Timberline Tales

Posted on

Tahsis Mountain – Ramblers trip 20190511

–submitted by Ramsay Dyer

The Ramblers trip to Malaspina Peak was disrupted on Saturday morning by a large Grand Fir that had laid to rest across the Canton West Main, a few kilometres before where we wanted to go. I hadn’t thought to throw my saw into the truck, but cutting it up will be a fairly big project anyway. We did briefly try to pull it out of the way, but no.

So we decided to go for Tahsis Mountain. When we did Santiago the previous week, we got a look at the approach that Lindsay had taken from the same area to ascend Tahsis Mountain. This seems to involve a fair bit of road walking and bush now, so taking the alternative route, ascending in the Malaspina drainage, that I’d explored previously had some appeal. I guess I’d kinda forgotten that that also involved a fair bit of road walking and bush (probably considerably more).

Continue reading “Tahsis Mountain – Ramblers trip 20190511”

Posted on

Mt. Tzouhalem Ridge and Flower Reserve

~ submitted by Mary Hof

April 17, 2019

Mt Tzouhalem ridge walk and flower reserve did not disappoint.

I was celebrating 25 years of hiking and belonging to the Cowichan hikers. Mt Tzouhalem was the first hike I did, and was also the first hike I led.

It was a great day for a hike. Thanks to Ronna for the many pictures. It was a wonderful day.

Posted on

Santiago Mountain: A Verticle Bushwack

–-submitted by Matthew Lettington; originally published on explorinton.com

Santiago Mountain rises from the shores of Tahsis Inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. From its summit, you can see some of the best views of Nootka Island, Tahsis Inlet, and some of the island’s most prominent peaks. Yet, for all its selling points, Santiago Mountain sees very few summits. At 1485 metres, this bushy peak’s summit barely reaches the alpine, but still includes enough tree-climbing, exposed scrambling, exposed tree climbing, and long, steep snow slopes to deter most island mountaineers from catching the views. How many have done so is a matter of debate: there’s no summit register to document the ascents –probably not worth it—and in our research we could only find one trip report, the evidence of at least one other via a rusted aerosol can on the summit, and shared word-of-mouth about one other person to successfully summit.

hiking on Vancouver Island's Santiago Mountain: A Vertical Bushwhack
Brooke and Ramsay, on the down route from Santiago Mountain

Distance: 12.5 km
Starting Elevation: 458 m
Maximum Elevation: 1292 m
Total Elevation Gain: 882 m
Total Time: 10 hours

Continue reading “Santiago Mountain: A Verticle Bushwack”

Posted on

Zeballos Peak 2, A Successful Boogaloo

–SUBMITTED BY MATTHEW LETTINGTON; ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON EXPLORINGTON.COM

After an insulting first attempt on Zeballos Peak–one that saw us practically thrown off the mountain and selecting an alternate route back to the car for fear of avalanche and falling rock– we used one of our open weekends to make a second attempt on the peak.

Rishi and the Haihte Range in behind, getting ready for the fastest glissade of his life!

It was only six weeks after our first trip, but on the 28th of April, the snow on the south-facing slope had considerably retreated. Although we had several route options for ascending, including the one we used to come down on our first trip, we opted to stick to the ascent route we tried on the first trip, because the cornices were long gone.

Zeballos Peak Route

Total Distance: 7.3 km
Starting Elevation: 442 m
Maximum Elevation: 1584 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1229 m
Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes

Continue reading “Zeballos Peak 2, A Successful Boogaloo”

Posted on

Hemingway completes his 20-Hikes Club Objective

Congratulations go out to Hemingway Leong-Lettington for completing hist 20 hikes objective.
 
Though you’ve joined many more than 20 days worth of trips, you finally completed your twentieth trip under your own power. From the 30 kilometres and 1750 metres of elevation gain over three days when we went to Mount Philips, to Westwood Ridges daytrips, you’re an accomplished hiker for someone that isn’t yet six.
Enjoy your next twenty!

 
 
Posted on

Mount Olsen

–submitted by Matthew Lettington; originally published on explorington.com

While some mountains are heinous bushwhacks, and others require long logging road approaches, Mount Olsen is none of these. All along the Corrigan Main the land is laid waste by heavy logging, and the myriad of logging roads crisscross the slope creating a maze of roads that push high up the side of the mountain. Although we came ready for a long slog along snow-covered roads, we discovered the roads clear; a benefit of an early spring heatwave.

one short butt slide

Mount Olsen Route

Total Distance: 5.9 km
Starting Elevation: 816 m
Maximum Elevation: 1293 m
Total Elevation Gain: 544 m
Total descent: 557 m
Total Time: 4 hours, 44 minutes
Continue reading “Mount Olsen”

Posted on

Mount Benson Trail Project — Area Survey

On Saturday, March 30th a small group of Ramblers and guests took a few hours to hike the Mount Benson trail. Our goal was to survey the area that we are designated to work in, describe the type of work that needs to be done, and examine what the winter rage has wrought.

Happily, the snow has receded, revealing the ground and making it easy to see the work we still need to do. The work falls into four categories, requiring three different types of skills to complete.
On Saturday, March 30th a small group of Ramblers and guests took a few hours to hike the Mount Benson trail. Our goal was to survey the area that we are designated to work in, describe the type of work that needs to be done, and look at what the winter has wrought.

Continue reading “Mount Benson Trail Project — Area Survey”