If you have a hiking or backpacking trip coming up soon, here’s a list I’ve curated of my favorite websites that provide useful information to know before beginning your trip!
Spot WX: (https://spotwx.com/) Spot Wx is a phenomenal weather website that uses geolocations to give precise weather forecasts for an area. This website provides specific and accurate information for precipitation, wind, daylight hours, sunrise and sunset times, and temperatures. The best feature is often there is 2 day, 3.5 day, 5 day, and 7 day predictions. Of course the smaller the number of days the more accurate the prediction will be. The maps can sometimes be challenging to read, but they have a key to help you decipher the information.
AllTrails: (https://www.alltrails.com/)This website and mobile app is by far my favorite. I do pay a yearly subscription of 40$, but it is SO worth it. This app gives you detailed trail maps, trail reviews, pictures, and has a GPS feature that tracks you along the trail. If I am ever unsure of which direction a trail goes, I quickly pull out AllTrails and a helpful arrow will point me in the right direction. This is an AWESOME gift to give to any of your hiker friends!
Outdoor Prolink: (https://outdoorprolink.com/) This is my favorite website for when I am looking to buy new outdoor gear. Creating an account with Prolink is only available for certain individuals who currently have a job or career related to the outdoors. The basis of the website is to give these individuals coupons or specialty deals on gear and equipment! These deals are sometimes up to 30 or 40% off (which quickly adds up if it is a multi-hundred dollar piece of gear)!! If you are curious about if you are eligible, check out their website and there is a long list of criteria. If still unsure, you can reach out to them or to your employer to see if this is a tool accessible to you!
If you are about to go on a hiking or backpacking trip (either alone or with friends) make sure you have taken all the necessary safety precautions before embarking on your journey. I have created a checklist of questions that you should ask yourself before you leave for your trip! Answer each question and follow the appropriate steps to complete the requirement.
Have you done research on the difficulty of the trail, and is it suited for your physical fitness level?
What is the forecasted weather, and is there a possibility it will change for the worse?
Have you packed all the 10 Essentials? (If wondering what this is, check out my other post “Packing Essentials”).
Have you informed a close family member or friend of your trip, and given them an itinerary of where you will be and how long you will be gone?
If you are going out of service, have you packed a GPS messaging device? If not, have you informed a close friend or family member about the duration of the trip, and how long to wait without hearing from you until they must contact emergency services? (Search & Rescue).
If applicable, have you obtained the proper permits or permissions to access this trail?
Do you have all the necessary gear/equipment to be safe on this trail?
Always better to be safe than sorry! The world is beautiful to explore, but ensuring you and your party will be safe should be your top priority! Never compromise your safety in the hurry to experience a trail 🙂
If you are going on a hiking or backpacking trip soon, don’t fear!! I have created a list with all the equipment, gear, clothes, and often-forgotten items that you will need to pack! Check it out below:
Triple Peak is another one of my top bucket lists trips! I am hoping to tackle this incredible hike sometime this summer, potentially adding it onto my 5040 Peak trip (hit two birds with one stone!). See my other post for more details on 5040 Peak.
Image by LemkeClimbs
This hike is located in the center of Vancouver Island, around 3 hours from Victoria or a 1.5 hours from Tofino. According to AllTrails, this is a 6.4km out-and-back trip with roughly 950m of elevation gain, so although it is quite short distance-wise, it has very steep sections of elevation gain, so poles are recommended, and taking it slow to avoid slipping or tripping on roots. The trailhead is located approximately 10km in on the Marion Creek Forest Service Road.
Terrain: The trail itself varies from forest hiking to some open rock faces, and passes by many beautiful waterfalls. Hiking poles are recommended as it will help with stability, especially when hiking down the steep sections.
Camping: This trail can absolutely be done as a day trip, but as many of my other posts say, I much prefer to make a 1-night camping trip out of any mountainous steep hike. Might as well rest and enjoy the summit for the night rather than quickly needing to traverse back down. There are some flat sections of rock that a small tent could fit on.
Time of year: Triple Peak apparently has snow/ice for most months of the year, so the most ideal time to hike it is in July/August. However, the bugs are said to be quite bad during the summer months, so bug spray and long sleeves are a must.
I’m SO excited to (hopefully) get to check off this hike from my bucket list this summer!!
For nearly 3 years I have had 5040 peak on my bucket list for a future backpacking trip. I have made up my mind that it will no longer sit in my list, and I am officially doing it this summer. I have a group of friends who are going to do it with me, and we are excited to tackle this hike. To prepare me for it, I am going to research and find as much information as I can about it, that way when I am ready to do the hike in July, I can check my blog to mentally prepare myself, and pack all the necessary gear.
According to AllTrails.com, 5040 Peak via the Cobalt Lake Trail is an 8.4km out-and-back trip, with 933m of elevation gain. It is estimated to take just under 5 hours to complete. It sounds like most people do this hike in a day, but from my past experience, I have found that (if weather permits) it is so much more enjoyable to do a half-day hike, but then camp at the summit and enjoy the sunset and the next day’s sunrise as well.
Location: The trailhead starts approximately 9km down Marion Creek Forest Service Road, and 4×4 is recommended. Thankfully I have a 4×4 vehicle so that should not be an issue. 🙂 The mountain is located in the center of Vancouver Island, approximately a 3.5 hour drive from Victoria, or a 2 hour drive from Nanaimo.
Things to note: There is a bear cache at the upper campground, as well as a compositing pit toilet. Bringing lots of water is recommended, as the trail is very steep, and there is only one waterfall approximately midway through the hike where water can be collected and filtered. Apparently the mosquitos are HORRIBLE. Every website I check out, the mosquitos seem to be a common factor if you hike 5040 in the summer. So, bug spray evidently is an absolute must.
Once I complete this hike this summer I will come back to this post and add in all the pictures I will take! Getting very excited from planning this epic trip out!
Last week some friends and I hiked Joffrey Lakes in Pemberton, BC. I had done this hike before during the summer season, but there was something very special about doing it in winter! Of course the lakes themselves were frozen over and covered in a sheet of snow, but still getting to experience a hike in the mountains was enjoyable all the more.
Location: Joffrey Lakes is located just a 30 minute drive out of Pemberton, and has a decent sized parking lot. Due to it being the off-season, we were 1 of 2 cars in the whole lot! The road leading up to the parking lot was plowed, yet snow-tires are recommended as there are some steep climbs and winding roads.
Duration: The hike itself is 7.4km round trip with 485m of elevation gain, and is generally estimated to be around 4 hours round trip. Due to it being snowy, we took around 1.5 hours to hike up as the trail was empty and we had the proper gear, but around 2.5 hours on the way down, as the temperature had dropped slightly and there were some icier patches that we wanted to be careful on.
Type of terrain/difficulty: The terrain is relatively easy, as the elevation is slow and gradual, and the trail is not overly tedious (never needing to use hands and knees). The trail is very scenic as it meanders through the forest, passing by the first lake after the first 300m, and then the next two lakes at km 2.8 and 3.6.
Packing Essentials: The trail is quite far from civilization, and cell reception was spotty and sometimes null. For the summer season, the trail is so busy and park rangers are always present that having a satellite radio such as an In-Reach is likely not needed, however for the winter season this was a good precaution in case anything were to happen. We also had all our 10 essentials with us (see my other post for the full list), as well as wearing fully waterproof gear, cramp-on attachments or snowshoes, and balaclavas and sunglasses to protect our face from the snow. Pro-tip: Bring warm soup or chili in a thermos!! We had the most delicious meal at the final lake, definitely worth carrying the extra weight 😉
I would highly recommend this hike for the summer or winter season! Be sure to plan ahead to reserve a spot in the summer, as the reservations fill up incredibly fast!
This past summer I backpacked a segment of the Juan De Fuca trail, located on the western coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This trail was the most unique trail I have backpacked so far. I typically lean towards mountain hiking, but this trail entailed forest hiking, beach walking, and crossing of many bridges, some ladders, and even rappelling with rope.
Day 1: We parked our car at the Juan De Fuca trailhead – China beach terminus, and began our trip. The terrain was mainly in the forest, with continuous ups and downs, and frequent views to the ocean. The total distanced hiked on the first day was just over 10km. We stopped briefly at Mystic beach to view the famous waterfall, and watch the waves lap on the beach. Continuing our trek, we hiked for a few more hours to eventually arrive at our first campsite at Bear Beach. There were many small flat areas to camp, and we found a small sheltered area in the trees. Having some tree shelter was a MUST, since the dew and mist from the ocean made the fly on the tent very wet. I had the brilliant idea to hammock the whole trip, so I had set up my hammock under some trees, and built a makeshift tarp over me using plastic drop sheets. This worked extremely well, as I stayed bone dry all night, however, the wind from the ocean did make for a chilly night. I was bundled up in many layers, with just my mouth exposed to breath. It was stunning to fall asleep listening to the waves crash on the shore just meters from where I hung.
Day 2: We hiked from Bear Beach to Chin beach, which was a 8.7km trek, and again had many ups and downs. Due to the heavy dew and mist from the night before, the trail was quite muddy, and in parts rather slippery. We would hike up a hill for 20 minutes or so, and then hike down the other side, and this pattern continued for most of the day. We crossed the occasional bridge, and staircase, which were in great condition and felt very safe. 100% waterproof boots were an absolute MUST for this day, and would even recommend wearing gators for when your foot sinks into a mud pit!! We arrived at Chin beach in the late afternoon, and enjoyed a warm meal, played some card games, and watched a beautiful sunset. We even saw some humpback whales in the far distance! The wind really was strong on this beach though, and so the second the sun set we immediately went to bed to warm up in our sleeping bags. There were multiple wooden tent pads at this site, and some great trees for hanging my hammock.
Day 3: We started the day early, and got moving at around 7:30am. We hiked a total of 7km this day, but it felt much longer. It started to pour rain at around km 5, which made the final 2km push a wet and very cold stretch. However, this was in my opinion the most beautiful segment of the trail, as it was a lot of hiking along cliffs and bluffs right above the ocean below. There were some ladders and wooden staircases built to add safety and support to some of the steep sections where it would otherwise be muddy and incredibly slippery. We finished our hike at West Sombrio beach, and of course had to check out the hidden waterfall in the canyon. The waterfall is just a short couple hundred meters off the beach, and a very unique gem tucked away.
Some things to consider if you are thinking about doing this trail: 1.) It is very wet terrain, and so fully waterproof gear (jacket, pants, books, large rain hat) is an absolute must. 2). It is continuous up and down, so although you rarely have high lookouts (compared to mountain hiking), your legs will be very sore as it works both your quads and your calves each day. 3.) We had to hitchhike a ride with strangers from Sombrio Beach back to the trailhead at China beach. Thankfully some nice tourists were willing to drive us back, as the bus is very expensive (~40$ a person), and only comes every few hours.
