Mt Moriarty is one of the more prominent summits of southern Vancouver Island, and is easily seen from the Parksville area. The approach to the summit from Labour Day Lake is a great hike with some great views of the East Coast of Vancouver Island, the Strait of Georgia, and the small lakes below.
The route begins by following the trail down to Labour Day Lake from the end of Cameron Mainline. Once you reach the lake, you will reach a fork in the trail that circumnavigates Labour Day Lake. Keep to the left and follow the shorline until you come across an obvious campsite. Shortly after the campsite, look for a flagged route on your left that will lead up the steep mountainside.
The trail leads east and is a steady climb for about an hour or so through some nicely forested hillside. The path is easy to follow in summer, and there is also flagging along the way. Just as the trail reaches the subalpine it starts to level out a bit and veer south. Though the trail appears to continue straight here, keep a close eye for a bunch of flagging on your left, which leads east up the final steep section before gaining the ridge. This section has a few scrambly sections with minimal exposure, and the view will improve dramatically as you get to the top.
Once you reach the top, the route now begins heading north following the long ridge to the summit. There are some big bluffs early along the ridge on the western side, which can be heavily corniced if there is significant snow on the ridge and should be avoided. The views from all along the ridge are great; to the east you can see across to the Coast Mountains on the mainland and on a clear day can even see Mt. Baker. In the summer there are some nice patches of alpine flowers up there as well. The summit stands at 1610m, and has a Cairn with a summit register to sign. If you climb across some of the giant boulders west of the cairn, you have a great view of Labour Day Lake and Indian Lake below. To the north, you look directly at Mt. Arrowsmith, and the Cameron Valley, with peaks from the Alberni Valley and Strathcona in the distance.
