08/31/2026
Perspectives I have while hiking in the mountains:
1. All of your worries are much smaller up here.
2. Life is actually quite beautiful.
3. One decision could change your whole life (like where you decide to put your feet or hands while scrambling a mountain 😅💀)... but also try not to overthink it 🤪
4. No time is wasted when you spend it in nature.
5. And time is just an illusion and weird thing we've decided to measure our days by (And reallllllly obsess about).
6. There's a big world out there beyond concrete buildings.
7. Everybody should hike.
Keep it going in the comments! 👇👇
📍Vancouver Island, BC
Saturdays hike in Port Alberni area 😍.
One that wasn't for the faint of heart.
08/28/2026
North Vancouver Island is a whole different vibe and I'm so excited to be heading back up there real soon for some more explorations.
New places plus maybe a visit to some spots I went to last year. We'll see, keeping the plans pretty open while I'm up there this time.
Pictured here is:
*San Josef Bay
*Ronnings Garden
*Holberg
*Port Hardy
*Cluxewe Resort
Recommendations welcomed. I am planning to for sure explore around Port Alice this time! :)
08/20/2026
Easy backpacking trails on Vancouver Island:
There's a few good options but the easiest ones are
*San Josef Bay: this is a short flat 2.5km walk in to the beach. (My friend and I decided to pull a wagon in so we could bring my big tent & some extra water). To camp here you just need to purchase a backcountry permit either by cash at the trailhead or online
*Lake Helen Mackenzie: this is probably the only easy hike in for backpacking in Stratchcona park. A few km in with just over 100m elevation gain gets you to this beautiful lake. From there you have many day hike options!
You could also hike in further to Kwai Lake, or Circlet Lake for a bit more of a challenge. (Book backcountry permits online or at the trail & tent pads are FCFS)
*Juan de fuca beaches (Mystic, Sombrio, China, etc): the nice thing about the Juan de fuca trail is you can actually choose your own adventure by making it as hard or as easy as you want. The easiest is just parking at each beaches parking lot and doing a short hike in. Same with the other two, you just need to book a permit and then camp wherever you can find a spot.
Make the trip harder by doing part of the trail and hike between a couple of the beaches or of course do the whole trail!
Another idea for a bit more challenging of a trip (but still nothing too crazy)
*Landslide lake via Elk River trail (the 2 campsites before the lake are more gradual hikes in so although it is still a moderate level hike it's not too technical or long depending on your hiking level)
*Save this for future trip planning*
