And so it was that on July 4, three adventuresome souls faced stifling heat and humidity, flies and bush, all in the name of tending to unfinished business: A successful summit of Volcano Peak.
A few patches of shrubs to wade through
Back before the year that never was, before anyone had heard the word COVID-19, Matthew, Phil and Karl completed a traverse of Wolf and Puzzle Mountains. On that trip, they wisely left Volcano for another day due to impending inclement weather. (Read More Here). Since that day in June 2019, the three mused about what it would take to return and tackle the the one we left unsummited.
Approach to the summit massif
Distance: 23.5 km
Starting Elevation: 262 m
Maximum Elevation:Â 1672 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1700 m
Total Time: 12 h
Though we had a weekend-epic trip to the seldom summit Malaspina Peak, the west coast weather forecast proved too poor to warrant the long drive. In light of the island-wide forecast for rain –in varying amounts–, we changed our plan. Instead of the metal testing steep snow slopes, we opted for something local, Mount Benson.
Phil and I have done the east ridge route more times than I care to admit, throughout the pandemic. Our route covers 18 km and around 1050 metres of elevation gain. It’s a route that we can whip off in three to four hours. However, I’ve found that the metrics of elevation and distance matter only as much as the time you spend on your feet. In this way, I’ve found that a 7 hour day spent covering only a quarter of the distance and elevation can feel like just as much work as a quick rip up Benson. To make the day worth the trip for some of the folks travelling from up and down island, I proposed that we take our heavy backpacks to add in some conditioning!
So we each came to the hike according to what we wanted from the day. I brought a 45-pound backpack loaded with household cleaners and drywall mud, others brought heavier mountaineering gear, and still others did not even bring a backpack because they wanted to be out front being chased down by the three silly guys that thought it would be a great idea to hike with heavy backpacks.
All in all it was an expectedly fine day! Instead of blustery rain showers, we had glorious moments in the sun. We reached the summit in three hours and spend a fine break on the summit proper. We all took note that our location might have been the only location with the sun. As we looked out to Protection Island, Ladysmith and out toward the Nanaimo Lakes, we could see the showers dumping all around.
What a day! Our group of six enjoyed a fine day on Mount Benson.
Six of us headed out on our trip to Mt. Prevost on Saturday. The weather said sun and cloud; we were all hoping to catch the beautiful views of the valley when we reached the summit. Fingers crossed! The wind was blowing with quite a bluster and it was lovely to get started by jumping quickly into the protection of the trees.
Mount Apps is one of my favourite short alpine hikes. Located in the Beaufort Range, it offers a beautiful ridge walk through alpine terrain. The roads have pushed so high up the ridge that you literally start the hike on the crest of the ridge – 4×4 permitting, and, weather.
It was a glorious day spent up Mount DeCosmos, November 8th. We had a group of 12 members out to enjoy the bright sun, cool air, and magnificent views.
The weather was rather gloomy when the group started, but the clouds stayed high and the rain held off for the four and a half hours we took to wander ridges, lakes, streams, and trails.
According to my Gaia GPS, we travelled just over 14k with a cumulative elevation gain of 660 m over about 6 hours. (The trail brochure erroneously says it’s a 1400 m elevation gain.)
Sunny as the day was, we had a chilly start and found a skiff of snow on the highest of the elevation. We moved at a quick pace along the ridge. Sticking to the boot track was tough at times, where the snow obscured the track, or where we got off route and waded through salal.
~ submitted by Jes Garceau; photography by Linda Fynes
How dare I! My first hike as a trip leader and almost three months later I am writing not only the trip report but handing in the participant list to the club for the records. Well, I suppose this year everyone has a built-in excuse for anything that has gone awry, right? As most club members are familiar with this hike I will spare the details of the route as it is well travelled and documented. What I would like to write about is what this first year of being a Rambler’s member has meant to me and how this was portrayed in my first leadership role. I realize this may sound like too big of a deal for the Judge’s Route, but for me this opportunity was a big deal. Organizing and leading an activity is a new experience for me and an area I would like to gain confidence in.
I was given the opportunity to lead my first hike when due to popular demand, Matthew’s group for Mt Arrowsmith became full. This opportunity gave me the chance to lead while having the safety net of an experienced leader along with me. As forewarned in an informative and light course of trip leading taught by Matthew, the biggest part of trip leading is the extensive pre-communication required about trip details as well as finalizing the ever-changing participant list. This club course gives you access to all of Matthew’s highly touted organizational tricks, tips and habits to help you succeed as a trip leader. After everything, the two full groups ended up Matthew’s and my family units and 4 additional club members.
