For the outdoor person on your Christmas list check out these BRBM water proof maps.

By Keith and Heather Nicol

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). 

 

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.

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.