Brigade Bay, Eagles & Finding Lost Lake

Brigade Bay is about a 45 minute walk from Long Bay. The walk is very lovely as it takes you through a wonderful stand of moss covered trees and the ground is covered in Maidenhair Ferns making you feel that you are in some enchanted forest. Any moment you think you might have a Unicorn pop up some where with a fairy riding on his back. At the far end of the walk, just before the bay there is a lovely stand of poplars.

The first day we strolled over to Brigade Bay it was very warm, but none of us thought to bring our bathing suit. After a few leisurely hours on the beach alternately day dreaming and reading Harry Potter I got the idea that a swim with Lucy was definitely in order and as neither of my daughters would volunteer to run back to the cabin to fetch my suit I peeled off my shorts and top and took the plunge in my undies much to the horror of my daughters. The water was lovely and everyday there after we walked over (with our bathing suits) for a cool dip. One afternoon we decided to have a small fire on the beach and roast wieners and marshmallows for our lunch. Yum - why does this always taste so good out there?
The bay itself is surrounded by rocky bluffs and adding to the delight of the place is all the eagles that constantly circle over the bluffs. These are Golden Eagles, not Bald Eagles and they are in abundance on the island. One afternoon I decided to try and climb some of the bluffs to take some pictures and see if I could get closer to where the Eagles were. My daughters declined the extra exercise and it seemed not safe for Lucy to come so I set off with my walking stick and camera through a field all the while being watched silently by a doe hiding in the shoulder high grass. . The bluffs were not that difficult to climb and I managed to get some lovely pictures including one of my daughters laying on the beach with Lucy completely absorbed in fishing in the water. So high was I that my daughters did not even notice me on the bluff. I did not climb to the top however because I felt that is was not safe to do alone so I have left that as a challenge for another day.
Last spring when I first went to the island I discovered a hiking trail to a place called Lost Lake, but the weather and the path were in too bad a shape to try it. This time I was determined to find Lost Lake and so the second day Alana, Lucy and I headed out with a sandwich for us and snacks for Lucy to find the lake. The path there was rocky and almost all up hill. There were many trees across the path that we had to climb over or go under and the path itself was easily lost if you didn't keep your eye on the blue markers on the trees. Although the day was very sunny and very warm inside the forest the trees made such a canopy that you could hardly see the sky in places. I was hot though and I was beginning to worry that it would be too hard on Lucy if we went much further with out finding the lake when all of a sudden the air seemed to change subtly and I noticed that the path was covered in deer prints so I was pretty sure that we were almost there. Finally we emerged from the forest to a beautiful little lake that had lily pads all around the edge. It was beautiful and quiet and we were happy that we had persevered to see this lovely spot. Lucy was just overjoyed to be able to cool off in the lake before the hike back. As we were leaving we saw a sign for another trail from the lake to Douglas Bay and we later found out that it was only a forty five minute hike from where we were, but that too will have to wait for hopefully another time.
I have put up new pictures on the Flickr Badge and tomorrow I will put up the pictures of our trip back on a beautiful sunny evening.


Note: On the map above Long Bay is the finger off of Port Graves Bay

Pictures can now be viewed on Catz Photo Page at Flickr