Description
Location: Strathcona Provincial Park
Distance: 37 kilometres
Duration: 3 days / 2 nights
Intensity: Moderate
Group size: 5 guests max
Staging area: Port Alberni, BC
The Della Falls Trail is a popular backpacking trip up the historic Drinkwater Creek of Strathcona Provincial Park. Our objectives will be experiencing an incredible adventure and learning about backpacking in a mountain environment. In 2019, we will offer two trips. Itinerary and side-explorations are dependant on team desire and weather.
Who is this trip for?
Our goal is to build strong teams and best match our guests to a specific trip. Our Della Falls Trail guided trips are best suited for:
- Enthusiastic novice backpackers with a high level of physical fitness; OR
- Strong intermediate backpackers; OR
- Advanced backpackers wanting to learn / refine skills or experience an adventure with all of the logistics taken care of; OR
- Returning guests who have joined us previously on a multi-day Strathcona Park backpacking trip.
Definitions of experience levels:
- First-time backpacker: You have done some day-hiking, but have no overnight backpacking experience.
- Novice: You have completed some short backpacking trips.
- Intermediate: You backpack often on established trails or have participated in guided backpacking trips in the past.
- Advanced: You backpack often on established trails and off-trail in remote areas. You have solid wilderness navigation and wilderness first aid skills.
Additional considerations:
- Look forward to challenging obstacles such as steep slopes, washouts, seasonal overgrowth, exposure, loose scree, elevation gains and loss, landslide zones, rugged terrain, a cable car, and steal beam bridge.
- Be comfortable hiking and carrying your loaded backpack for 8-10 hours per day.
- Expect to hike and camp in all weather conditions (wet, cold, heat).
Why join us?
Beautiful scenery, incredible wildlife, and a life-changing adventure are guaranteed. We encourage and empower our guests to become a part of the adventure. You will experience your trip the way an outdoor professional does. Our Della Falls Trail guided trips feature:
- Waterfalls plus. Horsetail-shaped Della Falls is the famous objective of this backpacking trip, but other beautiful objectives are possible. The day-hike up to turquoise Love Lake for a picnic and a swim is an unforgettable Strathcona Park experience.
- Guiding excellence. Mike is a certified ACMG Hiking Guide and passionate about creating and sharing beautiful wilderness adventures. He has discovered a love of teaching and strives to offer the added value of personal coaching to all his guests.
- Experiential learning. All of our trips are rich in experiential learning. Immerse yourself in learning and gain the confidence and skills to apply to your own trips. Coaching starts on the day your registration is confirmed and continues for the duration of the trip.
Despite the rain and cooler than average temperatures Mike remained positive and always helpful. We learned a lot from Mike during our trip specifically the importance of staying put to stay warm and safe and how to set up camp to make it comfortable in rainy weather. Mike is very knowledgeable about hiking and he is methodical about being safe in the back-country. We really appreciated that Mike is always ready to have fun and he has lots of interesting stories to tell about the local area. Both of us had an excellent experience on our Della Falls hiking trip with Mike.
– Catherine and Bruce, Vancouver
