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.
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…
The Barnes Lake Trails are horse-and-hiker routes in Barnhartvale. Mountain bikes are not allowed, and so the trails are less well-known. We did see a couple of horse riders and two dog-walkers, but we hiked 9.8 km and mostly had the trails to ourselves. We started at the Gardiner Road trailhead and did a clockwise loop around the outer trails. … Continue reading…
In early April I hiked from the Wade Road parking area (by the bridge) down the river toward the outflow and back through the forest, a 7 km route. The trails were all in good shape, they were quiet, and the hike by the river was a welcome change. The trails are all part of Tsútcwecw Provincial Park, formerly Roderick … Continue reading…
We hiked from the lower end of Dallas – Barnhartvale Park, starting at the Pussywillow Lane Trailhead at the south end of Mountview Drive. Our route was the outside loop of the trails, including some hiking on the Blackwell Trails on the east side of the park. Pussywillow Lane goes up a gully into the lower silt cliffs and up … Continue reading…
There is a triangular shaped benchland between Owl Road and Highland Drive that is incised by gullies, pitted with sinkholes, and ringed by silt cliffs. Access is by a trail from the start of Owl Road or from a trail on Highland Drive. Double tracks and single tracks provide about 6 km of hiking. On my hike on a cool, … Continue reading…
The Frederick Bluffs are a series of rocky hills on the benchland overlooking Kamloops Lake. there are no trails in the area, but the hills have open grassland-sagebrush-scattered trees, so we can make up our own routes. We always do a loop route and this time we followed a line of hills in a clockwise direction. We usually take an … Continue reading…
Early in spring the lower altitude open slopes dry out first so we often choose the Lower Rose Trails. It is a benchland cut by gullies, but there are some informal double tracks and single tracks that can be combined to create a loop route. On this mid-March day, we hiked 6.2 km on a sunny, cool morning. We started … Continue reading…
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 … Continue reading…
The first areas to dry out at the end of winter are in the valley bottom, then on the lower south-facing open slopes. Some of the best hiking at this time of the year are in the lower Batchelor Hills, the Dewdrop Range, and the Tranquille – Mara Hills. On a sunny day we followed double tracks and single tracks … Continue reading…
The south-facing open sloped hills above the west end of Kamloops Lake dry out quickly and because of this, we hike the Savona to Sabiston Creek Trail in March. We started at the Savona Cemetery and followed the double track above the railway tracks in an easterly direction as the route turned to single tracks, then rougher single tracks on … Continue reading…
At the end of winter the rivers are at their lowest flow, so wide beaches and gravel bars appear, providing new areas to walk and hike. The beaches around Rabbit Island double the island’s size at this time of year and only a narrow channel of flowing water separates McArthur Island from Rabbit Island. From past experience I knew that … Continue reading…
We eagerly awaited a week of hiking in the Superstition Mountains, but we only really got in one day because of the Covid-19 outbreak. We knew we would be leaving Apache Junction soon, so we wanted to do a good one and the hike up Siphon Draw to the Flatiron fit perfectly (our favorite hike in Arizona this year). We … Continue reading…
When the snows melt and the ground thaws, we end up with mud everywhere. Beach sands in the valley bottom are a good choice at first, but soon afterward some of the lower hills start to dry out. First to dry are the south-facing, open slopes. The sun dries out the snow and frost and with the low winter sun … Continue reading…
From the Bluebird Hills in the Dewdrop Range I spotted a frozen waterfall on the Red Plateau Escarpment east of Castle Butte. I returned the next day to explore the route up to the falls. I parked on the edge of the road and hiked the 1km off-trail route to the base of the falls. The gently sloping foot of … Continue reading…
As winter snows disappeared and the ground started to defrost, I headed into the Dewdrop Range on mostly dry terrain, hiking over the hills and dropping into gullies to explore frozen waterfalls. The route followed the Bluebird Trail at the start and finish, but wound south on rougher terrain overlooking Kamloops Lake. On a blue sky day I followed a … Continue reading…
We hiked across the last snows of winter through the Middle Grasslands of Lac du Bois Grasslands Provincial Park on a sunny day. We started at a small pulloff/parking area at about the 9.5 km mark on the Lac du Bois Road and followed stomped in tracks past Island Lake and up to the Grasslands Esker. Island Lake will be … Continue reading…
