Success is a subjective feeling, and sometimes it comes from the smallest accomplishments. Even though my family has completed several multi-day backpacking and kayaking adventures– including some amazing ones this past summer– it wasn’t until I took the kids on my own that I really experienced the rush that …
Mount Phillips Family Backpacking Trip
I struggle to find a balance between work, play, and family. When it comes to my annual vacation, I pack in as much playtime as I can, and this means I often leave my family at home while I’m off on an adventure. With my busy schedule, sometimes I’m unpacking …
Augerpoint Traverse: And Then There Was Ten
View PostConuma Peak: Bush, Bluffs and Bugs
Conuma Peak has been on my must-climb bucket list since I learned that it features a large arch in the side of the mountain–the largest on any of the mountains on the island. Conuma is the second peak in the Tlupana Range that I’ve climbed, and offers views of many …
Tapaltos & Cape Beale: A First Family Backpack
Dear Octavia (22 months) and Hemingway (five years), Taking the whole family on a backpacking trip is a significant milestone, and it was an excellent way for all of us to spend two days together in the middle of July. Getting everyone involved with the adventure is exciting, but I …
Eden Mountain: Gully Grovelling and Needle Threading
Eden Mountain is a high point among a series of bumps that form an aesthetic ridge in the Genesis Range. Like many peaks in the region, it’s seldom summited, has little in the way of trip report beta, and is nestled among a series of twisting logging roads. The trip …
Crown Mountain: a Canada Day-Trip
View PostNine Peaks, The Jewel of Strathcona Park
On June 23rd & 24th 2018, I was one of five Island Mountain Ramblers who summitted Nine Peaks, located on the southern boundary of Strathcona Park. It earns its name from the nine distinct peaks that rise out of the Beauty Glacier, forming a line that runs along a northwest …
Mount Abraham, Easy Scrambling
In the past three years, I’ve summited more than one hundred peaks on my list, and I’ve categorized them based on their type – which makes it easier to make recommendations to friends. When it comes to aesthetic ridge scrambles on Vancouver Island, Mount Abraham is among the best; for …
Hiking Between the Peaks in the Genesis Range: A Failed Attempt at Mount Abraham
It’s great having a regular group of friends to hike with. From week to week, the members of the group may change, but each person comes to be someone on whom I can rely. It’s more important that they are consistent and always improving than that they are the best at …