The Teodoro Trail in the Alberni Valley
A view of Sproat Lake from the Teodoro Trail
A couple of weeks ago Patti and I went for a hike along the Teodoro Trail in the Alberni Valley. It is a nice trail mostly through second-growth forest to a remnant patch of old growth. There are also a couple of nice views of Sproat Lake. What prompted me to do this was because I had recently bought a GPS (Global Positioning System). I had an idea.
One of the issues with tourism in the Alberni Valley is the lack of signage on the trail system. There is a pretty good little booklet available at the Chamber of Commerce and several other outlets around the valley that will get a person to the trail heads of twenty or so trails that vary in difficulty from easy to rigourous. But when you get out of the vehicle, you won”t see a sign any where that tells you that yes, you did follow the directions correctly, and you are at the trail head. But that lack of certainty all changes when you have a GPS with waypoints installed for the trail you are looking for in your hand. You know you are at the right place!
Anyway I thought I would test it out on the Teodoro Trail. And it worked really nicely. The link to Garmin GPS file is at the bottom.
This is one of 3 species of garter snakes found on the Island. There are no poisonous snakes on Vancouver Island.
The trail head is really in two locations. But the one shown in the booklet is the one I used. To get to it from Port Alberni, take Highway 4 west. After the big bridge over the Sproat River start looking for the Great Central Lake Road to your right. About 300 m after this road is a logging road that also goes to Great Central Lake. About 1.5 km along it is a dirt road to your left. Follow it until it dead ends about 3.4 km away. You’ll be at the trail head.
Originally the trail crossed a foot-bridge off the end of this road. And this is what the trail book says. But the bridge was washed out a couple of years ago in a severe winter storm. So now you have to double back a bit and follow the hydro-line to a place where you can cross the creek easily.
The trail itself is rough, and has grown over a bit since it was built by Sproat Lake resident Chris Law. But red loggers ribbons mark the trail, and you have a GPS too! The elevation gain is about 200 meters. Some of it follows old logging roads.
If you are wondering what the name Teodoro is all about, it is named after an environmental activist in Mexico who was arrested, jailed and tortured for protesting logging in old growth forests there. They were arrested on fabricated drug and weapons charges in 1999 and were held for 2.5 years in jail. The Sierra club and other organizations fought to have him released.
Here is the Garmin GPS file Teodoro Trail
Type your comment here. Many times my wife and myself have have traveled the back roads around Port Alberni just sight seeing in our vehicle, it is real suprising of what you can come across out in the bush if you are really looking. There are a multitude of black bear and black tail deer if you are lucky enough to spot them. l have found out since l moved to the lsland just how shy the deer are here, and yet, other deer don’t seem to give a darn because you are in the territory. So far l haven’t been able to coax one in close enough to give it a lump of sugar. l must admit that the deer here sure dont have as much meat on their bodies as a mainland muley, and they are only about a 1/4 of the size of a muley. l managed to shoot one a couple of years ago and l haven’t hunted one since then, l figure if l leave them alone long enough they might grow a little bigger (lol)just kidding, no l have stopped hunting game on the lsland and haven’t hunted now for the last few years. One day soon l hope to move back to the Kamloops area and go back into the hills there to bag a real nice muley..Thats my feeling and thoughts of hunting here on this lsland.
PS lf your real lucky in the Kamloops area while hunting you just might come across a nice bull moose that frequent the area often, but if you do come across one make sure is is of leagle species and please dont take a calf, l know they are far more tender than their parents but leave them alone, please. Thank you.