Over the course of the past 9 weeks, I completed 9 hikes for this inquiry project!
If I had to pick a favourite hike from this list, I would choose Mary Vine Creek Falls, because the waterfall there was absolutely stunning and well worth the short, mostly flat hike out to see it. My least favourite hike from this list would have to be Mount Tzouhalem. I may be biased because the day I went there was extremely heavy rain and my dad and I got absolutely soaked. The last little bit before the top was also very steep! And we could not appreciate the view because of the heavy fog.
Here is the complete breakdown of all the hikes I completed for this inquiry project. Click on any of the hiking locations for a more in detail review of the hike.
| Name of Hike | Length (in kilometers) | Elevation (in meters) | Difficulty | Hiking Partner | Snack |
| Lone Tree Hill | 2.5km | 132m | Moderate | My dad | Chocolate Chip Brownie Larabar |
| Broom Hill via Ogre Loop | 3.14km | 83m | Moderate | Hannah & Jill | x |
| John Dean Provincial Park | 6.18km | 198m | Easy/Moderate | My dad | 2 Turkey Pepperoni Sticks & 1 Babybel Cheese |
| Mount Tzouhalem | 5.6km | 227m | Moderate/Hard | My dad | x |
| Mount Douglas/PKOLS | 4.71km | 126m | Easy | My dad | x |
| Old Baldy Mountain | 3.14km | 193m | Hard | My dad | White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cliff Bar |
| Royal Roads University | 3.36km | 66m | Easy | My mom, my grandfather and my dog, Grizzly | x |
| Uplands Park | 4km | 28m | Easy | My dad | x |
| Mary Vine Creek Falls | 2.2km | 56m | Easy | Hannah & my dog, Grizzly | x |
For those who may be interested, here is my 2020 in hiking statistics:
As you can see, the distance that I hike each month has gone down since I started my PDPP semester in September. Quarantine gave me a lot of time to hike! I’m appreciative for this inquiry project because it forced me to keep hiking, at least a little bit. In addition, it helped me encourage myself to discover new hikes. 5 out of the 9 hikes from this project were ones that I had never done before in my life (Lone Tree Hill, Broom Hill via Ogre Loop, Mount Tzouhalem, Old Baldy Mountain and Mary Vine Creek Falls).
Lastly, I do think hiking helped me relax during this busy semester. There were some weeks when it was tempting to do school work right through the weekend with no break whatsoever. My hikes usually fell on a Sunday. I found myself looking forward to them and they became a welcome hour or so of physical activity, social interaction and time in nature for me each week. I’m glad I chose this inquiry project and I hope that I will continue to find the time next semester to go on weekend hikes with my loved ones.
rmccue
Thank-you for this wonderful list of local hikes, and your helpful reviews.