Living the best adventure life, since 1958
–submitted by Ken Warren
We weren’t the first to set out to hike Benson from Witchcraft Lake, but close to it. Eight of us went on tthis new year’s expedition for various reasons, but in part it was to remember our friend and club member Mike Hordelski who died hiking Benson in 2017. Mike loved Mt Benson and hiked it many times by many routes.
Continue reading “Karzenjammer Lite/The Hordelski Mt Benson”
Wow! What colors! I’ve never been so dazzled by fall colors as I was yesterday on our Island Mountain Ramblers’ hike from Forbidden Plateau to Mt. Washington.
We started our 27 k. hike at 8:20 under cloudy skies, with showers in the forecast We headed up the old ski area, and although going from this end meant we had more elevation gain than starting from Mt. Washington, I was glad we got this part over first, as it wasn’t ‘t scenic at all. Thanks to our leader, John Robertson, for arranging our car shuttles and deciding to start from the old Wood Mountain (Forbidden Plateau) Ski Area.
Continue reading “Forbidden Plateau to Mt. Washington – Sept. 30, 2017”
–Submitted by John Robertson
Five hikers set out in 2 vehicles from north Nanaimo at 6am. By 8:20, we had dropped a vehicle off at the Mount Washington trailhead, and backtracked in the other, to the old Wood mountain ski area. Drizzle and cold wind greeted us as we shouldered packs, but with the initial climb up the old ski hill, we worked off any potential chill quickly.We stopped for lunch at McKenzie Lake. By that time, the wind had died to nothing, and the sun was doing battle with the clouds (although the clouds ultimately won the day). After lunch, we continued on our way, in a light rain. From this point, the trail became a bit more grown in, and we took turns in the lead position, filling our boots as we knocked accumulated water off the blueberry bushes that hung over the trail.The GPS recorded 27.7 kilometers, and we were all quite satisfied with our day. It’s a good hike, when, as soon as the pack comes off, the talk is about the next opportunity to do it again.
–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.
–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.
–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!
Toal Distance: 9.1 km
Startin Elevation: 541 m
Maximum Elevation: 1599 m
Elevation Gain: 1071 m
Time: 5 h 15 m
–submitted by Adrian Houle
Continue reading “Ash Pond Trail, Mt. Becher via Slingshot meadows”
–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. Continue reading “5040 Peak on a hot summer day!”
-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.
–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.
