November 11th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
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.
Continue reading “Mount DeCosmos”November 11th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
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.
Continue reading “Mount DeCosmos”November 1st, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
A more perfect day in the mountains will be hard to achieve when one’s comparison is the November 1st trip to Gemini Mountain. This was my third trip to the peaks but by far the most splendid.
Continue reading “Gemini Mountain (Ridge Rambler Objective)”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”October 25th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
It was a chilly mid-morning start for the club trip up Green Mountain. With the popularity of the trip, we hiked as three groups, departing several minutes apart. Although covered in a skiff of snow, the well-worn boot track was easy to follow.
Continue reading “Green Mountain”It was a chilly mid-morning start for the club trip up Green Mountain. With the popularity of the trip, we hiked as three groups, departing several minutes apart. The well-worn boot track was easy to follow even though it was covered in a skiff of snow.
–submitted by Matthew Lettington; originally published on explorington.com
Call it our wedding anniversary, the final weekend before school, an early celebration of Octavia’s birthday, or just Labour Day; on September long weekend, I led a group of families on a traverse of Strathcona Park.

I’ve hiked the route between Raven Lodge and the Old Forbidden Plateau ski lodge on two previous occasions. Each time, I vowed to return to do it as an overnighter. Though a bit of a longer route, it meanders Forbidden Plateau with very few steep climbs; a fit group can complete it in about nine hours. In terms of a hiking route, there are very few like it on Vancouver Island. So when the question, “what to do as a family trip for our various celebrations in the face of COVID 19?” arose, I proposed doing the traverse as a family trip.
Continue reading “Paradise Meadows to Wood Mountain: A Family Traversing”
Congratulations to Matthew Lettington (HEY! That’s me!). On Saturday, August 29, he (me, no I) successfully summited his (my) fifteenth of the twenty objectives from the Lifetime Climbing Objectives list.Â
Continue reading “Silver Level –Lifetime Climbing Objective — Matthew Lettington”
Sutton Peak is one of Vancouver Island’s illustrious 6000 footers. It’s a destination that I frequently poke Phil about doing; since he first summited – without me—back in 2016. Aside from its height, this route’s sparkling feature is the long west ridge that leads mountaineers to seek this summit.
No GPS Track Available
Total Distance: 15 km
Starting Elevation: 1094 m
Maximum Elevation: 1870 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1511 m
Total Duration: 8 h 30 min
July 5, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Four of us braved a spotty forecast to hike Douglas Peak. Instead of patches of sunlight, the four of us hiked up the logging road to its terminus and then headed into the bush for a few hours of light bushwhacking to the old-growth summit.

June 27, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
On June 27, under dark grey skies, six club members set off to trim out the Sno Bird Trail between K-15 branch and the verdant meadow on the west side of the Green Mountain massif.
Continue reading “Green Mountain sub-summit and trail work”