Living the best adventure life, since 1958
When I posted this hike I had hopes of a snow free trail and sunny views from the summit. A weekend of snow and changing weather forecasts made me consider cancelling, but optimism took charge, and the enthusiasm of the hikers, and we went ahead. We hit the first snow within 15 minutes and were spiked up within 35. We had overcast skies, drifting fog, and occasional blue sky.
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.
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.
Continue reading “The Mystery of the Upper Cowichan River Trail”
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.
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.
Continue reading “Forbidden Plateau Traverse trail (Raven Lodge to Wood Mountain)”
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.
–submitted Lisa G.
Inland Lake Campout was June 5-7, 2026 and there were several hikes happening throughout the weekend. I chose to lead the Appleton Creek Trail to Rieveley Pond section on June 6, 2026 as I had heard about how nice the waterfalls are in this section of the Sunshine Coast Trail. We planned for rain but ended up having a fairly dry day…but unfortunately not swimming weather. I planned it for HK1P1 so everyone could have a chance to take photos of the waterfalls and old growth trees. There were 7 hikers in total and we hiked out and back with a total distance of 8.2 km with an elevation gain of 245m.
What a beautiful hike on Mt. Richard’s in the Cowichan Valley, with the Fox gloves. 10 of us had a wonderful day. I gave them an overview of the beautiful trail system, reaching all the nice views. 13km, 4.5 hours on a nice day in June.
May 23rd, 2026
~ submitted by Nicholas Fisch
On a partly cloudy Saturday in May, myself and another Rambler set out for Mount McQuillan from the trailhead at Father and Son Lake.
Continue reading “Mount McQuillan”
