If you think of fall hiking, you are probably picturing strolling through a beautiful maple forest with red and gold leaves everywhere. That kind of scene is quintessentially autumn, but it’s kind of an East Coast cliche. We don’t have much of that near Vancouver. What we do have, however, is a pretty unique fall sight: the Frosty Mountain larches in Manning Park. These rare coniferous trees look like a regular pine tree until fall. And then… BOOM! They turn…
Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice thanks to its many glaciers and volcanoes. And in Iceland you can actually go INSIDE the glaciers by taking an ice…
I do a LOT of hiking around Vancouver. I’ve hiked pretty much every trail that exists within an hour of the city. (And some that don’t exist… or used to exist……
Summer is the best time to hike: the snow has melted, the flowers are blooming and the skies are blue. But unfortunately that also means it can often get ridiculously hot.…
We’ve all heard this advice: “Make sure you are prepared. Check trail conditions online before you go.” But what’s the easiest way to find trail conditions for Vancouver? Where can you…
There’s something special about hiking and camping on an isolated west coast with nothing between you and Japan but the wild Pacific Ocean. Shi Shi Beach in Washington’s Olympic National Park…
I have eaten a LOT of pre-packaged backpacking meals in my days (and nights) on the trail. Unfortunately most of them are full of ingredients I can’t pronounce and don’t recognize.…
A few weeks ago, I drove to Port McNeill on Vancouver Island to take a wilderness survival course. It was a 2 day introductory course aimed at beginners. I’m not a…
If you’ve been shopping for hiking or backpacking gear recently, you may have noticed some women’s specific gear. I’m not talking about clothing or shoes (obviously we need those)… I’m talking…
Did you know trail mix is over 100 years old? According to Wikipedia, hikers have been eating a mix of nuts and dried fruit on the trail since at least 1913!…
