Category: Club

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Mount Benson Project –July 6 Work Party

July 6th was going to be a busy day for our work party. There were 8 volunteers signed up but as the forecast worsened the cancellations started arriving. By the time we hit the trail, there were three souls that braved the misty conditions to do a day’s work on the trail.

For the day we focussed on installing an extra step in the eroding bank, stabilizing the bank by installing extra width on one of the steps, hauling more debris into the off route sections, and trimming wood obstacles that could hook a hiker’s foot. A big part of the project is doing sustainable work that withstand the test of time, and that means controling the flow of water. Much of the trail erosion has been made worse by the waterfall that forms on the trail and flows down a large portion of our section.

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Hidden Peak: When the Weather Doesn’t Cooperate

–submitted by Matthew Lettington; orginally published on explorington.com

I’m not a fair-weather hiker; in fact, I’m pretty stubborn. There are countless times when we’ve hiked despite a crappy forecast. Often, the poor weather never manifests, and instead we get something better; but more often, it’s worse. About the only time the weather stops us is when we are sitting high and dry in the vehicle at a trail head while a storm rages on outside. Then there are those unique hikes, the ones done on sunny days after an overnight downpour, when you end up with soaking clothing in hot weather. You chafe, your boots get waterlogged, and you feel wet, yet hot and uncomfortable at the same time.

lots of this type of fog as we hiked the benches toward the summit block

Our trip to Hidden Peak (July 11th) was an example of uncooperative weather – that which changes for the worse when you need it most. Although we started our journey with the promise of good weather, it became much worse before we got to the good stuff.

Our route to Hidden Peak

Total Distance: 14.6 km
Starting Elevation: 276 m
Maximum Elevation: 1455 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1492 m
Total Time: 14 hours

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Redwall Peak

June 9th, 2019

~ submitted by Matthew Lettington

We started up the climber’s trail under overcast skies. The forest was warm and muggy, but the ground was dry, allowing us to move over the complex terrain quickly. At every step, we watched our footing, ensuring the roots, rock, moss and other debris didn’t cause us to lose our footing. 


As we climbed above 500 m, we met two men and a dog. They had overnighted at a muddy tarn and were on their way back down. After some conversation, they wished us well, and we continued our climb. 

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Rappel Workshop

June 4, 2019

~submitted by Matthew Lettington

Five members hit the rock wall at Piper’s Lagoon, on Tuesday night.

We spent three hours covering the basics of safe rappelling.

By evening’s end, each was shooting down the ropes to the pebble beach while the sun set behind us. 

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Mount Benson Project Work Party –Eroding Bank

On June 1st, a five-member crew hiked spent a little over five hours on the Mount Benson Project. We scheduled a short day to allow for members to join in the club BBQ, later that day. 

With a seemingly endless amount of work to be done the crew focused first on moving materials from the lower road to the eroding bank. Once positioned we spent the remainder of the day working at the eroding bank. 

After watching a few groups walk through the site we picked a route that is now the one route up through this section.

Before Pictures

The start of the day, this eroding slop sees traffic going every which way.

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East Sooke Park Hike

~ submitted by Quinn Park

May 4th, 2019

East Sooke Park is an amazing place that folks go to learn. They learn to hike, they learn to rock climb, slackline, they learn to navigate, and they learn about west coast beach ecosystems.


On this trip, on this corner of Vancouver Island, I tasked myself with learning to lead a trip. And it began before the trip with the logistics of organizing IMR members and non-members alike interested in the trip. On the morning of the hike, nervousness struck – what would I forget? First-aid kit? Sunscreen? Water? Did I forget to email anyone?


How funny the nervousness is. Is it pointless as nothing pertinent was left behind? Or is it a beast that helped me not to forget anything?

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