Category: Hiking

Posted on

Kick of to 2017!

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

2016 is remembered by most as a year full of foul events, a year that just kept kicking people when they were down! From my perspective, the year looked pretty okay. My family welcomed a second child, I went back to university (AGAIN), and I amidst the mayhem still managed to adventure with many friends. In December, I examined my GPS trip data and discovered that I hiked, kayaked and/or snowshoed more than 60,0000 metres of elevation gain, and more than 700 kilometres of horizontal distance. More importantly, Phil and I checked off more than 30 peaks on our Island Alpine Quest. I was eager to add Mt Derby and Mt Peel to that list of completed peaks.

The Island Mountain Ramblers have a New Year’s Day tradition of hosting a hike to celebrate a new year of adventure. To kick off 2017, I joined my three club-mates on a three-day winter trip to kick of 2017. If successful we would summit Mt Derby and Mt Peel. The trip included two days of alpine winter camping, my first true winter camping experience. As our day of departure approached the forecast brought an arctic outflow, we were looking forward too -if that’s even the right term- temperatures as low as -24 C!

hiking on Vancouver Island
route map and GPS track

 

Total Distance: 12. 4 km
Starting Elevation: 420 m
Maximum Elevation: 1160 m
Total Elevation Gain: 825 m

 

 

 

 

Continue reading “Kick of to 2017!”

Posted on

Mount Gemini – the twin peak

–submitted by Matthew Lettington. Read the full report on his blog

I did the math: I’m approaching the 100th peak in my Island Alpine Quest. Although most peaks on Vancouver Island have some level of difficulty associated with their approach, some are even more difficult to get to, and Gemini Mountain falls into this category. It’s tucked deep in behind Nanaimo, past Third Lake and south of Fourth Lake. Although there is a good-quality gravel road that drives up to 1200 metres, and the peak would be a lovely short summer hike, the trick is getting access to the road!

gemini mountain, hiking near nanaimo, matthew lettington, island mountain ramblers
Gemini Mountain Map and GPS Route

 

 

Total Distance: 5.4 km
Starting Elevation:  1218 m
Maximum Elevation: 1524 m
Elevation Gain: 600 m
Total Time:

Continue reading “Mount Gemini – the twin peak”

Posted on

Sunset/twilight/moonlight

–submitted by Jon Robertson

4 of us started out under a mostly cloudy sky. The sun went down behind the cloud,
without putting on a show for us. Shortly after that, we had some clearing in the west, and were treated to the sight of Venus shining spectacularly brightly, a hand’s-breadth above the horizon.

As the clouds thinned, the moon lit them from behind, illuminating a huge portion of the sky. We had a few drops of rain, but nothing to speak of, and gusts of wind that could take the breath away. We paused for a snack at a high point on the ridge, and enjoyed seeing the lights from the mainland. Even one of the ski hills (Cypress?) was lit up.

dsc_2744-01
At that point, the moon came out in all its glory. Headlamps were turned off, and we soaked it in. Then, back to the cars, and home for supper.

dsc_2743-01

Posted on

Maple Mountain Easy Ramble

–submitted by Beth Avis

13 of us joined in Maple Bay to do the Blue and Yellow trails as a loop. We were very luck to have amazing weather despite the forecast. A few downed trees blocked our way in a few locations so we had to find our way around. We had a blast!

Posted on

A girls hike up Mt. Horne

–submitted by Stefanie Bates

We had a fun all ladies adventure up Mt. Horne on Oct 30th. It was not much of a day for views but the company was amazing and we had lots of laughs.
We went in at Cathedral grove before turning up the steep terrain as we got to know each other. One group member (Julie) had never hiked up a mountain so it was pretty exciting for her as well as us. She tackled the whole thing like a champ.
We never did see much as far as views but then again it did not matter. This was more about the journey than the destination.
After a quick lunch at the top we made our way down… Some on their bottoms. A good time all around.

20161030_105734_hdr 20161030_113543_hdr

Posted on

Maple Mountain Rainbow Route

5 of us enjoyed the hike on Maple Mountain. I started with the Orange Trail, going to Red, then Orange again, then pink, then the other pink to Blue and back to the car. Hike was 4 hours, I used some trails that are not listed on the map.
Everyone enjoyed the hike, we had lots of laughter and a very enjoyable time together
Posted on

Westwood Ridges

–submitted by Matthew Lettington

–photographs submitted by Sharon Hagen

I was awoken at 6 am by the sound of my cellphone –ding, an incoming email. I lay in bed a while longer, staring at the ceiling. I was listening for the sound of rain. The South Island was in the midst of a sever weather warning but I was planning on hiking regardless of the weather. As I listened, I could hear droves of rain pummeling the roof and periodically waft against my bedroom window.

14690861_10153810127860248_5218182474897998956_n

Continue reading “Westwood Ridges”

Posted on

Crest Mountain

–submitted by Lisa Hanlon
Gorgeous day for a hike up Crest mountain. We met at the trailhead at 8:30am on Saturday, September 10th.. After a slog up the switchbacks through beautiful old growth forest, we were rewarded with the first views of King’s Peak. Once we emerged from the forest into the sunny alpine, we stopped for a snack break.

Continue reading “Crest Mountain”