Author: Rain Scott
A hint of winter on Arrowsmith’s UnJudges route
A year ago, I went on my first trip with Alpine Club on Mt. Arrowsmith. Many great trips later, things have come full circle with another trip up UnJudges. The weather this year made the conditions a bit more exciting. Here’s a photo from late October 2015 at the same elevation as the photo at the top…
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Return to trip leading
A decade ago, I spent two summers as a camp counsellor. I took groups of teenage girls on four-day camping and hiking trips. I became very good at planning meals for 10, packing tents into tiny bags and scaring away rabid squirrels. (That’s another story…) And leading trips! I also got pretty good a leading trips. Since…
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5040
Our original plan was to climb up Triple Peak. With an extremely wet forecast ahead, we decided scrambling wasn’t the safest plan. So we switched gears to a hike on Triple’s neighbor: 5040. The peak gets its name from its summit height: 5040 feet (or 1536m). I took this photo of 5040 while standing at the…
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Returning to outdoor adventures after chronic pain
This year, I’ve had to turn around before reaching the summit far more times than I’ve made it to any desired destination. My friends carry even more of the gear than before. I often have had to lay down for long rests in inconvenient (but beautiful) spaces.
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Staying safe outside
I recently saw North Shore SAR’s post about “Top 5 Favourite Hikes (To Rescue People From).” In it, they challenged bloggers and photographers to share more outdoor safety information. Good point! The best place to get safety information is from the pros, such as: I also find it really helpful to talk with other friends about…
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Castlecrag Mountain – Vancouver Island, BC
This past weekend, I had enjoyed some relaxed backpacking and a long hike up Castlecrag Mountain. It is one of the four smaller mountains near Mt. Albert Edward, which is the most popular objective in this area. But a number of circumstances drew me to this lesser climbed peak. One was that it was a long weekend and thus it was…
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Summer Camp with the Alpine Club of Canada
Definitely not Type 2 fun.
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My first first ascent — Vancouver Island, BC
It was both of our first times exploring like this, just looking at the mountain and starting to climb with no idea what was up there. (Lucky for us, we found a route down too.)
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Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota
I do not usually like boats. Rivers and lakes… it’s just too flat!! But I do love checking out new wilderness areas. So when my sister asked me to spend some time in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, I jumped at the chance to go.
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Outdoor rock climbing near Victoria, BC in 2026
Live on Vancouver Island and want to go rock climbing outdoors? There are a lot of places to discover, but this list should get you started climbing near Victoria, Nanaimo, Campbell River and beyond.
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5 Reasons to Take a Wilderness First Aid Course
I heard screaming in the distance as I hurried down the path. My friend was holding her hand covered in blood. A finger lay on the ground a few feet away from her. I froze in fear for a moment before I composed myself. It was a rubber finger. The blood was fake too.
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Five tips for finding outdoor adventure buddies in 2022
Want to go on an outdoor adventure but don’t know who to go with? Using the internet to search for clubs & courses can be a great way to get yourself out on more hikes.
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