Tag: John Young

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6th Annual Fall Frolic — Ramble through Linley Valley

–Submitted by Matthew Lettington

The fall hiking season is well underway. The weekend of September 24th there were four events on the Island Mountain Ramblers’ schedule.

Saturday, John Young led a group of 6 Island Mountain Ramblers through Linley Valley.

The day was cool but nothing more than the dew of the early morning graced the hikers as they walked about 5 kilometres along the meandering trails. We visited Cottle Lake and two look outs before making our way back to the cars.

After the hike everyone feasted on the delicious fair brought be each hiker. Conversations ranged from what we were busy doing all summer to which hikes the club may put on in the future.

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Cruikshank Canyon

— Submitted by John Young
The day turned out much better than we’d expected. It was raining on the
drive up, but we just had some light mist on the hike, and by the end of it,
the sun actually came out. Although the views weren’t there (couldn’t see
Cruikshank Canyon at all!), the fall colours were wonderful, and the many
mushrooms were dazzling. A lovely seven hour jaunt around Paradise!

View full album… 
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Klitsa Mountain

— Submitted by John Young
Had perfect weather for the June 20th Klitsa Mountain Hike, although the road couldn’t have been any dustier! Our three 4×4’s made it up as far as we could go on the old spur off of Nahmint Main, and our group of 9 started hiking at 9:40. After 1/2 hour walking up the washed-out road, we then entered the old growth on the Brook George trail. A beautiful walk through the forest, and then broke out of the trees after another 1/2 hour, and soon we had views of surrounding peaks, valleys, and lakes. We meandered our way up, reaching the summit about 1:40, where we sighted a ptarmigan. After a leisurely lunch, we started down, and spotted a grouse and chick, and reached the cars about 5 p.m. Great outing! 

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Mt Tzouhalem — Hike & Flower Hunt

–Submitted by John Young

Another lovely jaunt up beautiful Mt. Tzouhalem. Picturesque clouds in the morning, and then cleared off, and warmed up in the afternoon. Spent a little extra time wandering around the bike trails, making it a 6 hour outing, including many breaks. Many other people up at the cross enjoying the great view. Some flowers out, and fresh growth on the Garry Oak was beautiful. 

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Maude Island

— Submitted by John Young

As planned, we caught the 9:20 ferry from Campbell River, under mostly sunny skies, and started hiking just before 10 a.m.  A very quiet day on the trail, as we didn’t see any other hikers! We made good time, even if we did take a wrong turn at the end of Morte Lake and traversed the logging roads for about an hour before getting back on the trail. We still had time, though, to enjoy the splendid view from Maude Island overlooking Seymour Narrows,  and I still marvelled at the moss-festooned trees en route and the wonderful views from the bluffs nearing Maude Island and of Morte Lake. We returned to the trailhead about 4:20, and with the next ferry departing at 5:50, Ken drove like a rally driver and we made it with time to spare. 
 
Another wonderful outing to Maude Island. 
 

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Puntledge River

— Submitted by John Young
What
had been scheduled as a snowshoe, ended up being a most enjoyable hike along
the Puntledge River, starting at Stotan Falls and up to the damn at Comos Lake
and back the other side, and in temperatures that seemed almost summer like! We
ambled along, stopping occasionally for Ken Rodonets to inform us of the
industrial history of the area. We rambled for about 5 1/2 hours, and it was
great to get acquainted with a few prospective members. Thanks, Ken, for a most
enjoyable hike. 

Island Mountain Ramblers hiking the Puntledge River in Courtenay

Island Mountain Ramblers hiking the Puntledge River in Courtenay

Island Mountain Ramblers hiking the Puntledge River in Courtenay

Island Mountain Ramblers hiking the Puntledge River in Courtenay
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Novice Snowshoe!? Really!?

–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!

View full album of 15 images…

Total Distance: 5km
Starting Elevation:1087 m
Maximum Elevation 1365 m
Total Elevation Gain: 302 m
Time: 4 hours

Ken, still smiling!

never miss a moment to catch a photograph!

The route down
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Mt Arrowsmith’s Judge’s Route — First Hike of the Year!

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.

Chute leading toward the summit
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.

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Christie Falls, Thistle Mine via Camus Ridge

–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! 


Matthew Lettington also submitted a trip report, read his on his blog.

View the full album…

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Wilderness First Aid Recap

The Wilderness First Aid Course put on by Ridge Wilderness was a huge success. We had 11 participants, 8 Ramblers and 3 non-members. The weather cooperated, and we were able to enjoy the outside portion of the course. 

We’re thinking of doing the 20 hour Advanced Wilderness First Aid Supplement for anyone who took the basic course last January or this November. If interested in that, you can contact John Young.