by Keith and Heather Nicol
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| Vanc Island Map Book |
We moved from Newfoundland a few years ago but somehow only recently came across the Backroad Mapbooks (BRMB). If you have someone on your Christmas list that likes to explore off the beaten track then these books are a perfect gift. We recently obtained the BRMB for Vancouver Island and it comes in at 196 pages of information about all manner of outdoor activities on Vancouver Island. In addition to detailed topographic maps at 1:150,000 scale there are sections on fishing, hunting, paddling, hiking trails, parks and a whole lot more.
We used the book
this past summer to scout out new places to mountain bike, paddle and hike. One
of our first discoveries was a hidden mountain bike gem called the Big Qualicum
River Trail which starts at the Big Qualicum River Fish Hatchery near Horne
Lake. We went there with our cycling group from Courtenay and we will be back
to do that trail since it is so scenic as it follows the Big Qualicum River. We
brought the book along again for a camping trip to Buttle Lake in Strathcona
Park to give us
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| Kayaking on Mohen Lake |
ideas for put ins for kayaking and also trail heads for hiking.
Our next trip was to Mohen and Morton Lake just north of Campbell River where the book was invaluable since it showed the various back road options to access these scenic lakes which are part of the Sayward Canoe Route. We also used the book for September trips to Malcolm Island near Port McNeil and for a weeklong trip to Hornby Island.Since the map scale is 1:150,000 or 1 cm to 1.5 km the maps can’t show every trail or possible sea kayak launch point but from our experience it does show lots of detail that you might otherwise miss. It is a great planning tool for exploring places that you might want to visit on Vancouver Island. Other BRMBs cover other parts of BC and much of the rest of Canada.
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| Cycling along the Big Qualicum River |
We also liked the
fact that the book is spiral bound and so far it has stood up to a fair bit of
abuse being stowed in the back of the car. For more information on BRMB see: https://www.backroadmapbooks.com/
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| Kayaking off of Malcolm Island |
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