Living the best adventure life, since 1958
On January 29, 2022, we finally caught a break. After what seemed like weeks of rain, it relented for a Saturday of hiking through the Sooke bumps. I relied heavily on the beta provided by a friend who frequents the area in planning the trip. I trusted he would provide us with some good routes to highlight some of the best features. He didn’t disappoint!
December 20th turned out to be an awesome day for a hike. Thanks to those that ventured from Nanaimo and Victoria to join in.
We started at Kaspa Rd trailhead and hiked some trails then got onto the AWESOME trail, and that it was, with great views and a bench to sit on. We then took Field of Dreams to the far end and came on the Ridge trail, with great views. We had lunch in the sun and ventured our way back coming along side the Flower Reserve where only in a few months the flowers will be blooming.
Seven of us hiked from Chico Rd, Saturday, Feb. 5th. We started on the Blue, then yellow, then went up the cliffs to the Old Blue trail. We then headed Mary’s way (come follow me) and had lunch at Rainsford Lake. from there we headed back to the car, 11km and 700m elevation gain.
The forecast was quite grim for New Year’s Day. It called for overnight snow, light snow in the morning, and wind increasing throughout the day. Well there was no overnight snow which made access to the trailhead possible, it wasn’t snowing when we set out, and the wind and temperature were reasonable.
On January 15th, 2022, while Nanaimo lay under the oppressive dark typical of our Vancouver Island Winters, six members pierced through the cloud for an adventure in the sunshine!
January 23rd, I led 6 Island Mountain Ramblers, and 6 Outdoor Club of Victoria members, (I am a member of both); to a hike in the Gowlland Range.
The Gowlland Range is just east of Saanich Inlet and south of Brentwood Bay. I started at the Emma Dickson trailhead. We started in fog and even had some hail dropping on us, at times we got some sun. We were above the cloud, which made for beautiful views. I usually don’t take this many people, but I knew that on some of the trails I would take, we would not see anyone on them. It all worked out well.
–submitted by John Young; oroginally published on his blog
October 31, 2021
An Island Mountain Ramblers Excursion. What a beautiful Hike! We covered the almost 20 k in just over 5 hours, and we all loaded up our phones with great photos.
Great views right from the start below Skutz Falls
Maple Mountain Ramble on Jan 9th 2022, turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with freezing temperatures to start. From the nine we had in the group (some were from the OCV club) many had never started from the Southview trailhead.
January 8, 2022
After a flurry of early morning communications and a change in leader, five of us headed for Mt Elma on snowshoes from Raven Lodge. Although the parking lot was full, the trails were quiet. Fortunately someone had the same destination in mind and kindly broke trail for us. Conditions were ok with the temperature around minus 4, light snow, and light wind. The snow is quite deep and loose so it took some effort to get up to the summit ridge. Visibility was almost nil, but the windrifted snow and the mantled trees made the trip worthwhile.
