748 replies to this topic

[Cassidy]

How do I know if I'm drinking Goldstream or Sooke?

CRD Water pretty much always does a major public announcement when they switch from the Sooke Reservoir to the Goldstream Reservoir, as the switch comes with a potential change in the taste of the water ... even a change in appearance if it's been raining heavily.

 

Even if the taste and appearance doesn't change ... switching to the Goldstream Reservoir usually results in less water pressure at your kitchen tap and in your shower.

Edited by Cassidy, 01 May 2018 - 12:40 PM.

[todd]

Not looking forward to the leech water

 

........ it is estimated that it will be several decades before water from the Leech WSA is needed to supplement water storage in Sooke Lake Reservoir. ...... 

 

https://www.crd.bc.c...re-water-supply

I understand some people are bottling and selling the goldstream water.

[Mike K.]

Nestle?

[VicHockeyFan]

I think I worked it out once. Nestle takes about 1/1000th of what we spill each year.  They take in in Hope before it goes into the Fraser then the ocean..

[Cassidy]

https://www.google.c...!4d-121.3822746

 

It looks like Nestle takes their water from the Coquihalla River.

[todd]

It's basically the same method for adding fluoride.

[VicHockeyFan]

https://www.google.c...!4d-121.3822746

 

It looks like Nestle takes their water from the Coquihalla River.

 

Well, they take it from the ground.  100% of what they take is not depriving anywhere else of water.  But that does not stop crazy environmentalists.  

 

 

Nestle vehemently defends its operations, stating that they withdraw less than 1 percent of the available groundwater in the Kawkawa Lake aquifer. 

 

 

https://www.vice.com...iness-in-canada

 

The Kawkawa aquifer drains to the Fraser River via Sucker Creek and then the Coquihalla River. As long as Sucker Creek continues to flow then we know that the aquifer is not only stable but has an excess of water which will simply drain to the ocean.

 

To put the amount of water extracted by Nestlé into perspective, the amount extracted in a year is equivalent to about 72 seconds worth of water flow from the Fraser River as it passes Hope.

 

 

https://www.huffingt..._b_7782282.html

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 01 May 2018 - 05:59 PM.

[todd]

Not looking forward to the leech water

 

As part of the restoration can we change the name? “the sparkling*"

 

.........Prior to purchase by the CRD, the lands within the Leech WSA were owned by forest companies that harvested about 95% of the area. An extensive network of more than 400 km of roads was constructed during forest harvesting. All harvested areas were planted with native tree species and are regenerating well. The CRD is undertaking an extensive watershed restoration program to prepare for future water supply needs.

 

https://www.crd.bc.c...re-water-supply

Why is it named leech again?

 

 

*People love sparkly things

[VicHockeyFan]

Leech Water by the bottle is unlikely to sell any better than my Hitler BBQ line.

[todd]

What will happen if I drink one of the leeches?

[Cassidy]

Why is it named leech again?

 

Lieutenant Peter Leech, the surveyor/expedition leader who discovered gold on the Leech River in 1863, and whose name was then attached to the gold rush town that grew and became Leechtown at the junction of the Sooke and Leech Rivers.

 

He's buried in the Ross Bay Cemetery.

 

Leechtown was hopping with 30 saloons, and 1200-1500 resident miners and shopkeepers.

The Galloping Goose Train ran from Victoria to Leechtown, the rail-bed of which is our much loved trail today.

 

Lieutenant Governer Judith Guinchon relatively recently dedicated a new memorial out Leechtown way - to the man, the town and river that all bear the name Leech:

 

https://www.flickr.c...21/14694234412/

Edited by Cassidy, 01 May 2018 - 09:25 PM.

[Nparker]

What will happen if I drink one of the leeches?

It'll wriggle and jiggle and wiggle inside you. Or does that only apply to spiders?

[lanforod]

Leechtown shows on Google Maps. What is there now, anything or just a few leftover trinkets? How hard is it to get there?

[VicHockeyFan]

Leechtown shows on Google Maps. What is there now, anything or just a few leftover trinkets? How hard is it to get there?

 

Almost nothing, a few concrete or stone markers.  I think it's closed off now to visitors.

 

Some history.

 

You can go to Kapoor Park by foot or bicycle.

 

https://www.crd.bc.c...rk-trail/kapoor

 

 

Things to Do

 

The park is adjacent to the historic site of Leechtown, a mid-19th century gold mining town, and is the site of former railway logging operations. Kapoor is dedicated by the Kapoor family in memory of "pioneer lumberman and visionary" Kapoor Singh Siddoo (1885-1964).

Today, no standing structures remain, although relic mining and logging equipment lies throughout the area. That and Kapoor's second growth forest are a testament to the industry that once flourished in these woods.

 

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 02 May 2018 - 10:51 AM.

[Cassidy]

Leechtown existed on both sides of the Sooke River ... where the Leech River enters the Sooke River.

 

The South side of the river is quite easy to either bike or walk to via the Galloping Goose, and it will take you right to the smaller half of the original Leechtown site.

The North side of the Sooke River is on Timberwest property, and is gated off at the end of the Boneyard Main (which is also gated off) ... BUT, when the Sooke River is low at the end of summer, you can quite easily walk across the river to the larger area of what was Leechtown (be aware that you'll be trespassing if you cross the Sooke River, but that doesn't ever seem to stop anybody ... and there's rarely anybody around from Timberwest).

 

There are still remnants of the town scattered about both sides of the river, although they're not out in the open. Building foundations, etc can be discovered around and about in the under and overgrowth.

 

Unfortunately, none of this can be accessed via an automobile unless you're a Placer Miner or a member of the Sooke First Nations. All roads are gated off either byTimberwest, or  the CRD.

 

It's all still pretty active up Leechtown way though, as the Leechtown townsite, the Leech River, and on up Cragg Creek and beyond still has dozens and dozens of active, working placer gold mines on the Timberwest and CRD lands.

Add in First Nations salal gathering, and other First Nations access ... and you've got a lot of folks up there on any given day in Spring, Summer, or Fall. 

 

There can be a TON of snow covering miners placer claims at the higher elevations though. We sometimes forget down here in Victoria that 12 or so miles away is Survey Mountain, with an elevation of around 3000 feet high, which is equal to the elevation of 100 Mile House!

 

I've had a placer gold claim up there for decades now, one I inherited from my dear old dad.

Edited by Cassidy, 02 May 2018 - 11:52 AM.

[todd]

I may or may not have found it.

 

 

The Daily Colonist
Sunday, September 21, 1969 

Lost Tunnel of Leechtown
by
T.W. Paterson

Steps carved into a solid rock cliff, in the middle of a rain forest. Rumors of a heavy bronze cannon seen in a Vancouver Island swamp. Bloodchilling legends of a lost monastery and Spanish massacre. A strange clearing in virgin timber, where nothing grows around an ancient cairn. Bobbing white lights which "float" over a meadow, terrorizing hunters......

Are these the products of an unsound mind, or, at the very least, an overactive imagination? Or are they fact?

The answer to this question would solve what must be one of the most intriguing tales of lost treasure in British Columbia history - and the key lies within 25 miles of Victoria!

The most important chapter of this story is quite well know locally, and began 10 years ago when former Colonist reporter Ted Harris heard a tantalizing story from a friend. The friend told him of an old prospector named Ed Mullard, and, subsequently, Mr. Harris confirmed the fascinating details from Mr. Mullard himself.

Some time before - it is not recorded when - Mr. Mullard and a partner had been prospecting in the historic Jordan Meadows-Leechtown region. Situated to the northwest of the onetime mining and logging camp, between the Jordan and Leech rivers, Jordan Meadows is a triangular quilt of trees, meadow and swamp.

Long ago, a family named Weeks, after whom Trout Lake was rechristened, homesteaded here, but virtually all traces of their substantial home and outbuildings have disappeared. Today only loggers, outdoorsmen and an occasional prospector visit this region, much of which floods in winter.

But to return to our story: Late one afternoon, Mullard had left his partner to hunt deer. Finding a fresh track, he followed his prey through the undergrowth. Night descends rapidly in autumn, however, and dusk ended the hunt prematurely.

Heading back to camp, Mullard elbowed his way though chest-high salal. Suddenly, the prospector made a startling discovery - he was descending a staircase in the brush. Shouldering aside the salal for a better view in the failing light, Mullard found himself facing an oblong hole in the cliffside. 

Upon peering into its murky depths, he could see another series of steps, seven in number. Beyond was an arch and a rectangular gallery about 10 feet in length, and high enough for a man to stand upright (Mullard stood around six feet tall).

Overcome by curiosity, in the feeble glow of matches, Mullard inched along the silent passage, down the second staircase, and into the gallery. At its far end, in the right wall, the scene was repeated: another arch, seven more steps and a second gallery.

Here, however, Mullard encountered water shin-deep. Beyond the dancing pale of his match, he detected what appeared to be yet another gallery. But instead of exploring further, he retreated to the entrance, memorized his location, and hastened back to camp.

He did not live to see the mystery shaft again, and, as far as is known, no other man has set eyes on it.

Reporter Harris had heard of Mullard's wondrous tale in April, 1959, and called on the prospector. According to the Colonist account of 18 months later, "The old man told him (Harris) a great deal - perhaps more than he's told anyone else - and readily agreed to take Harris right to the spot."

Mullard and Harris made their pact in the spring of 1959 but, because of unsettled weather at this time of year, decided to wait until June. A month before they were to go, Mullard died.

Which is where our mystery really thickens as, although Mullard told Harris more than he had told anyone else, he had not divulged the tunnel's exact location.

Upon hearing Harris' story, the Colonist had agreed to sponsor an official expedition, in the basis of seven clues which Harris had gleaned from his conversations with Mullard:

1. The area was between Leechtown and Jordan Meadows;
2. It is somewhere along a shorter route than the regular trail between the two, because Mullard spoke of a shortcut home;
3. It is at the foot of a huge rock bluffs;
4. It is on ground that isn't very steep, for the opening is almost horizontal;
5. It is among heavy undergrowth on shallow soil, for it was overgrown although cut into granite;
6. It is a substantial distance from Leechtown, for Mullard spoke of hoping to get to the site and out again in one day but being prepared for a
two-day trip, just in case;
7. It is in high country, for he mentioned it overlooking Jordan Meadows.

Using Mullard's seven clues and aerial survey photos, organizers narrowed down the target area to the southwest face of Survey Mountain. This, because "the only rock bluffs (remembering Mullard's description) of any consequence" are to be found here. "At the foot of the bluffs is a shoulder - at about the 2,700-foot level - roughly 100 to 200 yards wide and several miles long.

"All the clues point to the shaft being somewhere along this shoulder," wrote newsman John Jones.

That Remembrance Day weekend, representatives of the provincial museum, Colonist staff members, member of the provincial forest service, and volunteer university students began the arduous task of scouring Survey Mountain's southwest face. Assisted by a helicopter from Vancouver Island Helicopters, and walkie-talkies, the dozen hunters had worked diligently for three days, until defeated by fog and the season's first snowfall.

As they ruefully noted, it would take an army to find anything in this rugged terrain.

Upon their return to Victoria, searchers had been in good spirits and optimistic. However, despite talk of returning the following year, the hunt was never resumed.

As far as is known, the situation remains unchanged to this day.

Several years ago, this writer interviewed a close friend of the late Ed Mullard, to hear a fascinating tale of lost treasure and a "curse."

About a year after Mr. Mullard died, he said, Mrs. Mullard had informed him her husband had bequeathed him all his outdoor and mining gear. When he examined his inheritance, he made some intriguing discoveries - discoveries which were to send him packing into Jordan Meadows time and again. 

This is his story:

Unlike reporter Harris' information, he said, Mr. Mullard had not been alone on that momentous day, but had been accompanied by a man named McLaren. Upon stumbling onto the steps, both men had peered curiously into the tunnel. But only Mr. Mullard had had the courage to grope along the shaft, McLaren standing nervous watch at the entrance. Perhaps the unholy circumstances of their discovery, or the waning daylight, slightly unnerved the partner. Perhaps he simply maintained a healthy mistrust of tunnels and caves. Whatever, when Mullard explored the strange steps and gallery, he was alone.

Encountering water, he had returned to the entrance, cut some saplings, splitting the ends. Then, with these crude "chopsticks," he had returned to the shaft and groped about in the black waters. Despite the awkwardness of his saplings, he had succeeded in snaring several relics of interest.

These items were found in Mr. Mullard's effects, along with instructions as to how to reach the tunnel. Two of the recovered objects, shown this writer, were an old miner's pick and the head of a hammer, both hand-forged and badly corroded.

But far more interesting, was the third item which Mr. Mullard had retrieved from the shaft's flood floor - a small gold bar. This I did not see.

According to Mr. Mullards friend, the ingot - "quite well made" - had measured approximately three inches long, one and one-quarter inches wide, and an inch thick.

He had since returned the bar to Mrs. Mullard, he said.

A last oddity recovered by Mr. Mullard had been some enormous, unidentified crystals.

Four days after Mr. Mullards amazing find, he was dead - according to this source. As for McLaren, terrified by Mr. Mullard's sudden demise, and apparently connecting it with the evil tunnel, he had refused to discuss it with a soul, and, when continuously questioned, had left town.

Following Mr. Mullard's instructions, the friend had tried several times to locate the tunnel, succeeding only in finding one of the prospector's markers, the initials "EM" in a stump.

Asked why he was willing to disclose so much, he had replied: "Why not? I've nothing to hide. I don't give a damn who finds it."

And there the story rests today. Rumors - growing wider with each telling - circulate the city, articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines, and interest in the mystery tunnel has spread throughout the northwest. Yet if anyone is on the right track, or has succeeded in finding Mullard's tunnel, he isn't saying anything.

Some of the rumors even go beyond the ridiculous. Such as the one told this writer - in all seriousness - of Communist Chinese agents making regular midnight trips in and out of the nearby Sooke Lake watershed, also reputed to have been visited by the Spanish.

As for the Spanish cannon, mentioned earlier, it has been a local legend for years. Apparently, as the story goes, hunters have spotted it in the swamps of Jordan Meadows from time to time. It would seem the meadows shift like the ocean sands, for no one ever sees it twice.

 

 

[Mike K.]

Can I puh-lease go camping with both of you gentlemen?

[Bingo]

The reservoir is down to 65% but will soon be rising now that we are into the rainy season with around 20 mm of moisture today.

[Bingo]

Some rainfall going on right now.

 

Tahsis, BC 167 mm 

Wickaninnish 124 mm

Bamfield Marine 101 mm

Port Renfrew 67mm

Vic High 9.1 mm

 

http://www.victoriaw...urrent_data.php

 

 

 

[Bingo]

The reservoir is down to 65% but will soon be rising now that we are into the rainy season with around 20 mm of moisture today.

 

Back to 68%