It’s no secret, physical activity is good for you. What still blows me away is even with so many ways to become active and live a healthy lifestyle, 1 in 6 Canadians over the age of 20 are obese. In children this number is astounding at 1 in 4. Now I’m not saying you should start subscribing to a Gigi Hadid diet or only eating celery three meals a day to prevent weight gain. Eating healthy is a very crucial part of a healthy lifestyle, but so is exercise. I’m here to help you add some exercise with amazing views to your weekly routine. Each week I’ll be trying a new hike in the surrounding area and will give you the full rundown and review complete with a ranking and photos. I hope that you will go out and enjoy these trails and make suggestions as well! Getting outside is the perfect way to break out of your studying funk and see light that’s not coming from your laptop screen.
We’ll start off with an easier hike: Mount Tolmie.
Getting to this trailhead could not be easier. It is a 10 minute drive from campus or a 20 minute bus ride with a 600m walk to the beginning of the trail. For this hike you are able to drive to the top of the mountain and have direct access to the lookout. I strongly suggest hiking up as the foliage is beautiful along the way. If you are driving there are multiple parking areas along the route up so you can choose whichever one you’d like (the closer to the base you park, the longer walk you have). One of my favourite pictures from the hike was on the walk up so definitely don’t cheat yourself and park at the top.
Trees as shady as some high school girls am I right? The trail itself is very straightforward and easy to follow as you can see below. Much of this hike has a very small incline however, near the very beginning there is a fairly steep part but do not let this deter you.
I did this hike nearing sunset so the views from the top were absolutely gorgeous. Through the smog I was able to see Mount Baker in the distance.
Tell me you don’t want to check this out now.
That’s what I thought.
Rankings for this hike:
Transportation accessibility: 5
Distance from UVic: 10 minutes by car, 20 minutes by bus plus 600m walk to trailhead
Difficulty: Easy
Views: 3 (was hoping for a better view of UVic. Mainly houses but nice mountains in the background)
Time: 30-45 minutes
Rankings guide:
1-5, 5 being best
Difficulty ratings: easy (you’re here for the good insta pics, not the workout), intermediate (you’ll break a sweat, but you won’t die), difficult (bring the extra water and your best protein bar; will most likely be rewarded by stunning views and pictures to make all of your insta followers jealous and wonder how you found out about such a cool hike)
Questions or suggestions? Let me know in the comments!