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 …
Keeha Bay Family Backpacking Trip
In recent years, it’s become part of my New Year’s ritual to sit down and plan a year of adventure. It does take some finger-crossing, regarding annual precipitation and seasonal snow, but I’d rather do that than miss out on a chance to get out of the house. This year, …
Zeballos Peak 2, A Successful Boogaloo
View PostZeballos Peak Exploration
View PostMount Olsen
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 …
Mount Elma with Octavia
Dear Octavia, We don’t often get a whole day together for just the two of us. Typically, the entire family goes on our adventures, or at the very least it’s you, Hemingway, and me. In fact, that was the original arrangement, for you both to come with me –and 12 …
Stevens Peak, A Mountain of False Summits
View PostHeather Mountain Hustle
When the weather turned to crap on October 28th, we abandoned our plan to summit Steven Peak in the Tlupana Range and turned our eyes to something much closer to home: Heather Mountain. You may be surprised to read that I haven’t done this common south island hike, but the …
Gemini Mountain: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
On my journey to summit all the peaks on my Island Alpine Quest, I don’t often find time to hike a mountain more than once, but when I do, it’s because I’m hiking with my children. On October 27, I led a group of ten that included Hemingway and Octavia …
Mount Roberts
Winter 2018 took its sweet time arriving on Vancouver Island. Many Vancouver Islanders eagerly watched the forecast as they tuned their skis and took stock of their winter gear. I too anticipated a beautiful winter pursuing adventure in the white stuff. Yet, by late October we were still waiting for …