For 45 years I have been hiking up Mara Mountain. There are several ways up, but the best one is from the northeast with the trailhead at the Pruden Pass Road. the route climbs through grassland and open forest steeply up to a benchland pond, then steeply up to a shoulder of the mountain. A trail can be picked up … Continue reading…
At the end of summer we drove into Lac du Bois Grasslands Park, then out on the Pruden Pass Road to the end. We hiked up the grassland and open forest slopes (within the Park) up to an open bench where homesteaders once lived. Remains of the cabin are still there but the pond that provided water was dry after … Continue reading…
Every year we hike Mt. Mara from the northeast. We will continue to do this wonderful hike as long as we can. We start at the end of the Pruden Pass Road and we climb the northeast slopes to the top, avoiding private lands in the pass. There are bits and pieces of a trail on the way up, but … Continue reading…
Every year we hiked up the northeast side of Mount Mara from the Pruden Pass Road. The route has bits of a trail, but it is mostly open forest and grassy slopes so the route varies a bit each time. It is 3.25 km from the parking area to the viewpoint at the front face of Mount Mara. It takes … Continue reading…
The best view in the Kamloops area is from the south side of Mount Mara. There are 3 routes to this spot. The best known route is up Mara Canyon and at the 3 way junction, continue upward on a steep loose slope in the gully. This is a challenging route and not recommended. An easier, but longer route is … Continue reading…
I have hiked to the top of Mount Mara about 50 times over 4 decades. The view from the summit is wonderful with vistas of the river valleys and all the hills surrounding them. We vary the route most times to explore, but most often we go to the top from the northeast side, parking at the end of the … Continue reading…
The route up to the top of Mount Mara from the south is very interesting, but the top section is very steep. The route from the west is more gradual, but is the longest route. The route from the northeast has the highest start point and is the easiest and quickest route. Drive north on the Lac du Bois Road, … Continue reading…
Every year I hike to the summit of Mara Mountain and the most frequent route used is a route from Pruden Pass up the northeast side of the mountain to the top. It is the shortest route with the least elevation gained, but there are no trails for half of the route, but the way is straightforward, winding up through … Continue reading…
We hiked up through the Mara Canyon Trail and continued up the ridge to the junction with the Mara Ridge trail, but on this day we turned and went to the top of the mountain first. Although I have done the Mara Canyon Loop many times (for 45 years and at least once per year), I only do the route … Continue reading…
There are 2 trails to the top of Mara Mountain and several routes that can be taken. Trailheads/Driving Directions: The trailhead for the Mara Canyon Trail (The Hoodoos Trail, Cinnamon Ridge Trail) can be continued all the way to the top. The longest route comes from the southwest Pruden Pass Road then a double track to the top. Other routes … Continue reading…
When the first warming of late winter comes, the south-facing lower-elevation ridges melt first. Ridges dry off mostly quickly because gravity draws the meltwater away in 3 directions and the tops of ridges are also the most exposed to both wind and sun. Any slope that is at 90 degrees to the low winter sun also receives the most direct … Continue reading…
In late winter as the temperatures started to warm up, the snow melted slowly in the hills. I ventured up into the hills overlooking Tranquille River, following double tracks, single tracks, and some cross country sections through the sagebrush and the snow. From the Mara Trail start, I followed the old wagon track that connects Tranquille to Pruden Pass … Continue reading…
some content our route more content the lower hills more content the flank of Mount Mara conetnt Jag Hill to the west more thin clouds over Mount Dufferin conte coming down the hill towards Kamloops Lake content Tranquille cont my … Continue reading →
Continue reading...There are several routes to get to the top of Mount Mara but each year we go up from Pruden Pass and ascend the northeast slope to the top. This year we went out to the west summit then went back through the gully and back up to the east summit before returning by the same northeast slope. Because we … Continue reading…
We hiked up the northeast side of Mount Mara and traversed to the west summit for lunch. We then went over to the east summit and returned by the NE slope. Along the way we spotted cliff swallows, a red-tailed hawk, lot of mosquitoes, and some wildflowers. A regular article will follow. Some images are provided here. Hover your cursor … Continue reading…
We hike a number of different routes to the top of Mount Mara. The most frequently hiked are up the front side through the canyon and then up the gully (article) or around the west side on the old double track to the west end of Pruden Pass, then up the double track to the top. A favorite … Continue reading…
