse laying in wait for us.. Stupid bird

On one walk to the adjoining campsite we found an avenue carved into the forest. It was the gas line to a pump station for the Alberni valley. We followed this wide opened, flat road that was knee deep in fresh foliage. There we are walking.. enjoying the view when all of a sudden a grouse (large, yummy tasting bird) did not want to be stepped one, flew up from under our feet and into the bush. I thought I was gonna soil my self! almost needed a heart restart! HOLY SMOKES!! what the hell was this bird doing hiding on the trail? Playing with us? haha

NO THANKS!!

The rest of the weekend went without any more heart attacks.. and as we were leaving a mommy bear and her 2 babies came by to say.. Drive safe...

Happy travels friends...
~W

Fairy Lake

Fairy Lake... the camping never ends!

So we had heard of this magickal little lake outside Port Renfrew.. We were game! We packed up and took the road from Sooke to Port Renfrew.. The hiway sucked! and those who maintain it should be flipped upside down...filled with hot gravel..spanked and given laxatives! What a shitty road and I refuse to drive it until its rebuilt!! 

Anyways... anger aside.. stupid hiway! .. We finally get to Fairy lake.. the sites are small and intimate.. WOW what a great start.. no watching your neighbors getting louded up and seeing the tent shake like a tornado is inside them.. thank goodness when we do get stuck witnessing those forces of nature that it normally last a few seconds and only a couple of screams.. haha .. amateurs!  Back to Fairy Lake..

The camp is clean, the ranger super friendly and it is very secluded. The lots are flat and well setup.. Go! We recommend it highly.

We set up and had our immediate hotdog roast.. we always have the celebratory hotdog roast as soon as we are set up! 

We have a nice fire and then its off to bed.. cuddles.. snores and heaven!!

Next day we are up and ready to go.. we explore the lake front.. very pretty..

I love the wide angle feature of my cell phone.. 

We spend the morning mulling about and then we head to Port Renfrew... We end up at Botanical Beach.. so we head to the ocean. 

The waters are decently calm and the weather is warm, bear and cougar warning signs everywhere.. lucky for me I travel everywhere with my Bear but those cougars.. Eeeeps! 

We walk along the beach looking for shells and other treasures, we get yelled at my a huge heron in a tree.. what a noise!  Dang picture is sideways,, 

Love the warning about Rouge Waves... I thought she was a character from the X-Men?? What do I know ..haha





We spent the day exploring.. see below...

Add caption

Nifty junk!!

Old and gnarly !!

 Back at the campsite we set up to relax.. soon though I discovered I had a nemesis..a purveyor of evil stares... a kid on a bike that would stare me down every time he rode by..

I am the monkey of course

 It was an odd thing.. he must have rode by a hundred times.. and it was a stare down every single time.. Odd little creepy kid!

This is what our setup looked like this trip.. My Bear will not allow me to post her pic so she gets censored via a finger...  My lovely wife is so shy..

 In the woods you find the neatest things.. a foot step or is the tree stinking its gnarly old tongue out?? could be a seat for other venturing wombats.. hard to say but nature is neat

 All in all its a fantastic place to go and I would recommend you join us one weekend.. maybe creepy kid will be there to stare us down!!

Oh 1 word of caution... there is a provincial campsite just up the road.. San Juan.. There is a strict policy on admittance, you must -

1 - Have only 3 teeth... minimum 2 original.

2- Dated a relative

3 - Field strip a shotgun in your long johns

4 - Bathe each season

5 - Know someone named Beaufort

6- Can skin a coon with a pull tab

It was the scariest thing I ever witnessed.,. I locked the doors and watched for the banjo playing fella.. Avoid this place!!