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 …
Hiking
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… or I maybe was taking a short cut? But that’s a whole other story.) My readers often ask me to recommend a hike when …
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. I’m really heat-sensitive, but I always want to go hiking even if it’s way too warm out. After years of experience (and some not-so-awesome …
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 find up to date info on what the trails are like? How do you know if there is still tons of snow, if there …
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 gives you that experience, and it’s a short and easy hike to get there. I’ve made several trips to Shi Shi Beach since the …
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 about backpacks, sleeping bags and more. Often this stuff seems to follow the same tired formula: “Shrink it and pink it”. Brands make the …
Recently I wrote a post called “You Killed A Bear” that ended up getting way more online attention than I had anticipated. My message in that post was that less experienced hikers should read up about bear safety before they head out for a hike or go backcountry camping. Lots of people asked questions about …
When you think of waterfalls in Squamish, you think of Shannon Falls or maybe Brandywine Falls. Those are both amazingly tall waterfalls with easy tourist-in-flipflops-friendly walks to a viewing platform, overflowing parking lots and tons of people with selfie sticks.. But what if I told you there were other awesome waterfalls in Squamish that you …
The Big Tree Trail is just 10 minutes by water taxi from the small town of Tofino, but it’s a world away. While most of the rainforest near Tofino in Pacific Rim National Park is second growth, on the Big Tree Trail on nearby Meares Island you can find spectacular giant old growth trees including …
A couple years ago my sister moved to Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands that lie between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The Gulf Islands are a short ferry ride away but have a totally different climate zone (think warmer and drier) than Vancouver thanks to the rain shadow effect. That means that Galiano …