Living the best adventure life, since 1958
September 18, 2021
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Misty Moriarty
We were a group of four, including Hemingway (now 8 years old), who braved the misty forest and cloud-drenched slopes of Mount Moriarty on September 18th. It’s been seven years since my last trip up these familiar slopes and along the rolling ridge. In that time, the route has become more defined, easier to follow.
Continue reading “Mount Moriarty”
–submitted by John Young; originally published on his blog
This is probably my favourite fall hike and this year didn’t disappoint! With light rain misting the foliage, the colours popped. So vibrant! And it sure made the kilometers (all 27.3 of them) melt away, and even after 9 hours the colours of Paradise Meadows slowed my mind when I looked at them.
I was glad, too, that we had two groups, with Bil’s group starting from Raven Lodge and our group starting at the old Forbidden ski area, thus eliminating the dreadful shuttle.
After about an hour, we were through the old ski resort and entered Strathcona Park
Continue reading “A Bounty of Colours on the Forbidden Plateau Traverse”
September 11th, 2021
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Heather Mountain is one of the many Vancouver Island hikes where the logging road approach far exceeds the distance on the trail proper. It’s a trip I do when nasty weather turns us away from more challenging objectives, and therefore one I do in the rain.
Continue reading “Heather Mountain”
August 28, 2021
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
Another fine day on the high ridges of Vancouver Island! Six members total participated in a traverse of Wesley Ridge on August 28th. This is a much-loved hike for the club and is one of the club’s Ridge Rambler objectives. Even though another leader led this route just a week prior, I led it again as a last-minute addition to the calendar when I cancelled a more complex trip.
August 16, 2021
~ submitted by Mary Hof
Maple Mountain Ramble was 12.8km and 850m elevation gain. I had 3 Ramblers, and 3 Outdoor Club members. We went to some parts of the mountain where others had not been.
August 21, 2021
~ submitted by Mary Hof
Today I led a hike for Island Mountain Ramblers to Mt. Horne, Mt Wesley and the whole Wesley Ridge. 1225m elevation gain, 17 km and just over 7 hours.
August 1, 2021
~ submitted by John Robertson
It was promising to be a hot day when 5 of us met at the trailhead at 9. We kept a good pace for the 2 or 3 kilometres to the point at which we entered the ravine via a steep and dusty descent.
Pogo Mountain falls inside the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks. When hiking in these tribal parks, consider making a donation to the Tribal Park Guardians as we did.
The Island’s backcountry isn’t immune to the sways of social media. It seems like every summer there’s a new fevered interest in some area or other. A while back, everyone and their dog wants to reach Century Sam, and this year’s flavour seems to be 5040. It’s not difficult to point to the cofactors that drive people to these places: FOMO, Moral Panic, and various social media play their role. But how does one place become “the place” in any given region/year? And, what I want to know is why hasn’t Pogo Mountain become one of those destinations?
Mount Leiner is a surprisingly spectacular mountain. The most common approach begins on the outer edge of Tahsis, climbs Leiner’s southwest ridge and meanders several kilometres through the bush toward the summit. Considering its relatively low elevation, it holds a surprisingly high alpine character once you get beyond the shrubs.
Leiner was a peak that we kept pushing off until “later”. But with an ever-shortening list of mountains remaining on our Island Alpine Quest, we’ve been faced with the reality that “later” is now. In Leiner’s case, we pushed it off because it’s located in Tahsis, making it too long a drive, and we had too many questions about a longer route to make it doable in a day. Heck! After we posted the trip to the Island Mountian Rambler’s schedule, Tahsis’ mayor reached out to warn us that he took three days to reach the summit and back. Obviously not a good omen, but along with his warning, we got a hot tip: A nearby logging road cuts as much as 5 km into the Leiner River valley – food for thought?
Total Distance: 8 km
Starting Elevation: 686 m
Maximum Elevation: 1468 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1086 m
Total Time: 7 hours
