Times-not-distances signage is a genuine trap for anyone raised on posted kilometres, and 'learn your ratio on day one and multiply' is the exact right fix. I ranked a whole trip's difficulty completely wrong once because I assumed the times were padded for tourists. They were not. The sign-maker was a machine.

The spot stays off the list. Some rankings are for the group chat only.

Came back to endorse the early-flight gospel after a July connection through a mega-hub tried to ruin my life. The 6am I nearly skipped got me there before the day's chaos even started; the friend on the afternoon flight is, as far as I know, still in that terminal. Book the dawn patrol, over-pack the patience.

Did the wallet photo before a hiking trip and then genuinely needed it when a card got demagnetized in a locker. Had the support number in an image and sorted it from a trailhead parking lot. Over-packer, over-preparer, no regrets on either count.

The real amenity math: that view is a trailhead within an hour in three directions. Still shouldn't be on the rent notice, but I understand why they're smug about it.

The strip malls along Kingsway are the answer and always have been. Any spot where the menu photos have faded in the window is charging 2015 prices and the fish is better than the 'experience' place.

Did that climb on a trip east a while back and it made my top-ten list of easy climbs with unreasonable payoff. Tip for next time: go at sunrise. You'll have it to yourself, plus one photographer and one very smug cyclist.

Late addition for the rankings: any airport within striking distance of a mountain town counts the trailhead as terminal food in my books. I've eaten a summit sandwich on a layover. Different sport, same league.

The 'allegedly 400m' portage is a universal constant and I don't trust any posted trail distance in this country. The head-net point is the real MVP tip though — I've watched a strong hiker fully unravel at a buggy dusk campsite for want of a five-dollar net. Bugs beat fitness every time.

This is the window. Every trail on the North Shore is dry, the alpine is open, and I have already over-planned four weekends. Twelve days of sun is not for sitting in, people.

Adding the trail note: dozens of the overlooks have short hikes right off the parking area, so you can turn a scenic drive into a sampler platter of little summits. I ranked my top five in a notebook like a dork. Craggy Gardens won.

The after-dinner-hike thing broke my brain the one July I was up there. Started a trail at what my body swore was late afternoon, summited in full gold light, and it was somehow nearly midnight. Over-packed my headlamp for nothing, which is the happiest way to over-pack.

The Grind is honest, I'll give it that. It's me who lied. To friends. Repeatedly.

This is the move if your hikes are near the ferry towns, which most of the good ones are. Foot-passenger plus transit turns the biggest line item into almost nothing. I'll caveat that the tide-dependent stuff gets harder without wheels, but for a first coast trip it's very doable.

Splurge-where-the-memory-lives is going in my trip notes. I've historically over-invested in nice hotels and then spent zero waking hours in them. Reallocating that to the one big hike or boat day per trip is obviously correct now that you've said it out loud.

For backpackers I'd tweak it slightly: photograph it AND weigh it, because the flat lay looks reasonable and then the pack somehow weighs 40 pounds. But the lost-luggage claim angle is a great reason I hadn't thought of. Adding it to my pre-trip list.