Covid 19 Challenge

This award was retired at the end of 2021. Congratulations to those who stuck with it!

2020 took everyone by surprise, and 2021 still has a lot of uncertainty for the club’s schedule. Whatever the next Public Health Order may bring, we want to offer a series of micro-adventures that will inspire our members to stay active. Be it on solo adventures, trips with non-club members or –eventually– club trips, the Covid 19 challenge provides a series of achievable goals.

Goal: Complete any 19 of the 33 achievements from the lists below

Timeline:  Complete these achievements between January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021

Reward: Bragging rights, participating in your community, club swag, and a club crest (TBDesigned).

What we hope you do: Keep active and have fun. We’d love to see pictures of your activities so we can share them with the club. You can share online on Island Mountain Ramblers Connect, or send them to pastpresident@islandmountainramblers.com and Matthew can share them out.

Individual Achievements

Get outside and get active! Participate in your regular activities and keep track of your progress. You may claim each achievement in this section once. To make things more sporting, each item in this section should be done on a different hike.

For example, if you hike to Bedwell Lake for the first time, swim in the lake and camp under the stars, you could claim ONE of the following: Hike in the rain for at least three hours, swim in an alpine lake, hiked at least 10 km on a trail that is new to me,  or participate in an overnight backpacking trip.

  • Learn a new skill or take a course, and put the skill into practice (for example hanging a bear cache, navigating by GPS, take a First Aid or navigation course)
  • Read an adventure book (fiction or non-fiction), or an adventure’s  biography
  • Hike in the rain for at least three hours
  • Participate in at least 4 hours of trail maintenance or building, climbing route development or maintenance
  • Swim in an alpine lake
  • Participate in a B3 (or worse) bushwhack, of at least an hour (see BW rating here http://www.alpenglow.org/themes/subalpine/brush-ratings.html)
  • Participate in a Snowshoe trip
  • Participate in a hike that was at least 6 hours
  • Participate in an overnight backpacking trip
  • Hike to and stand on the summit of any official mountain (listed in the BC Geographic Naming Database)
  • Hike at least 10 km on a trail that was new to me
  • Complete a hike where I provide the navigation, relying only on map and compass for direction
  • Complete a day hike longer than 15 km
  • Complete a day hike longer than 20 km
  • Complete 15 kilometres of cross country or backcountry skiing, or 10 of paddling, or complete 30 kilometres of bike riding
  • Watch the sunrise from the top of a mountain or ridge
  • Watch the sunset from the top of a mountain or ridge
  • Complete any one objective on the Ridge Rambler Objective list (for 2021 these objectives can be done as individuals or with members of your bubble)

Cumulative Goals

Wherever you find adventure, keep track of your data. As we move through the year you’ll find that the distance and elevation gain adds up! In this section, you spend your accumulated totals to claim the highest achievement you qualify for.  By the end of the year, if you’ve hiked 250 kilometres you can claim the first distance goal. If by the end of the year you’ve hiked 500 kilometres, you can claim only the 500 kilometre goal. If you reach 750 kilometres, you can claim the 500 and the 250. Similarly, if you hiked 1250, you could claim the 1000 km and the 250 achievements.

  • Accumulate 250 kilometres of hiking
  • Accumulate 500 kilometres of hiking
  • Accumulate 1000 kilometres of hiking
  • Accumulate 2000 kilometres of hiking
  • Accumulate more than 5000 metres elevation gain
  • Accumulate more than 10000 metres of elevation gain
  • Accumulate more than 20000 metres of elevation gain

Virtual Day Hikes

Virtual day hikes are achieved by completing single day totals. If you complete a 24 km hike with 1400 metres elevation gain, you may claim any ONE of the virtual hikes one time. If you do the same distance and elevation gain again, you can claim an alternate achievement. The idea here is that you could visit Westwood lake and complete several loops of the lake in one day to achieve the distance and elevation totals. Keep in mind your distance and elevation totals accumulate toward your total calculation.

  • Virtual Mount Cokely: complete any single day hike of at least 9 km and 650 metres elevation gain
  • Virtual Wesley Ridge: complete a single day hike of at least 12 km and 1000 metres elevation gain
  • Virtual Judges Route: complete any single day hike of at least 7 km and 1100 metres elevation gain
    Virtual Mount 5040: complete a single day hike of a least 7 km and 950 metres elevation gain
  • Virtual El Capitain Mountain: complete any day single hike of at least 24 km and 1400 metres elevation gain
  • Virtual Mount Albert Edward: complete any day single hike of at least 32 km and 1900 metres elevation gain

Virtual Treks:

Virtual treks may be cumulative achievements. Once you complete 44 km of hiking for the Virtual Cape Scott, those could also be used toward the total of the Virtual West Coast Trail. Achievements are more like stops along the way if you follow my meaning.

  • Virtual Cape Scott: Completed 44 km of hiking, walked through calf-deep mud or water and slept in a tent, did a day of hiking in the rain
  • Virtual Trek to the Golden Hinde: Completed 5200 metres of accumulated vertical elevation gain, and 60 kilometres of hiking
  • Virtual West Coast Trail: Completed 76 km of hiking, walked through calf-deep mud or water, accumulated 2300 metres elevation gain, did two days of hiking in the rain
  • Virtual John Muir Trail: Complete 343 km of hiking, accumulated 14000 metres elevation gain

Some of the Swag