Living the best adventure life, since 1958
–submitted by LeaderJamai Schile
Prior to heading out on the trail we met up a few days in advance to chat about gear, packing tips and travel arrangements. Rick was very helpful in showing us how to shave off unnecessary weight in our packs and meal planning. Turn’s out that Rick is quite the backcountry camp chef and he passed on loads of tips on preparing dehydrated meals as well as how to make pizza on the trail!
-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.
–submitted by John Robertson
8 people met at the hike terminus, at Oyster Sto-Lo road, then piled into 2 cars for the drive to the trailhead, at Spruston Road. We had excellent weather, although a bit of atmospheric haze obscured the views slightly.
-submitted by Jessica Wilcox
Our trip started out a bit rocky as we had a bit of a miscommunication with meeting places. Port Renfrew has no service so that did not help either! We eventually started the trail in 2 separate groups and managed to find each other within the first 2 kms! It was all smooth sailing from there.
We had great weather and no rain, but the trail still had lots of mud! We also saw our fair share of wild life including bears! Our nights were nice and relaxing as Chloe brought her ukulele which was great around the bonfire! We also met tons of awesome people along the way. It was definitely a great place to spend Canada’s 150th birthday! Everyone brought their Canada day gear/red which got us tons of compliments along the way! couldn’t have asked for a better weekend with a great group of people!
Every year, Phil and Rick celebrate their birthday by hiking to a remote peak on Vancouver Island. It was as part of this tradition that in June 2017 Phil, Rick, Colleen, and I made an ill-fated attempt to summit Nine Peaks as a day trip. Seriously, what better way to celebrate your birthday than with a 40 km hike, including more than 3500 metres elevation gain, and all on a day when you didn’t sleep? I can’t imagine what could be better!
Total Distance: 24.8 km
Starting Elevation: 500 m
Maximum Elevation: 1866 m
Total Elevation Gain: 2045 m
Total Time: 16h 18 m
The trip was destined to fail from the start: the distance was too far, the elevation gain too much, and we were just too tired. We started the hike at shortly before 11:00 pm, after a full day of work and no sleep; not the ideal way to start a heroic (but otherwise possible) effort. Despite our ragged condition and the fact that we didn’t reach the summit, everything worked to our best advantage. We had clear night skies, warm breezes in the valley – warm enough that we hiked through the night in t-shirts! – and excellent snow conditions that allowed us to walk on the surface without post-holing.
Phil enjoying his moment in the sun
Continue reading “Big Interior Mountain: A Failed Attempt of Nine Peaks”
–submitted by Ken Warren
Twelve of us set off for Crest Mountain from the trailhead on the Gold River Highway. The forecast was for good weather and the sky was promising. The trail is well-designed and built, but gains 1100 meters in the first 5km. We didn’t hit snow until the 1400m elevation shortly before coming onto the plateau by the first tarn. The tarns are still 3/4 frozen with blue water pooling among the snow and ice. A forty minute hike in the snow from the tarn saw us gain another 100m and the cairn marked summit.
Continue reading “Crest Mountain: a Ridge Ramble success story!”
–submitted by Clarke Gourlay
1Trip went well with 6 of us, arrived to within 80m of summit (Donkey’s Back feature), but needed to belay from there and didn’t have enough time to finish and get back with all 6. As it was we had a 16 hour day car to car. Got beyond the bergshrund below the East Ridge by belaying lead climber over an ice bridge to test it.
On the approach down low (near valley bottom), we returned differently than we went up, and it was a mistake. As the approach trail (really an old decommissioned logging road) becomes VERY DENSE, turn up hill and proceed at 45 degrees to the hill in the same direction on a climb/traverse. Much easier than slogging through brush in the valley. All this could change as more logging is imminent.
Possible to do in a very long day, but we did not complete.
–submitted by Matthew Lettington, read the full report on his blog
Strathcona Park is a jewel nestled among many of the island’s tallest peaks. In many places, the long mountain ridges are the natural boundaries that define the shape of the park. All around the park, and sometimes within it, is evidence of industry: logging and mining change the landscape, and the juxtaposition of the two creates a dramatic, and obvious, delineation of the park boundary. Like it or not, these industries create roads that give access to some of the more obscure regions of the park, including the underappreciated northwest tip where Mount Judson (1750m) is located.
From some angles, Mount Judson looks intimidating. Bands of cliffs are clearly visible through pockets of dense forest, and on the skyline, steep snow slopes hide the true summit from view. For us, it was more than just a simple hike to the summit, but on June 11th our group rose to the challenge.
Total Distance:
Starting Elevation: 1200 m
Maximum Elevation: 1745 m
Elevation Gain: 1070 m
Total Time: 6 h 20 m
submitted by Mary Hof
Sunday June 11, 7 hikers signed up for Mt. Benson car shuttle doing the Outer route. After many emails making sure the car shuttle would work and we have enough cars, so no one had to wait, it worked out 100%.