By Keith and Heather Nicol
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| Keith looking over one of the fold out maps for Vanc Island |
Since we like to
explore on foot and sea kayak maps are indispensible tools for staying found. They
come into their own when planning a trip and of course while doing any
backcountry trip. During our many years in Newfoundland we relied a great deal
on topographic maps to help navigate in summer on hiking or canoe trips and in
the winter on backcountry ski trips. We also often used them for sea kayaking although
we often had marine charts as well for that activity. Since we have just
arrived in the Comox Valley we have been keen to get out and see this area as
well and we have logged many hours paddling, biking and hiking in this scenic
part of Vancouver Island. But we also want to explore beyond the Comox Valley
so we were very pleased to find the series of maps put out by Backroads
Mapbooks (BRMB).
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| The popular Helliwell Park trail on Hornby Island was identified on the maps |
We had never come across these publications before although it
looks like recently they have completed one for Newfoundland. One of their products we were attracted to
right away was their fold out waterproof maps of Vancouver island. They have 2
of these recently produced maps – one logically for the north part of the
island and another for the southern part (the dividing line being roughly at
Qualicum Beach/Parksville area). We feel these maps will be ideal for trip
planning as we explore Vancouver Island since forestry backroads are shown as
well as lots of camping, sea kayak and other information. Their scale of 1:180.000 is ideal for broad
planning and since the maps fold up nicely you can then use them along the way.
At this scale they won’t replace detailed maps or marine charts but they certainly
are big improvement over a provincial road map.
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| These maps are a good first step for identifying various trails - Hornby Island |
With our BRMB map
of Vancouver Island (north) in hand we decided to do a fall trip to Hornby
Island to check out the detail and accuracy of the maps. We had our car loaded
with sea kayaks, hiking boots and mountain bikes and we were impressed with the
information that it did show for Hornby Island. It identified most beaches and
highlighted trailheads for some multi use trails. When we mountain biked on
Hornby Island’s excellent trails we did use a detailed trail map produced by their
mountain bike association since a map at a scale of 1:180,000 won’t show all
the trails. The BRMB map showed some
campgrounds but didn’t identify any sea kayak routes perhaps since Hornby
Island doesn’t have a well maintained boat launch. When we were there we simply
launched off of sandy beaches. So what is our take away of these maps ...they
are very useful for planning purposes since they show Vancouver Island at a
perfect “big picture” scale and they are waterproof. And at just $14.95 each
they would make a great stocking stuffer for the outdoor person on your
Christmas list. They can be found at a variety of retail outlets or can be
ordered at: https://www.backroadmapbooks.com/ BRMB has other map products as well and they
now have produced maps for all provinces of Canada so be sure to check them
out.
