Rumon Carter

As Vancouver Island's highest peak, the Golden Hinde is an obvious draw for coastal climbers. Its gravitational pull, however, requires a commitment, given this crown jewel of the Island Alpine is also one of its most remote, and gains more elevation than from Base Camp to Everest's summit.Winter ski-in ascents are possible, though rarely undertaken. The Hinde is most often and most conservativ...

The trail from Cameron Lake to the top of Mount Cokely (5302') provides the most ready access to the alpine on Southern Vancouver Island. The route is straightforward and non-technical, albeit physically challenging. Expect to spend 6-8+ hours if hiking the entire route described below (which we ran/hustled in ~ 5 hours).To reach the trailhead from the Island Highway (19), take Highway 4 westbo...

If you have your eye on Vancouver Island as an adventure destination - and we hope that you do - then you likely already know that our Island is not only home to a diverse and unique alpine hiking scene, but that it also offers 3 (+) world-class long distance hiking routes along our coastline. From north to south those are: the North Coast / Cape Scott Trail, the West Coast Trail and the Juan d...

The Sooke Hills is a geographic region of low hills with elevations between 350m (Mt. Wells) to a high of 682m (Mt. Empress), located in the area bounded on three sides by Highway 1 to the east, Highway 14 to the south and the Sooke River to the west. Though heavily logged 100+ years ago, in the intervening years a patchwork of regional and provincial parks have been pieced together to set asid...

Our trip, as pictured, was completed as a single-day trail run / hustle. The climb is typically done, however, as a weekend trip with a camp either in the lower meadow, along the ridge leading to the Queen's Face or in the upper cirque. As for climbs in the Island Alpine, for detailed route descriptions reference Phil Stone’s, guidebook of the same name (at p. 214 for King’s Peak) or his newly...

Though the Meadows can be reached by an alternate (very long) route not requiring a boat, the standard access is had by crossing Buttle Lake from the Augerpoint Day Area parking lot on the Buttle Lake Parkway (turn south towards the Westmin mine at the Buttle Lake bridge, just before the provincial campground). A short paddle almost directly across the lake (be mindful of chop blowing up if cro...

A 1-hour boat ride north of Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is one of the Clayoquot Sound region’s biggest attractions: Hot Springs Cove in Maquinna Marine Provincial Park. Drawn by the prospect of soaking in 50 C / 122 F natural hot mineral springs surrounded by coastal rainforest, thousands of visitors per year flock to the pools at the end of a short boardwalk.The Ahousat Warm...

Sitting very close to the southernmost point of Vancouver Island, facing west towards the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the open Pacific Ocean, East Sooke Park is a unique and magical place for a hike or trail run. Your first visit will spark the desire to keep returning, to keep exploring further.50 kilometers (31 miles) of trails travel through forests, marshes, up two small mountai...