On a sunny day just before the start of spring I hiked a route across the hills in dry conditions, taking in a series of viewpoints on the southeast end of the Dewdrop Range.   I parked at the first pull-out on the Frederick Road and made my own path up the slope to the top of Dewdrop Ridge.

The top of Dewdrop Ridge is one of the best viewpoints in the whole area.    Kamloops Lake was calm 1 km away and 330 m lower.

The delta area will be flooded in late May, but in March there were many sandbars where the river drains to the lake near Tranquille.

From the upper ridge I descended down a gully to a lower ridge above basalt columns, then followed it west to a faint trail that drops down to the Battle Bluff Trail.

I came up the north ridge of Battle Bluff off trail but paused to look at the basalt columns below the ridge I had just hiked along.

From the south end of Battle Bluff are fine views west down Kamloops Lake.

I followed the main trail down Battle Bluff and back up the hill for a short time, passing this old wreck next to the trail.

On the way back I descended Battle Bluff, followed the main trail for a short time, then ascended the slopes of Dewdrop Ridge, shown here, rising to the north in front of Jag Hill.

The last part of the route was off trail, skirting the top of the bluffs before coming back down to the start, the end of a favorite hike, one that I try to do every year in March.