Gift ideas for hikers on your list

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

    Books are always welcome Christmas presents and here are a couple that might be of interest for hikers on your list. Both books are published by Rocky Mountain Books. Seaside Walks on Vancouver Island by Theo Dombrowki has recently been revised and has 39 hikes for you to check out. The majority are in the southern half of Vancouver Island with only 2 listed north of Campbell River. There are lots of colour photos, sketch maps and information about each hike includes key information like distance, difficulty, elevation change and when to go. I like the way the author also adds in some additional information about difficulty by indicating the nature of the trail (ie type of surface) and if there are likely areas that might be muddy or slippery. Most hikes are fairly short (less than 5 km) but some like the Pachena Point Lighthouse shows a distance of 20 km return. We can't wait to check out some of the hikes on our next trips to Victoria and Pacific Rim Park. 

        The Pub to Pub Trail is one of our favourite hikes and just one of the hikes featured in Seaside Walks 

Also of interest to hikers, especially those with kids in tow, is Family Walks and Hikes of Vancouver Island also by Theo Dombrowski.  There are 2 volumes and I recently checked out the book dealing with hikes -Nanaimo and North to Strathcona Park- which has also been revised this year. It lists 49 family friendly hikes and it also has many colour photos and sketch maps for each hike. In addition, there is information on distance, elevation gain, difficulty, best hiking season and also a section showing why children might like it. Since the hikes are geared for families most are quite short - less than 5 kilometers which might make ideal for many older people as well. These books will give the interested hiker many hours of reading and are ideal for helping to plan hiking options in various parts of Vancouver Island. Pick them up either on line or at your nearest bookstore. See you on the trail!

                Another local favourite of ours is the Royston Seaside Trail featured in Family Walks