Celebrating 100 years of Comox Valley hiking
The CDMC board and members conceived of the Challenge as a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the club’s founding, which is coming up in 2028. (What better way for a bunch of hikers, backpackers, and snowshoers to celebrate than by hitting the trails?)
Two ways to take on the 2028 Hiking Challenge
There are actually two challenges: the Daytripper, which consists of 28 hikes that can be done in a day or less, and the Explorer, 20 longer and/or more difficult hikes, some of which are overnight backpacking trips.
The whole thing was launched on April 1, 2022, which gave members six years to complete one or both challenges. That same day, Beggs knocked off Rosewall Creek, her first hike toward the Daytripper.
A little over a year later, on July 26, 2023, as she was nearing the summit of Mount Kitchener on a CDMC hike, she told the volunteer leader of the day, Ken Filliter, that it was it was her 28th and final hike for the Daytripper Challenge, and he announced the achievement to the group during lunch at the top. It was a memorable day for Beggs and the club.
“For 97 years, the CDMC has provided joy and learning about being in the mountains to its members.”
— Janet Beggs
Building trails and community in Strathcona Park hikes
The not-for-profit CDMC has been exploring local mountains and trails since 1928. Club members not only organize and lead hikes and snowshoe excursions, but also work with BC Parks to help maintain and build trails and campsites, particularly in Strathcona Provincial Park.
Beggs says, “For 97 years, the CDMC has provided joy and learning about being in the mountains to its members,” and she has discovered many new trails and places since joining the club when she moved to the Comox Valley 20 years ago. She has been a trip leader for many years and a board member for the last nine.
She loves the club because it gives her the opportunity to go hiking with “good people who value the outdoors like myself,” and finds being out in nature helps her be a better counsellor. Thanks to hiking, she is calmer and happier, awestruck each time she’s up in the mountains and connecting with something bigger than herself. One of her favourite club memories is of hauling rocks to help install a new bridge at Moat Lake. She was glad to be working with other capable people, and felt she was really contributing toward improving her beloved Strathcona park.
She exudes joy when talking about the park, citing Mount Drabble as her favourite hike. “It’s challenging but doable,” she says, “and gives gorgeous views of the Comox Glacier and Mount Albert Edward, with a 360-degree view of Strathcona Park and the Salish Sea.”
Beggs credits Ken Filliter, a former club president, with the “brilliant idea” of the 2028 Hiking Challenge lists and is proud that she was part of the group that generated the lists. But when asked if she thought she would be the first person to complete the challenge, she says, “Heavens, no!” A self-proclaimed “tortoise,” Janet feels her determination and slow, steady pace on the trails are what allowed her to complete the 2028 Hiking Challenge.
Go for it! Anybody with reasonable hiking fitness can complete the challenge — just go at your own pace.
More hikers join the 2028 Challenge
Helen Jackson, a retired teacher, was the next to complete the Daytripper in 2023. Other club members are well on their way, and with more than three years to go, there’s still plenty of time to join the club and get hiking.
Challenges must be completed and submitted by December 31, 2028. Beggs urges others to “Go for it!” She adds that anybody with reasonable hiking fitness can complete the challenge, and advises, “Go at your own pace.”
Join the Comox District Mountaineering Club
CDMC is a great group to join if you want to spend time in the outdoors, improve your fitness or strength, challenge yourself, and meet similar-minded, active people. New members are always welcome.
Whatever your motivation is to get involved in the Comox District Mountaineering Club, this fall is a fabulous time to start. It’s a beautiful time of year, and, once you’re a member, all you have to do is strap on your boots, print out the Challenge list, and get hiking.
See you on the trails!
