On a warm summer day, I hiked a route along the rim of Tranquille Canyon from the Watching Creek Rec Site.   The orginal trail on both sides of the river was built when the BC Forest Service had an outdoor recreation department.    There were two bridges across the river and we could hike a loop route.    Both bridges (and one footbridge across Watching Creek) were washed away, so now we have to wade across the river to link up the old trails.   The trails are harder to spot, but recently Al Budreau (Kamloops Backcountry Hikes) has done some trail maintenance.    I have hiked this trail now for 46 years so my feet know the route with or without markers.   

In this area there are steep colorful cliffs on both sides of the canyon.    On this day I followed a trail down a gully to the river.  

It is not advisable to cross the river during freshet, but by the end of July it is easy to wade across.  

The trail picks up on the other side and climbs to the eastern rim.     On the last hike in this area, I continued along the Rim Trail to Watching Creek, then waded across the river for a loop route.    On this day, I followed a new trail up the slopes of Opax Mountain past an area of large boulders then up to a large hoodoo and back (an Al Budreau trail).   Some images of the hike are shared here.    Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.  

Watching Creek Rec Site

Canyon Rim Trail

down the gully to the river

an old boardwalk to the old bridge

hoodoo on the slopes of Opax

above the hoodoo

A few moments from the hike are found in this YouTube video:

I will be back to hike a new route in the canyon this summer so watch for the hike report later in summer.