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.
I explored the hills above Battle Creek in the Cache Creek Hills, watching for shale slopes (fossils), wildflowers, interesting rocks, and wildlife. There were no trails and I picked an eclectic route. I spotted more hills to explore, so I will return again this year to climb through the hills. The Thompson River wound through the valley bottom towards Ashcroft. … Continue reading…
There are no established trails in the corridor down the Trans Canada Highway, but there are various spots where we can hike up into the dry hills to create our own routes, avoiding fencelines and grazing slopes. It takes some exploration, but over the years we have found some hills to hike, leaving nothing but temporary footprints in our wake. … Continue reading…
The Sunrise Mountain Trail starts at the end of Ronde Lane in Barnhartvale. It is a very steep hike, so we only do this route every 2 -3 years. On a cool, drizzly May day we hiked up to the top, then looped on a route we knew down the back side onto old tracks. On the way up, we … Continue reading…
The Mount Embleton Trails are well-established recreational hiking trails in the hills above Heffley Lake. We have hiked there for decades, doing various loop routes in different seasons, including winter. On this early May day, we drove to the upper parking area (P2) and hiked up the trails in a counter-clockwise loop. In spring the creeks are running and some … Continue reading…
On a cool May morning I hiked in the Middle Grasslands with a goal to go around Island Lake, but also to visit the Grasslands Esker and the Long Lake viewpoint. At about 1.6 km I arrived at the hilltop overlooking Long Lake. A helicopter flew in and filled a bucket of water from the lake, probably to douse a … Continue reading…
On an early May morning we went to Lac du Bois and hiked around the lake in a 6 km loop. There is a good double track around the north side of the lake. Ducks, turtles, and muskrats can be spotted at the edge of the riparian zone. At the west end of the lake, the double track continues to … Continue reading…
The Ragged Red Ridge has no trail. It is a continuous ridge that rises from the Dewdrop Range to the upper rim of the Red Plateau Escarpment. The well-established Dewdrop Trail climbs up a gully, then a parallel ridge to the rim, a much easier route. We have climbed up the Ragged Red Ridge and have looped down the Dewdrop … Continue reading…
In early May we hiked the Deep Lake trail, taking the turns to complete the extended loop, a 7.3 km route. Most of the group hiked up from Westsyde Road since there is very little parking near the trailhead. The lower slopes are in the grasslands, with a scattering of pine and fir trees and some old snags. We continued … Continue reading…
The Outer Inks Trail system is a wide area of forested routes on the lower slopes of Chuwhels and Greenstone Mountain. The Coquihalla Highway is the eastern border. There are a few roads and a lot of ATV tracks. Many of the single and double tracks provide good hiking, especially in the off-season for motorized vehicles. Some of the tracks … Continue reading…
Although we have hiked to the Guardsmen many times, we try to take a different route each time or to combine different detours, often taking an eclectic approach along the way. The Guardsmen are a number of large hoodoos standing over Tranquille River in a difficult-to-get-to spot of the rugged canyon. We started at the trailhead for the … Continue reading…
On a sunny day at the end of April I brought my kayak and my hiking boots into the Six Mile Hills. I paddled around Pat Lake twice (4 km) first, then secured the boat. I headed up through the hills on an eclectic route. The open south-facing slopes have a number of ponderosa pine snags still standing, but … Continue reading…
We drove out onto the Robbins Range Road in Barnhartvale and continued to the trailhead to Buse Hill Provincial Park. We parked just off the road, and climbed up the double track toward the summit. The lower slopes are part of Buse Creek Ranch. The grassland hills offer wide views to the north toward Sunrise Mountain. The park is the … Continue reading…
Painted Bluffs Provincial Park is located on the north side of Kamloops Lake and is accessed by boat or overland from the Copper Creek Road. This has been a hiking destination every year for decades and we have chosen different routes almost every year. On a sunny April morning we hiked into Painted Bluffs, through the hills, … Continue reading…
There is some fine hiking terrain near Six Mile Hill in the hills above the TransCanada Highway to the west of Kamloops. An old road bears off to the left just past the Tobiano turn. If you take this turn watch for vehicles moving quickly since it is a sharp turn onto a bumpy road. Some of the Six Mile … Continue reading…
In shoulder season I sometimes strike off through the hills, hiking an eclectic route, adjusting the path to explore hills, gullies, ridges, and slopes without any specific plan in mind. On a windy, cool day which had several hail storms, I wandered through the hills above Kamloops Lake. The areas were dry, with only a few early plants emerging. I … Continue reading…
On a windy spring day we hiked a loop route through Peterson Creek Park, staying as close to the canyon rim as we could. We crossed the creek on a side trail and followed a single track on the east side of the canyon that we call the East Rim Trail. There are a few interesting trees on the slopes … Continue reading…
