Living the best adventure life, since 1958
September 18, 2021
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Misty Moriarty
We were a group of four, including Hemingway (now 8 years old), who braved the misty forest and cloud-drenched slopes of Mount Moriarty on September 18th. It’s been seven years since my last trip up these familiar slopes and along the rolling ridge. In that time, the route has become more defined, easier to follow.
Continue reading “Mount Moriarty”
August 28, 2021
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Another fine day on the high ridges of Vancouver Island! Six members total participated in a traverse of Wesley Ridge on August 28th. This is a much-loved hike for the club and is one of the club’s Ridge Rambler objectives. Even though another leader led this route just a week prior, I led it again as a last-minute addition to the calendar when I cancelled a more complex trip.
August 21, 2021
~ submitted by Mary Hof
Today I led a hike for Island Mountain Ramblers to Mt. Horne, Mt Wesley and the whole Wesley Ridge. 1225m elevation gain, 17 km and just over 7 hours.
Pogo Mountain falls inside the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks. When hiking in these tribal parks, consider making a donation to the Tribal Park Guardians as we did.
The Island’s backcountry isn’t immune to the sways of social media. It seems like every summer there’s a new fevered interest in some area or other. A while back, everyone and their dog wants to reach Century Sam, and this year’s flavour seems to be 5040. It’s not difficult to point to the cofactors that drive people to these places: FOMO, Moral Panic, and various social media play their role. But how does one place become “the place” in any given region/year? And, what I want to know is why hasn’t Pogo Mountain become one of those destinations?
July 7th, 2021
~ submitted by John Young
Great views once again from the Horne Lake Shuffle!
Andrew and I only saw two other hikers. About 6 hours return, with a relaxed lunch break.Â
November 14th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
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.
What a great hike!
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.)
Continue reading “Remembering the Alberni Inlet Trail – Stage 1 – November 11, 2020”
October 24th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
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.
Continue reading “Wesley Ridge: Showdown on the Summit”
August 9th, 2020
~ 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.
October 17th, 2020
~ submitted by Ken Warren
Six of us set off from the Ships Creek trailhead on a cool and overcast Saturday morning. The trail is in excellent condition and is still quite dry. We paused at the first lookout which can give views stretching from Mount Marks to the Comox Glacier, but the clouds had dropped low enough to conceal any mountain presence.
Continue reading “Alberni Inlet Trail – Stage I”