Living the best adventure life, since 1958
March 22, 2025
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating—when there’s too much snow in the mountains, the Sooke Hills offer a fantastic alternative for logging kilometres and racking up elevation gain! With their dense, mossy hills, beautiful glades, and a network of trails ranging from well-maintained paths to forgotten routes, these hills are a playground for adventurous hikers looking to stay conditioned through the shoulder season.
March 29, 2025
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Throughout Paradise Meadows, signs of winter’s slow demise are everywhere. Though over two meters of snow still blankets much of the landscape, evidence of the coming summer is undeniable. Patches of open water are appearing along the edges of the lakes, and in some places, we could see water nearly twelve inches below the snow’s surface.
This was my first time tackling this route in winter. Typically, snowshoers take a direct path across the frozen lakes, but with the increasing melt, we opted to follow the shoreline instead. It was the safer choice.
March 30, 2025
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
It’s been many years since I last visited the Westwood Ridges—probably before COVID-19. This time, I had the pleasure of hosting a relaxed ramble and brought my family along for the adventure. The day could not have been more perfect: cool, crisp air with just the lightest breeze, making for an ideal hiking atmosphere.
Continue reading “Westwood Ridges Ridge Ramble”
March 15, 2025
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Well, at the very least, we can say it was a day in the mountains.
One common issue when planning a day of learning is that the weather doesn’t really care about your plans. While we had hoped for a multiday steep-angle adventure, the forecast had us adjusting our expectations, turning the trip into a single-day learning experience.
Continue reading “Mount Cokely Winter Mountaineering”
March 30, 2025
~ submitted by Evan Martin
This winter, Evan W is stepping into the world of backcountry skiing with big ambitions—he’s eager to take on longer ski tours as his skills grow. While I’ve done my fair share of backcountry skiing, my experience has been limited to the mainland, making this my first year exploring the island’s terrain. Motivated by the opportunity to ski with Evan, I brought my gear over and planned a trip to Mount Becher, hoping to invite other Ramblers and share the experience while rebuilding the backcountry ski culture within the Ramblers. After our previous attempt to organize a trip to Mount Cokely fell flat, we were pleasantly surprised by the high level of interest this time. In the end, we had six people in the group, with a range of experience from first-timers to seasoned skiers, which made for an exciting and diverse adventure.
March 30, 2025
~ submitted by Mary Hof
Today I led hikers from three different groups on Mt. Prevost, some never having been there. Outdoor Club of Victoria, the Ramblers and Cowichan Hikers. 10 strong hikers. I even took them to a hidden waterfall, none had been there.
Good hiking weather, wind a little strong at times, but a beautiful day to enjoy the beauty around us, visit with friends, and learn all about what these awesome hikers are up too.
March 2, 2025
~ submitted by Mary Hof
It was a beautiful day to do a hike, meeting new Ramblers. The group kept a good pace. Parts of this hike are seldom used so it was nice to show people the huge rocks that are along the trail.
The hike was 4.5 hours with an elevation gain of 650m. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
March 2, 2025
~ submitted by Pete Hrkac
Four of us headed up the Main Gully of Mt Arrowsmith on March 2, 2025. Conditions were quite good. The snow was relatively firm and compact after a few days of drier and warmer temperatures.
February 16, 2025
~ submitted by Erin O’Hagen
Great trip! It was slower going then we thought. As we passed the benches (overlooking Cameron Lake) a collection of snow on the trail started to accumulate.
February 8, 2025
~ submitted by Sarah Duncan
We changed our destination due to Snow levels and avalanche risk and comfort of the group. We met at the base of Mount Washington Parkway at 815 and convoy drove to the trialhead.
The weather was cold and mostly clear.
We walked (carried the snow shoes) about 7 KM along the beautifully snow covered road to the trailhead where we donned our snowhoes and took turns breaking trail for awhile until we landed on some snowmobile tracks which we followed to where we opted to turn around just a shortish distance from the summit.
We opted to turn around a bit early based on time of day, distance and energy level of the group. The snow was lovely, the views were lovely and the company was awesome.
We hiked for just over 8 hours (breaks included in that time) and about 20KM with an elevation gain of over 800 meters.