Gear for the West Coast Trail
BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Locked and loaded for our #1 hike in the world.
I start June 10th.
I’ll be posting video and a detailed trip report later in the month.
Gear for the West Coast Trail
Author: Administration
Edward Hathway’s 72+ hikes in New Zealand
He spent the pandemic well. What a year!
Edward:
In the year since the New Zealand Covid-19 lockdown ended in late April 2020 I completed 72 hikes (“tramps” in the NZ vernacular), and fifteen shorter walks. …
- 68,500m (~225,000ft) of ascent and descent
- Almost 900km (~550mi) of walking
- On 64 of these hikes I climbed to a peak or other high point, ranging between 445m and 2333m high, and averaging 1000m of ascent and descent each time
- 58 of these high points were named peaks over 1000m of elevation, so I incidentally completed the 52 Peaks Challenge
- All of these tramps were on New Zealand’s South Island
… the best views were on the tramp to Barrier Knob via Gertrude Saddle in Fiordland …
Here’s a list of these 72 tramps plus 15 short walks. …
To Measure a Mile – PCT Documentary
Crossing the River on a Fallen Log
Free Outside by Jeff Garmire
Jeff “Legend” Garmire is an adventurer who climbed the Colorado 14ers, survived The Great Western Loop, broke the Arizona Trail self-supported FKT, Long Trail Unsupported FKT, and the Colorado Trail Unsupported FKT and much more.
Free Outside is his telling of his Calendar Year Triple Crown: Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail.
I listened to the audio version which Jeff reads himself.
Fast paced. No dull moments.
8000 miles averaging over 30 miles a day.
I enjoyed the book.
It’s real to his experience. So real that no editor seems to have corrected spelling nor typos.
Seemed to me the CDT would be my least favourite of the three — overall. Too many cows. Too much dirty drinking water.
Mt Quimper circuit, Sooke B.C.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Mount Manuel Quimper is a great hike close to Sooke on Vancouver Island.
I looped back via Mount Brule, an easy 10km circuit using AllTrails for navigation.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
There are many other hiking and mountain biking trails to choose from.
It’s just off the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, a 55-kilometre (34 mi) non-motorized path to Victoria. Ideal for me as I cycled to the trailhead.
The Adventurer’s Son by Roman Dial
The Adventurer’s Son by Roman Dial
A good book. And important look at the role of parents in the raising of their children.
The Adventurer’s Son is Roman Dial’s extraordinary account of his two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his son’s disappearance in the jungles of Costa Rica.
… Before he left, Cody Roman Dial emailed his father: “I am not sure how long it will take me, but I’m planning on doing 4 days in the jungle and a day to walk out. I’ll be bounded by a trail to the west and the coast everywhere else, so it should be difficult to get lost forever.”
They were the last words Dial received from his son.
… Roman had raised his son to be fearless, to be at home in earth’s wildest places, travelling together through rugged Alaska to remote Borneo and Bhutan. Was he responsible for his son’s fate? Or, as he hoped, was Cody Roman safe and using his wilderness skills on a solo adventure from which he would emerge at any moment?
You might have seen the documentary Missing Dial on National Geographic channel.
The parents agreed to participate out of desperation to continue the search for their missing son. They are disappointed in how it turned out. Wild hyperbole and speculation.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Hiking Vancouver Island North
Hiking Vancouver Island North
A pandemic is a good time to stay local.
And physically distance from strangers outdoors. 
The only hiking I’ve done atop Vancouver Island is famed North Coast Trail.
In early July, I’m hoping to bikepack trailhead-to-trailhead.
There’s much to see. And a touring bike looks to be good transport in this remote area.
I’d get a ride to Port Hardy. Then cycle to as many of Gregg Strong’s recommended areas as possible.
I’d navigate with apps and the Vancouver Island Backroads MacBook.
Click PLAY or watch some highlights on YouTube.
Check a map of trails and attractions.
Witchcraft Lake to Mt Benson, Nanaimo
Witchcraft Lake to Mt Benson, Nanaimo
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Mt Benson looms over Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
Though folks make this climb year round, I waited for great weather in May. 
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
There are several routes to the summit, but quickest and most straightforward begins at Witchcraft Lake.
Knowing that the summit is busy on a nice day, I camped on Crown Land the night before. Was first starting up the trail in the morning.
I used AllTrails for navigation and only managed to detour on to a side trail one time.
It’s a steady climb. Interesting terrain with a number of viewpoints on the way up.
From the summit most cameras take in the panorama over Nanaimo. Here’s the OTHER vista — looking inland.
Watch a LIVE STREAM of the Benson summit on YouTube.
related trip report – sea2peak
- 8km round trip
- 730 meter elevation gain
- 3-5 hours
- difficult
- dogs allowed on leash
Hiking Alone
Hiking Alone
Nicole Qualtieri:
I embarked on my first solo backpacking trip in 2014. It’s no small admission to say that the effort changed the course of my life.
That trip was — perhaps — overkill for my first shot at backpacking solo. I completed 150 miles, combined over multiple trips on the Continental Divide Trail in Montana and Wyoming. But I dialed in my system and wilderness skills, powered through blisters, and faced my fears over the course of those miles.
In a world filled with noise, constant companionship, phones that never power down, and internet advice coming at us incessantly, here’s one more bit of advice I’d like to impart — turn it all off. Take a walk in the dirt.
This summer, go backpacking alone. …
