About • MB Guiding

Professional Certification

Mike Blake ACMG Hiking Guide — Mike guiding the team on the North Coast Trail in Cape Scott Provincial Park.

Mike Blake is an Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) certified Hiking Guide located in Victoria, British Columbia. He is the leader and instructor on all of our guided trips and workshops. Mike has been guiding and instructing adventure sports since 2004. He is passionate about creating and sharing world-class wilderness adventures. Mike has a particular interest in our diverse wildlife, geography, and history. He combines his technical expertise with wilderness education and natural interpretation. Continuing professional development is an ongoing process. Mike is keen to learn and strives to deliver his knowledge in fun and entertaining ways!

Dedicated Team

Tennent Lake Circuit Carwithen Lake Marine Fog — Lara above Carwithen Lake in the wild backcountry of Strathcona Provincial Park.

Lara Campbell, born and raised on Vancouver Island, has a life-long appreciation for wild places and new adventures. Lara has a successful career as a professional pharmaceutical scientist and spends a lot of time writing technical papers in her field of expertise. Drawing from her science background, she loves to blog about our adventures and inspire an appreciation for the wilderness. Looking to expand her portfolio, she trains to improve her outdoor skills. Lara holds the record for participating in the most MB Guiding trips and workshops!

Repeat Alumni

Augerpoint Traverse Mount Albert Edward Summit Ridge Sunrise Hiking — Our enthusiastic alumni enjoy hiking to new destinations year after year.

One of our greatest pleasures is helping repeat trip participants experience a new adventure. Sometimes past workshop participants book a guided trip to practice their new skills. Other times, participants desire new terrain challenges in different locations. Several of our participants are skilled in the outdoors, but enjoy the safety, camaraderie, and logistics advantages of joining guided trips. Our relationships with these folks span many years, evolving into friendships near and far. We help fulfill personal hiking dream lists. Our alumni always book well in advance for their next trip, often up to a year. We are a small company and they know that space is limited. We are always delighted when a past participant contacts us to see what we have planned for the next hiking season.

Vegan Lifestyle

North Coast Trail Laura Creek Wolf Tracks — Wolf tracks are a common sight on the North Coast Trail. On most mornings, we woke to a fresh set stamped along the beach. Laura Creek Camp had some large samples, preserved in the sand until the next tide.

The vegan lifestyle is delicious and easier than ever! When Lara first went vegan, there was only one mainstream cookbook available. Today, there are thousands of vegan cookbooks, how-to pamphlets, businesses, grocery stores, books, restaurants, documentaries, websites, blogs, and online videos to provide goods, services, instructions, evidence, and inspiration. Data from Google Trends shows that searches for the term “vegan” have increased worldwide. Many professional athletes (including ultra-runners, body builders, and team sport athletes) choose to eat healthy plant-based diets to fuel optimal performance.

Lara has been vegan for 20 years and Mike for 9 years. When Lara went vegan in 2002, her family thought she was nuts! Living in Vancouver, she would return to Victoria for holiday dinners, only to be teased with curiosity. Her granddad would ask if she brought home her “wooden (tofu) turkey.” Today, Lara and Mike cook delicious vegan feasts for family members and share tasty baked goods with co-workers. Mike’s dad sends us articles about the rising demand for vegetables.

We are often asked why we are vegan. The health and environmental reasons are important to us, but our primary reason is love of animals. One of the joys of a wilderness experience is seeing wild animals alive and happy in their natural homes.

Family Of Partners

Nootka Trail Starfish Lagoon Air Nootka De Havilland Beaver

World-class adventures require world-class support. We appreciate our extended family of partners: