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 …
Canada
Last Friday after work Greg and I threw our bags into the car and headed north up the Sea to Sky highway for a weekend in Squamish. Except this time we weren’t going to sleep in a tent or climb a mountain. This time we were going to do things we had never done before …
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 …
For the past two years I’ve hiked to Garibaldi Lake in late November. It’s become a fun tradition. It’s a great time of year to go since it’s a winter wonderland at the lake but the trail on the way up is not so snowy that you have to break trail. This year we chose …
My friend K has a birthday in late September and every year she organizes a backcountry camping trip to celebrate. Last year we went to the beautiful Semaphore Lakes and this year we headed over to Vancouver Island to explore the Forbidden Plateau area of Strathcona Provincial Park. The way I had previously thought about …
Ever since we did the West Coast Trail in 2004, my husband Greg and I had wanted to hike the Nootka Trail as it was rumoured to be like the West Coast Trail “used to be”: no permits, no boardwalks, no crowds. If you aren’t familiar, the Nootka trail is more of a route and …
Don’t get me wrong, I love being high up in the mountains, but there’s something magical about coastal hiking: The scenery is totally different, the changes in elevation are minimal and its nearly impossible to get lost. Nearly every year I try to do a coastal backpacking trip. I’ve done most of the more popular …
One of my favourite places to ride my bike is on the country roads and dykes near the Fraser River in Ladner and Delta since the roads are flat, the scenery is beautiful and there is almost no traffic. In early spring, I also like to combine biking in Ladner with a trip to the …
I live in Vancouver and it rains a lot here. If I waited for it to stop raining before going hiking, I wouldn’t hike much, so of course I hike in the rain. However, sometimes the forecast is so truly terrible and calls for so much rain that going for a long hike means being …
It’s likely you’ve heard of the West Coast Trail – a multi-day trek on the West Coast of Vancouver Island that weaves its way along 75 kilometres of towering rainforests, slick sandstone shelfs, and pebbled beaches, with numerous ladders and boardwalks. Coastal hiking is something that BC is known for, but most people think it’s something …