Living the best adventure life, since 1958
-Submitted by Ken Warren
-Photographs submitted by Deb Adams & Bil Derby
On Saturday March 14th eight of us set out from Morrell Sanctuary to tackle Benson from the south-east ridge. The forecast was for rain easing to showers with a probability of wind and a possibility of sun. It did rain, but it slowed as the morning went by. At Roberts Roost the views were starting to show, although it still looked socked in over in Whymper’s direction where the other club hike was happening. [As it turns out, the Whymper trip was cancelled do to a really terrible weather forecast]
The day continued to improve to the soundtrack of the rising wind as we worked our way upward along the rocky ridges and old growth with occasional views to the north and south. We did take an unintended side trip adding 35 minutes to our ascent, but I’ll mark that up to exploration. At the four hour mark approaching the summit we wondered what was making such incredible noise. With the communications towers in sight we realized it was the wind screaming through the masts and the guy wires. We tarried at the summit only long enough to claim completion before backtracking to the road and having lunch and enjoying the views in the sheltered area below the flag.
Taking the Te’tuxtw’tun trail down and onto the roads, we passed the Cougar Bluff Loop and descended the old trails through the switchbacks, arriving at the base of the Westwood Ridges trails. We headed right towards Morrell completing the hike there in 7 ¼ hours.
Well… to be fair, not all of it.
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| Climbing through the woods to get to McKay Peak |
This past Saturday, March 7th 2015, I joined my hiking club The Island Mountain Ramblers for a hike in the Nanaimo Lakes Region. Thirteen hikers hit the road at the not-too-early time of 7 am. We accessed our route via Spruceston road (remember to honk before passing under the trestle). At the end of the Spruceton, turn left onto Timberlands and soon a quick right onto McKay Lake FSR. We were lucky to find the gate open. For security, we left a vehicle on the exit side of the gate, in case we returned to find the gate closed and locked.
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| GPS Route with photographic annotation |
Horizontal Distance: 8.5 km
Starting Elevation: 650 m
Maximum Elevation: 1260 m
Elevation Gain: 700 m
Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
–Submitted by Dean WilliamsThere were eight of us on the hike Saturday, we got going about 9:15, stopped for a break at the tower lookout, carried on to the second rocky lookout for lunch about noon, and headed down and were back to the cars at 2:20. We stopped for a coffee and a chat on the way home and all in all it was another great day to be outside, with the weather treating us to a perfect day and wonderful views all round.
–Submitted by John Young
–Photographs by Matthew Lettington & Bil Derby
The Introduction to Snowshoeing for Novices quickly morphed into an intermediate outing due to the sketchy snow conditions. With 23 of us setting out from Raven Lodge, we split into two groups, with Matt helping to lead the other group. I had decided to head uphill from Raven Lodge, reasoning that the snow would be better higher up, and it would be easier to navigate in the fog going uphill and then descending.
It was tough going up the slope north of Raven Lodge, however, because the hill, while usually almost bare of trees, was festooned with trees and sloppy snow, resulting in us plunging past our knees in the sodden mess. The going, and the weather, did improve as we went along, though, and the sun almost broke through. And coming down was pleasant in places, where there was enough snow. It was a really nice group to go out with, and I hope we get more snow!
Total Distance: 5km
Starting Elevation:1087 m
Maximum Elevation 1365 m
Total Elevation Gain: 302 m
Time: 4 hours
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| Ken, still smiling! |
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| never miss a moment to catch a photograph! |
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| The route down |
Arrowsmith is, arguably, the most hiked mountain on Vancouver Island. I’m sure there are other hills that are more commonly hiked, Mt. Bension, Mt. Finlayson and even Mt. Tzouhalem come to mind. However, they are each below 1000 m. Arrowsmith, at 1819 m (5967 ft), is just short of the magic 6k figure that would put it on the illustrious list of 6000 footers on Vancouver Island. Regardless, I consider Mt. Arrowsmith a great day hike. It offers multiple routes for those that are interested in varying degrees of challenge.
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| Chute leading toward the summit |
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| GPS Route with 30 Photographs |
Total Distance: 7 km
Starting Elevation: 745 m
Maximum Elevation: 1819 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1100 m
Time: 6.5 hours
January 3rd, I joined the Island Mountain Ramblers, on the first hike of the year! In total 13 hikers, gathered to make the winter ascent of the commonly hiked Judges Route. Trail Peak has a good description of the route and detailed information about the hike.
–Submitted by John Young
9 of us had a wonderful 5-hour ramble to Camus Ridge, Thistle Mine, and Christie Falls, thanks to the amiable guidance of John Wells.There was a lot of logging road travel, some on the Trans Canada Trail, but the above-named attractions more than made up for it. The mine shaft isn’t long, but is interesting, with traces of ore veins in the rocks and rails still in the tunnels. The falls were quite spectacular, even when they weren’t going full bore. I’d like to go back when they’re full! We did see, too, a wonderful canyon in Bush Creek festooned in ferns, an old cabin, and some experimental forests. The only downer was the abundance of garbage at the trailhead!
