I started exploring this area in 1976 and I continue to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, I chose to share this information. Getting out 12 months each year, I continue to explore trails, tracks, routes, and waterways of the Kamloops area and beyond.
Spring flowers abound. The Good Fairyslippers, chocolate lilies, larkspur, arnica, spring beauties, and many more grace our hikes. Late spring is our best season for wildlfowers: The Bad The death camas looks like a wild onion in its early stages, but once it flowers, it is yellow and has a dsitinctive plume. All parts of the death camas are poisonous … Continue reading…
A channel that floods in high water on the North Thompson River was featured in a post last summer (link). In May and June, the river expands and rises and creates a mile-long island island across from Westysde. By paddling across the river, a canoe or kayak can enter the channel at either end and enjoy and "everglades" type of … Continue reading…
Although the hike in to Chuwhels Lake is not a destination in itself, it is a good choice when combined with a short hike on the top of Greenstone Mountain. The drive to the top of Greenstone is 22km. Not too far from the top, watch for a signed turn-off towards Chuwhels Lake. Ignore the first road which is named … Continue reading…
When it rains so much, we sometimes walk on McArthur Island Park. Inevitably, an association with the pop song McArthur Park comes to mind when it rains so much. Who can make sense of the lyrics? "McArthur's Park is melting in the dark, All the sweet, green icing flowing down, Someone left the cake out in the rain, And I … Continue reading…
We have wilderness and wildlife corridors right through the middle of our City. The North and South Thompson Rivers are transformed as the waters rise and flood the rock shorelines and sandbars. The rivers expand right into the vegetation zones on either side. While paddling on the river this week, the following can be seen by other observant outdoors people: … Continue reading…
The CocoBonk Trail climbs through the grasslands from Lundbom Lake towards Hamilton Lake, then up a grass track to join a dirt double track all the way to Tent Lake. Although the section from Hamilton Lake to Tent Lake is all uphill, the grade and the surface is easy enough for bikers of reasonable fitness. Along the way there are … Continue reading…
An earlier post/map on this rewarding hike was posted last year (link). To get to the trailhead, drive south from Merritt up the Okanagan Connector and turn off onto the Lundbom Lake Road. This road was recently graded and is in better shape than we have ever seen it before. There are 37 campsites on Marquart and Lundbom Lakes so … Continue reading…
A previous article was posted on McConnell Lake (link). This is a quiet and pleasant walk. It starts at the parking lot: All of the trail on south and east side of the lake is now snow free, though there are some seasonal brooks to skirt. The south shore of the lake sits under a north-slope hill so there are … Continue reading…
The Lac du Bois area was settled and homesteaded by pioneers between the 1870's and the 1920's. By the 1920's, drought had driven out all homesteaders and the old buildings, fences, and fields were left to age. After 100 years, there are only a few remains to be seen – a few building frames, fences, field markers, and some heritage … Continue reading…
We launched out of Cooney Bay on a sunny, blustery day in October. Cooney Bay Road is a bit rough and it is a bit of a haul down to the muddy beach over logs. Once in the water, paddlers have to navigiate around the sandbars at the mouth of the river. It is much easier to round the point … Continue reading…
Good information on trails on Mount Revelstoke is not readily available on-line. There are a number of books and pamphlets available from the Friends of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Park, but not much detail on websites. A general map can be found: We have hiked these trails quite a few times and we enjoy every return visit. Although there … Continue reading…
Herald Park is one of the nicest parks in our area. The Margaret Falls Trail is an easy walk from the campground. For a few years there has been an upper trail too that provides a good hike up one side of the creek and down the other. Over the last year, the trails up Reinecker Creek have been extended … Continue reading…
The official name for this trail in Kenna Cartwright Park is the Mesa Trail. For us, it has become the Owl Trail over many years because in most years there is a nest of owls in a hole in snag overlooking the trail. In the map below, the snag is approximately under the words Mesa Trail in the top left … Continue reading…
The Scuitto Lake Road starts a short ways up the Campbell Range Road. After winding through Tree Flats, it starts to climb through the forest around Mount Vicars. The road is in good shape, but it is a little bumpy. Emerging out of the forest, the road comes to the northeast corner of Scuitto Lake. Both Scuitto and Campbell Lake … Continue reading…
If you expand your hiking to areas beyond the established trails, you can choose to explore and you may find some surprises. Here are a few: 1. Mara Mountain gullies, hoodoos and craggy cliffs on the south side a gentle grassland hike on the north side a large cleft canyon on top 2. Bearcat Caves underground limestone caves in the … Continue reading…
After the first earliest wildlfowers emerged over the last 5 weeks, all at once there are wildflowers appearing everywhere on south-facing slopes. The first balsam root is out: Arrow-leaf balsam root is a perennial member of the sunflower family. All parts of the plant are edible and were an important food soruce for first-nations people. At the same time, other … Continue reading…
