additional photo contributions by Jes Garceau 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 …
Mount Hall: A Lookout Over Effingham Inlet
View PostSteamboat Mountain via the Zipline
Steamboat Mountain rises prominently on the north side of Highway Four; you may have spotted the prow, a feature on the east end of the summit ridge, on a drive to Tofino. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like up there, it’s incredible! It’s also a problem that took me …
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, …
Mount 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 …
Patlicant Mountain: Really, Just Checking This One Off
If I take a moment to assess the remaining objectives on my Island Alpine Quest, I have no doubt that many of them will be challenging. Some require grueling multi-day bushwhacks, canoe/kayak approaches, or fly-ins, and some of them will require roped-up climbing. Patlicant Mountain, however, requires none of these things. …
Green Mountain: A Fall Hike Near Nanaimo
On October 14th, I led a small group of Island Mountain Ramblers on a relaxed hike to Green Mountain. Octavia (25 months old) and Hemingway (5 years old) came with us to enjoy the day, and they were the primary reason for the pace. The weather was perfect. The frost from …
Mount Maitland: A Hike for People Who Don’t Want to Be Clean
Wet. It was wet. It was very wet. This doesn’t even come close to describing how wet we were by the end of the day. It was the kind of day where any effort or equipment used to contravene the water would result in failure; so, we left our raingear …
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 …