Timberline Tales

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The Mystery of the Upper Cowichan River Trail

–submitted by Matthew Lettington

The Island Mountain Ramblers has been my home for hiking since sometime in 2011. In that time, I’ve had the joy of exploring many far-flung places. Some are tucked away on the outer edges of the coast, some high in the hills, and others are places that simply can’t be shared. Over the years, I’ve also had plenty of time to consider the club’s various hiking and climbing objectives.

a walk in the woods

I’ve answered many questions from members about who chose these objectives and why. Some choices are obvious, while others leave us scratching our heads. The reality is that access has changed considerably over the years. What once took several days of trekking to reach might now be a two-hour jaunt. A route that was once the standard approach might now take you well out of your way. Even the best routes and trails change as time marches on, whether through windfall, erosion, or other natural forces.

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Rambling along the Lower Cowichan River Trail

What a wonderful day! 

–submitted by John Young from his blog.

My fellow hikers were very amiable and kind enough to wait up for me! The last time I did this hike, five years ago, the total hike was an hour less. But not any more beautiful!

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Some great infrastructure, some great stairs and bridges

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But some of the boardwalk is in disrepair

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And the bridge at Holt Creek is gone

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Luckily, though, the creek was low enough for us to easily cross

A beautiful forest

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I love the sound of the fallen leaves crunching underfoot

Marvellous views of the river

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I wonder what the attraction is in this activity! But at least they’re outside.

Yes, a beautiful hike, but it ain’t gettin’ any easier!

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Mount Buttle: Low Expectations Lead to a Great Day

–submitted by Matthew Lettington; oroginally posted on explorington.com

Sometimes I head out on a trip feeling confident about what I’ll find, only to discover that reality is vastly different from what I expected.

Sometimes the day ends poorly. I’ve arrived at destinations with high expectations, only to discover that, sure, the sights are there, but nobody mentioned that finding parking would be nearly impossible and that I’d be competing with a thousand of other people for the same experience. Banff comes to mind here. Other times, I’ve set out on a hike expecting incredible scenery, only to find that the reality of the destruction on the mountain leaves those expectations in ruins. 5040, I’m looking at you!

And then there are trips like my recent outing to Mount Buttle, where I started with rock-bottom expectations and ended up pleasantly surprised.

Just a bunch of friends heading outside to play

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Cruikshank Canson – after the heat and before the snow

–submitted by Ken Warren

It was around 3 degrees when we hit the Raven Lodge trailhead, but it only took minutes on the trail before the temperature dropped below zero. There was frost on the boardwalks and the ponds were iced over. However it was a beautiful clear day that quickly warmed up, reaching 18 degrees around 2 pm. We saw few people on the trails and none past Kwai Lake. Mariwood Lake and Lake Beautiful were still and beautiful, and the views of Castlecrag and Comox Glacier were outstanding. The return trip was uneventful and we had a great day. Thanks to my hiking companions for their part in my enjoyment.

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A Fishing Trip to McKenzie Lake

 

–submitted by Matthew Lettington. Originally posted on his blog

Hemingway has been in Scouting since he was five. Now that he’s turned 13, it’s fair to say he’s committed to the many goals and achievements that Scouting encourages.

Last summer, he attended a five-day angling school in Tahsis. Since then, he’s headed out to the local lake a few times to fish on his own. More recently, he started working on his Hobby Badge, setting five goals, several of which involved fishing.

 

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Tlatlos Peak: A Fall Day on the North Island

–submitted by Matthew Lettington

Tlatlos Peak was pretty much as expected: a steep logging road drive, some bushwhacking, a bit of route finding, and a beautiful summit on a lovely fall day.

I was very grateful for the day we all shared on Tlatlos Peak. I organized this exploratory trip to a North Island peak after a club member recommended nearby Peak 5800, often mistakenly called Tsitika Peak, which is quite different from Tsitika Mountain. I would have loved to explore Peak 5800 via the newly punched-in roads along its north ridge, but rumours suggested that active work in the area meant the roads were gated. No worries! After some discussion, we settled on neighbouring Tlatlos Peak instead. It wasn’t on my personal peak list, but it was new to me, and I’m always happy to get out and explore somewhere different.

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Forbidden Plateau Traverse trail (Raven Lodge to Wood Mountain)

–submitted by Ross Burnett

The Forbidden Plateau Traverse Trail is a section of one of the club’s “Lifetime Hiking Objectives”. It can be done in either direction; and as a day trip or an overnight. It is about 28 kilometres long.

Three keen members took advantage of the great fall day, and did it as a day hike, in the more downhill direction from Raven Lodge to the Wood Mountain end, finishing at the bottom of the old ski hill; which also serves as the trailhead for the Mt. Becher hike.

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Mount Klitsa via Brooke George Trail

–submitted by Matthew Lettington

Mount Klitsa is a somewhat uncharacteristic mountain along the Highway 4 corridor. While many of Vancouver Island’s most iconic peaks are in this area, they often come with sketchy approaches, long bushwhacks, thousands of tourists, or actual climbing. The lengthy logging-road approach to Klitsa tends to keep people at bay.

I wish I had a vehicle with more passenger space, but what can I do with only three spots for passengers? We do what we can. Thanks to the two other drivers who offered up their vehicles. In total, we managed to get 9 members out on September 20th.

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Steamboat Mountain Ruminations

–submitted by Matthew Lettington

Steamboat Mountain falls inside the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks. A donation was made to the Tribal Park Guardians as a Responsible Users Fee.

I approached this trail with some trepidation. Recent online trail reports described the route as being in horrible condition, with several reports mentioning extensive windfall and a trail that was nearly impossible to follow. But I’m stubborn, and I had a few friends who had yet to make it to the summit of this gorgeous mountain. Seven of us, including Hemingway, set our intention: summit or bust!

Is this the crux?

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Moriarty from the East Side

-Submitted by Su Castle
Our injured middle-aged knees needed a smaller South Island objective. Moriarty from the East sounded like the perfect objective. We drove up Northwest Bay logging road 155 main to 160 main. The drive ended at a bit of a rock slide. After walking about 500 m up the logging road to our “trailhead”, we were faced with berry-full 250m bushwack to the logging road that would take us to 1125m.  So many tasty berries! (Plenty of elk and bear prints!)

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