Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Rathtrevor Beach near Nanaimo is the most popular Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.
I walk there most mornings.
But on winter solstice, December 21, 2020, that rare thing happened — It snowed.
This is temperate rain forest. Snow on the coast is mostly liquid. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I FINALLY got a dedicated camera gear backpack. Paid CDN$ 150 for a LowePro Photo Sport 200. (Now discontinued.)
Easily fits my 3 small cameras and assorted add-ons.
As well as extra layers, snacks and water.
Click PLAY or watch it in action on YouTube.
There’s a larger version if you want more space. Also discontinued, so you’d have to shop around.
Click PLAY or watch a review on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch the Lowepro pitch on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch a review of the larger 300 on YouTube.
Winn and her husband Moth, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness, became homeless after a bad investment and decided to walk the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path. …
In September 2019 it was the number one bestselling book in UK independent bookstores.
An excellent read.
The couple had not hiked for decades. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
And they survived on an income of about £40 a week.
related – Couple walked 630 miles and lived in a tent after bad investment left them homeless
Qualicum Beach has a population of about 10,000.
It’s a charming retirement community — median age of 65.9 in 2016 — in one of Canada’s best winter climates.
Temperate rain forest is ideal for hiking, cycling or running year round. One highlight of Qualicum are the 400 year old Douglas Fir in their Heritage Forest.
Click PLAY or watch a December run on YouTube.
Qualicum is situated at the foot of Mount Arrowsmith, along the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver Island‘s northeastern coast.
Mark has some advice on toilet paper.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related – How to Shit in the Woods by Kathleen Meyer
Another misadventure with Mattson and Anderson. 😀
Subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
AllTrails calls this adventure the Englishman River Trailway.
But you don’t need follow the AllTrails 10.5km out and back route.
It’s a network of mountain biking / walking trails on the west side of the Englishman River. You can’t really get lost so long as you parallel the water.
I spend a lot of time here as I have family in Parksville.
This is temperate rain forest. It can be wet. It can be muddy.
But hiking is accessible year-round. In fact, this video was taken early December.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Most people park at the Top Bridge trailhead (green dot) close to highway 19 at Parksville. Head inland along the river for as far as they wish. Then backtrack.
I started on the far left of the map below at Middlegate Road trailhead. Walked to Top Bridge Park close to the highway. About 5km one way plus many side trips.
I often, as well, head the other direction, under the highway towards Parksville on the 5km Top Bridge Regional Trail.
In good weather, the bridge near the parking areas is a popular swimming spot.
Our #1 hike in the world — West Coast Trail — was closed all of 2020 due to COVID. Hopefully it will reopen in 2021.
Right next door is the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.
It’s one of the great alternatives to the WCT. Logistics are much easier. And it’s less expensive.
Vancouver Island experts MB Guiding have a Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Guide online.
Check that for planning. And get a copy of the best hiking guidebook – Coastal Hikes.
Tom Scott:
The Broomway is surrounded on both sides by quicksand and deep, sucking mud. It has no markers and no guideposts.
And if you mistime your walk, you won’t outrun the tide.
Oh, and it’s in the middle of a Ministry of Defence firing range.
But most of the time, if you want to visit Foulness Island, it’s the only way.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
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