West Coast Trekking

Arrive in Victoria. Free time to take in the English charm of the city as well as it’s many attractions such as Beacon Hill Park, the Craigdarroch Castle or Butchart Gardens to name only a few. Rendezvous at the hotel to meet your guide, the rest of the group and hear all about the adventure you are about to start. Independent dinner. Night at the hotel.

To the west of Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island lies the tiny community of Sooke. This will be the starting point of our first hike, the East Sooke Trail. Perched along the cliffs of Sooke point the trail offers impressive views of the Olympic Mountains just across the Juan de Fuca straight. Overnight in Sooke for the next 2 nights.

Hike

Our objective over the next two days will be to hike the most dramatic sections of the Juan de Fuca trail from China beach to Botanical Beach. Today, we’ll start our hike from the China beach trailhead and work our way north to Sombrio beach. The 21 km trail snakes along the beaches and disappears into the forest for challenging climbs along mountains faces offering incredible views of the area. Plenty of opportunities to explore tides pools and all the other wildlife the area has to offer. It’s is a rugged and demanding trail; weather can severely impact the conditions of the trail and so we’ll have the option of shortening our hike if need to be. Return to Sooke for the night.

Hike

Getting up early we transfer to Sombrio Beach to continue our trek to reach Botanical beach. The trail meanders in lush rain forest over old log bridges and moss-covered walkways. The Juan de Fuca trail is a truly unique and challenging trail that shows you the wilder and less traveled side of the Island. We transfer to Strathcona Provincial Park in the afternoon. At the Lodge we will have the chance to taste healthy and delicious meal using locally sourced, organic and in-season ingredients.

Hike

Today we explore the Crest mountain trail in Strathcona Provincial Park. This 11 km out and back trail is quite the challenge but the summit rewards you with 360-degree views of the mountain peaks and valleys that are some of the best you’ll see in Strathcona Park. Big Den, Crown Mountain, Elkhorn Mountain, Elk River valley, Heber River valley, Kings Peak, Mt Colonel Foster, Puzzle Mountain and Queens Peak can be clearly seen in all their glory. Return to our lodge for the evening.

Hike

We enjoy a second day to explore Strathcona Provincial Park along the Flower ridge Trail. A 17.5 km with a gentle gradient rising 1100 m over 8 km. The trail meanders up through old growth forest along a series of small ridges and benches. Once on Flower Ridge, you are rewarded with sweeping views of surrounding mountains and Buttle Lake. Return to the lodge for the evening.

Hike

Today we transfer to mainland BC stopping on the way to admire one of the last strands of old growth forest. Hiking amidst century old Douglas firs and giant cedars is a humbling experience bound to turn anyone into a tree huger. Boarding the ferry in Nanaimo we enjoy a 1.5 h crossing before making our way up the sea-to-sky highway to reach Whistler. Night in Lodge hostel in Whistler.

Hike

Our exploration of the mountains around Whistler starts with a signature hike that takes us deep in Garibaldi Provincial park to ascend Black Tusk. The jagged black peak is a stark contrast against the bright glaciated landscape and green forested mountains that surround it. This ancient volcano was once capped with glacial ice but after erupting, the piping hot magma melted much of the ice and exposed the magnificent basalt chamber that we’ll see today. A challenging but incredibly rewarding hike that let us discover one of the most impressive mountain range in western Canada

Hike

Today we set off for our 3-day trek. The gondola takes us up to the summit of Whistler Mountain from where we’ll have a 9 km hike to reach our wilderness hut for the next 3 nights. Getting to our hut we’ll need to work together to get set up and prepare our dinner. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss the options for the upcoming days. Night at the hut.

Hike

We have the next 2 days to explore everything that Whistler’s back country has to offer. From our base camp at 2000 m we’ll have all the latitude we want to attempt climbing Mount Overloard and we’ll reserve one of the days for an easier exploratory hike to discover alpines lakes and high prairie meadows.

Hike

Today we hike back out to Whistler before heading back to Vancouver. Spend the evening discovering Granville Island, strolling on Robson Street or exploring Stanley Park. Vancouver is a vibrant city offering extremely diverse attractions in an extremely enviable natural setting.

Hike

Free time in Vancouver to explore the city. Transfer to airport according to flight time.