Follow along with Ryan and Katie as they explore wherever they end up!
A short but sweet adventure yesterday with some new friends!
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We're swamped with spring cleanup and yardwork tasks associated with the first spring in our new house 🏡 but still managing to get out for some shorter weekend hikes. And just because it's short doesn't mean there's no view 😍
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Hope you're having a great weekend
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Yesterday we capped off our long weekend by joining a lovely group hike in the Sooke hills. It was really a perfect day, with just enough sunshine to keep us warm but not too hot. Pluto did great too! 🐶
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What did you get up to for the long weekend?
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📍Sea to Sea Regional Park
⛰️ Manuel Quimper & Thunderbird
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A little... Monday mountain magic for your feed!
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During our trip to Smithers in February, Katie's parents took us up this long, unrelenting climb of a snowshoe which finally opened up to this beautiful alpine meadow. There's nothing better than finding magical places with the people that mean the most ❤️✨
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Cheers to a new week and making the most of the moments we get to spend together.
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We took Pluto with us for his first ski tour. Geared up in his snow suit, he was happy, warm, and snow-free all day!
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Stay tuned for some videos... Pluto romping through the snow is the cutest thing 🥰❄️
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Winter: heck yeah!
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We spent a beautiful bluebird week above the clouds on the mountains around Smithers, BC at the beginning of the month in our quest to find some snow ❄️
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We had fun ripping short laps on the only powder section we could find and got lots of transition practice with our new skins. Hoping to get back into the mountains this coming weekend too!
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A foggy, soggy, Sunday stroll 🌲
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The trails were creeks today, and there were no views to be had, but we got out and enjoyed the day anyway ☁️
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How did you spend your weekend?
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Last weekend we headed up to Mt Washington again - but this time for Katie to take part in Avalanche Safety Training level 1 course with a couple friends.
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With more ski touring and snowshoeing on this winter's agenda, we wanted to brush up on our skills to mitigate our risk in the backcountry. Ryan and Pluto got out for an adventure too -- check out the last photo to see Pluto's new snowsuit! (And haircut!)
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We discovered this new waterfall on Sunday as we drove back to Victoria from our weekend getaway in the Comox Valley. The water was really flowing!! 🌊
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We introduced Pluto to some real powder over the weekend on Mt Washington ❄️
We spent the afternoon on Saturday exploring on our snowshoes while our skis got worked on in town in preparation for the upcoming season.
Pluto had an absolute ball, and then became one... A snowball that is!
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Here's hoping for the snow to keep coming so we can start getting safely out into the backcountry on this beautiful island we call home 🏔️🏠
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Our first hike of 2024! We explored the trails around Thetis Lake and found a couple cool monuments.
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Check out the last photo to see how windy it was 💨🐶
Our last hike in Penticton was a snowy one! Unfortunately the snow didn't stick 😞 but it did obscure what would have been a fabulous view of the lake!!
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The temps kept us nice and cool on the steep climb up and the even steeper descent...
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We had to drive up and up to find it... But Pluto got to experience snow for the first time today!
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📍Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park
🐾 Pluto found a bit of mud!
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Exploring Penticton with Pluto - week 1 🐕
1-3: Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park
4&5: Giant's Head Mountain
6&7: Mt Nkwala
The old Gypsum Mine! 🍁🍂
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We found this gem along the Cabot Trail thanks to a friend of Katie's. Just a short hike along a flat, wide trail, this spot is a must-see -- especially in the fall. We were awed by the colours surrounding the old quarry lake, and it was allllmost warm enough to swim in, too.
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Happy Friday!
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Last weekend for Thanksgiving we took Pluto for his first backpacking trip 🎒🐕 in Strathcona park.
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We found the perfect pack for him from and made sure to let him get used to it without any weight to start.
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Hiking last week with Pluto 🐾
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Pluto appreciation post 🐾
This big fluff nugget was absolutely amazing for his first time camping this weekend! 🏕️
Then we spent the rest of the morning at the beach before stopping at .delicious for the most amazing sandwich, followed by a walk in the forest 🌿🌲
Our most recent adventure - we took our pup Pluto paddling! 🐾🛶 He did extremely well for his first time in a canoe, and we couldn't be more happy to be back on Vancouver Island. In fact he kept hopping back into the canoe after we got back to land 😂🥰
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We were recently gifted some vodka cocktails to try out, and we thought there was no better time! As a non-vodka drinker, I thought these were pretty good (though I think I prefer the gin ones).
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We have been insanely busy between moving back to BC, buying and moving into our first house together (and all the associated maintenance required for a house that hasn't been occupied for months), bringing Pluto home, and preparing for a deployment. So we haven't even gone through all the photos from our road trip across the States yet! 🥲 but things are settling into more of a routine now, and I promise they're coming soon 🔜
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We've been a little bit quiet on here recently as things have suddenly gotten very busy for us...
💧A couple weeks ago, we had a pipe burst in our bedroom closet. Thankfully none of our stuff got damaged, but we had to move everything into the living room and have huge fans and dehumidifiers running constantly.
🚗 Then Early last week Katie was involved in a car accident (she got rear-ended) and she's been dealing with a whiplash injury.
⌛On top of that, our time in Halifax has come rapidly to a close, and work is making our plans for getting back to Victoria a touch more complicated than expected.
So we might be somewhat MIA for a little bit longer as we sort through everything. We hope to get back to posting regularly soon!
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[Photos: 📍Hopewell Rocks, NB]
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Happy Friday!
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We've got a couple of photos from our fall trip to Cape Breton Island. Our first morning waking up on the Cabot Trail, we woke up very early to do a short hike on the Middle Head Trail in the pitch dark with our headlamps, hoping for a stunning sunrise to make the cold, wind, and early wake-up worth it... The "magical sunrise" that we were hoping for didn't materialize, but we got to see stormy purple skies instead. We had the entire place to ourselves and made the most of it. The striking fall colours in the hills were still so beautiful.
As we head into the weekend, we're taking a minute to take a deep breath, share a hug, and remind ourselves that not every moment will turn out exactly like we'd hoped or planned - and that's totally ok ❤️
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Swipe ➡️ to get out of the tent and see the sunset!
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These photos were taken from our campsite along the King's Peak trail in Strathcona Park, in July 2020. This was the first summit of many that we completed on this 9-day backpacking adventure. The views were great, but the bugs were really! bad. Anytime we were outside the tent, our bug nets were on our heads 😆
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How do you deal with bugs when you're backpacking or on an outdoor adventure?
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Hello! We've noticed a lot of new faces following along with our adventures recently, so we figured it would be a good time to do a proper introduction post!
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We are Ryan and Katie, the "two" behind The Adventure Two. We are both professional helicopter pilots, and we also like to fly airplanes for fun. We are from beautiful British Columbia 🇨🇦 and currently call Victoria home 🏠 We enjoy all kinds of adventures, big and small - hiking, rock climbing, cycling (and mountain biking), motorcycling, surfing, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, international travel, and more!
We started this page when we found ourselves with a lot of free time for adventures during the pandemic, and we wanted to find a way to share our photos and experiences with family and friends. Since then we've been able to connect with other adventurers, make new friends, and find new places and ways to explore!
Some of our biggest adventures so far have been:
🥾A 9-day backpacking trip through Strathcona Park (Ryan actually proposed in the middle of this trip!)
🧗Summiting the tallest mountain on Vancouver Island, the Golden Hinde
🎿Ski touring in the Swiss Alps
🌋Exploring the incredible geography of Guatemala
🚗An 11-day road trip from Victoria to Halifax, with a few days in Yellowstone
🥾Hiking the muddiest season of the Juan de Fuca trail with friends
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We'd love for you to introduce yourself in the comments and say hello! 👋
[Photo 1: Us posing on Phillips Ridge with the Golden Hinde in the background, the day after our successful summit]
[Photo 2: Standing under/beside one of the many small waterfalls along the coast while hiking the 47km Juan de Fuca trail]
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Driving into the mountains... 🚗🗻
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We're starting to get eager to head back West and get into the mountains again soon!
We've only got a few weeks left in Halifax... We're going to be starting to plan our drive across the country soon, and we want to see as many cool things along the way as we can! Right now we are planning to head south before we really start west, so we're looking for things to do in the States along the way. 🇺🇸
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Do you have any top suggestions for places to stop and explore in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, or Washington?? Let us know! 👇
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Is it beach season yet?!
*Nevermind the fact that we're wearing our down jackets in this photo...
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In November we had an opportunity to drive to and explore PEI, and naturally we jumped at it! Despite the cooler temperatures, we were still blown away by the beauty of Canada's smallest province. The red sand beaches and cliffs are truly incredible!
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Have you ever been to PEI? If not, we highly recommend it!!
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📍 Flower Ridge Trail, Strathcona, BC
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This popular out-and-back trail is perfect to get out for 1, 2, or multiple days in the backcountry. Hikers can choose to take their time along the ridge, which offers plenty of clear ponds for drinking/cooking water (depending on the season's rainfall) and stunning mountain vistas to both sides. The trail features abundant flowers 🌷 in spring and summer months, and can be used to access more challenging technical terrain further into Strathcona Park.
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🥾 On this particular weekend in September 2022, we spent two nights on the ridge and hiked approximately 26 km. This included our hike in to camp with full packs, a day of exploring further along the ridge, and then our hike back down to the car. The weather on our exploration day started out foggy and misting, but as the day went on the clouds parted and we were treated to some incredible views - including across the valley to Cream Lake where we got engaged in 2020! 💍
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Good morning & happy Saturday! ☀️
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It's a beautiful day here and the daffodils are all out blooming and brightening up our neighbourhood 🌷 We can't wait to get back into the mountains and the alpine meadows of wildflowers soon ⛰️
Are the flowers starting to bloom where you are? 💐
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#
Peter Island Lighthouse
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This lighthouse is located on the tiny Peter Island, which is situated at the southern entrance to Grand Passage, the channel of water between Brier Island and Long Island. The Peter Island Lighthouse stands at 44ft tall and 62ft above the water. It was first built in 1850, and replaced in 1909 by the current tower. It is no longer operating and was last repainted in 2007 - unfortunately the paint has all fallen off and it is now a sad gray.
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The Peter Island Lighthouse can be best viewed from Brier Island. Access to the island is via the Digby Neck heading south from Digby. One ferry is required to access Long Island first, and a second ferry takes vehicles and passengers from Long Island to Brier Island. Both ferries are free!
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Grand Passage Lighthouse
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This lighthouse is also located on Brier Island, but at the northern tip rathern than the southwestern. It is a 28ft-tall, square reinforced concrete style lighthouse. It has a fixed red light elevated 62ft above the high water mark, and can be seen up to 8 mi away from the water. The lighthouse marks the northern entrance to Grand Passage, which runs between Brier Island and the western shore of St. Mary’s Bay. It was originally built in 1901, and replaced in 1964.
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There is one other building onsite, that used to be the residence of the lighthouse keeper. It is now used by the Canadian Coast Guard for a Search and Rescue Team.
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Brier Island Lighthouse
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This lighthouse is located on Nova Scotia's westernmost point, on Brier Island at the southern end of the Digby Neck. It stands 60ft high, with its light 95ft above the water level. The original lighthouse was built in 1809, rebuilt in 1832, then destroyed by fire and rebuilt again in 1944.
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Access to Brier Island requires two (free!) ferry crossings, of less than 5 minutes each. The island is 6km long and 2km wide, and has one main town called Westport, with a population of about 200 people. To the west across the Bay of Fundy is the State of Maine, about 120km away. In the summer, a ferry runs between Yarmouth, NS and Bar Harbour, ME ( ). We're planning on taking the ferry when we start our drive back to British Columbia!
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