Hiking Archives - Island Mountain Ramblers

5040 Spy Mission

On September 9, 2017

In Activity, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Hiking, Regional Districts

–Submitted by Clarke Gourlay

Wet day (first of the summer for some of us!) and windy at the summit, but it cleared up enough in the afternoon for a quick swim in the lake on the return trip.

Great big team working hard in the rain at the new nut location, and very fun to see the project enroute. There is a long way to go, potential volunteers, but the resulting hut is going to be huge and very solid, in a beautiful place. Many more trips to 5040 in the future!

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Circlet Lake Backpacking Trip

By Matthew Lettington

On August 26, 2017

In Activity, Backpacking, Club, Hiking, Regional Districts, Strathcona Regional District

–Submitted by Jamai Schile

Arriving at the parking lot for the Nordic Centre around 10 am, we were surprised to see how busy it was. We speculated that the combination of fires in the interior and the number of closed Island trails created an above average number of visitors to the park this year.

Waring Peak: Striking Back

By Matthew Lettington

On August 20, 2017

In Activity, Club, Hiking, Mount Waddington Regional Distrcit, mountaineering

–submitted by Matthew Lettington, read the full report on his blog

Have you ever struggled to achieve an objective, and been turned back? I have–a lot! Waring Peak in the Sutton Range is among several peaks that we failed to summit last winter. My first attempt came to a premature end, with the group looking longingly at the base of the summit block, merely 200 metres away from the summit of the mountain. This August, we struck back at mountains that had turned us back last winter. This time, after only 2.5 hours of hiking, we were standing on the summit admiring the view, and enjoying the narrow upper ridge of this Vancouver Island peak. It’s satisfying to gain these summits, but it’s remarkable how different the approaches are in the different seasons. Of note, the biggest surprise is the bush!

Waring Peak GPS Route

Toal Distance: 9.1 km
Startin Elevation: 541 m
Maximum Elevation: 1599 m
Elevation Gain: 1071 m
Time: 5 h 15 m

Ash Pond Trail, Mt. Becher via Slingshot meadows

By Matthew Lettington

On August 13, 2017

In Activity, Club, Comox Valley Regional District, Hiking

–submitted by Adrian Houle

We started at Wood Mountain parking lot. We traveled past the ruins of the old ski hill to the border of Strathcona park. From there we followed the trail and took the route signed as Drabble and lamountainie, skirting under the cliffs of Mount Becher.

5040 Peak on a hot summer day!

By Matthew Lettington

On July 30, 2017

In Activity, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Club, Hiking, mountaineering, Regional Districts

–submitted by Bill Derby

Seven intrepid Ramblers met at Starbucks in North Nanaimo under a bright blue early morning sky to make introductions, grab a coffee, and sort out vehicles before departing for the 5040 Peak trail head via Port Alberni and Highway 4.

Over Robert’s Roost to Westwood Ridges

By Matthew Lettington

On July 15, 2017

In Activity, Club, Hiking, Nanaimo Regional District

-submitted by Adrian Houle,

We passed through Morrell Sanctuary, under the power lines, up the trails and past the old DND road to the top of Roberts roost. We then follow a trail out the back side of Roberts roost onto some old logging roads that lead through a swampy valley and traced the Westwood cliffs until they lower to a hill and allowed us up onto the ridges. From there we follow the ridges back to a different part of the same trail system we started on, and back to the sanctuary.

All 5 participants survived the trip and in good spirits.

CPR Trail to Mt Cokely

By Matthew Lettington

On July 8, 2017

In Activity, Club, Hiking, Nanaimo Regional District, Regional Districts

–submitted by Mary Hof

It was a great day to spend with Carol and Ellen (guest) on this hike July 8th from Cameron Lake to Mt Cokely.

The pace was great and the views spectacular. We made it up in 3.5 hours, very little snow which actually made it harder as rocks were slippery, and the old ski hill had lots of that loose scree. The trail was in great shape and we took our time coming back talking with those going up, and spending some time at the creek. Just short of 8 hours, 20k and 1400m elevation gain.

Canada Day Constitutional

By Matthew Lettington

On July 1, 2017

In Activity, Club, Hiking, Nanaimo Regional District, Regional Districts

–submitted by John Robertson

8 people met at the hike terminus, at Oyster Sto-Lo road, then piled into 2 cars for the drive to the trailhead, at Spruston Road. We had excellent weather, although a bit of atmospheric haze obscured the views slightly.

Juan de Fuca Trail

By Matthew Lettington

On July 1, 2017

In Activity, Backpacking, Capital Regional District, Club, Hiking, Regional Districts

-submitted by Jessica Wilcox

Our trip started out a bit rocky as we had a bit of a miscommunication with meeting places. Port Renfrew has no service so that did not help either! We eventually started the trail in 2 separate groups and managed to find each other within the first 2 kms! It was all smooth sailing from there.

We had great weather and no rain, but the trail still had lots of mud! We also saw our fair share of wild life including bears! Our nights were nice and relaxing as Chloe brought her ukulele which was great around the bonfire! We also met tons of awesome people along the way. It was definitely a great place to spend Canada’s 150th birthday! Everyone brought their Canada day gear/red which got us tons of compliments along the way! couldn’t have asked for a better weekend with a great group of people!

Crest Mountain: a Ridge Ramble success story!

By Matthew Lettington

On June 17, 2017

In Activity, Club, Hiking, mountaineering, Regional Districts, Strathcona Regional District

–submitted by Ken Warren

Twelve of us set off for Crest Mountain from the trailhead on the Gold River Highway. The forecast was for good weather and the sky was promising. The trail is well-designed and built, but gains 1100 meters in the first 5km. We didn’t hit snow until the 1400m elevation shortly before coming onto the plateau by the first tarn. The tarns are still 3/4 frozen with blue water pooling among the snow and ice. A forty minute hike in the snow from the tarn saw us gain another 100m and the cairn marked summit.