When I’m stuck inside, it sometimes feels like I won’t ever break free and get outside! If you’re passionate like I am, you probably feel the same. Now that I’ve added two kids to the equation, it’s even more difficult to balance the time between my family obligations and my …
Mt. Cain –The Long Way Around
Being focused on an objective is a great way to track progress and remember to celebrate when you achieve a goal. But sometimes, I get so focused on the objective that I forget about everything that goes into making the day a success. On January 22nd, I had a good …
Mt Grey, another in a growing list of failed summit attempts
Mount Grey is a lovely hike through old-growth alpine fir and along a treed alpine ridge, up to a summit that offers great views of the Alberni Inlet. My Mount Grey trip had two portions of adventure: the cold from an arctic outflow, and the ride home. On January …
2017 Kicking off the year of family adventure
A large group of Island Mountain Ramblers and guests assembled in the parking lot of Raven lodge, mid-morning of January 7th. The wind in the parking lot was frigid and the thermometer in my car read temperatures close to -10 C. In keeping with many of the family/novice snowshoe trips I lead, I …
2017: The year for adventure!
View PostMount Spencer: The Great Congo Line of December 2016
I’ll cut to the chase– we didn’t make the summit of Mount Spencer. Of course, as with most of my stories, the devil’s in the details. On December 18th, Vancouver Island was deep in a colder-than-normal shoulder season. The day held a forecast for overcast skies and precipitation. Further, the …
Snowshoeing on Mount Milner
The name “Mount Milner” is unfamiliar to most Vancouver Island hikers. Hidden deep in the Prince of Wales Range, it’s not a well-known mountain. The rocky peak sits high above the connecting ridge that forms the Prince of Wales Range, and is only visible from deep in the valleys, from …
Marmot Mountain
As I write this, I’m drinking a hot chocolate to warm my belly and ease the dull ache of dissatisfaction that’s buzzing in the back of my head. Today, we took a shot at Mount Marmot. Unfortunately, the steep slopes and powdery snow proved too much for the short time we had. …
Trio Mountain
–photographs by Phil Jackson (thank you) Vancouver Island’s backcountry is bristling with mountains, most of which are unknown to the average person. Many of these peaks don’t have local names, or even official names! Trio Mountain falls into this unknown category. Even though it’s only a few kilometers from Gold River, it’s seldom visited. …
Alexandra Peak: The Last Snowshoe of the Season
In search of what is sure to be our final snowshoe trip of the season, I set out on a mission with three other Island Mountain Ramblers. We braved a long logging road approach up Buttle Bluffs Mainline to reach camp for our summit of Alexandra Peak the next day. …