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.
There are many miles of backroads and tracks off the Timber Lake Road, west of the Coquihalla Highway. The gravel road is a good one in dry conditions, but it is not plowed in winter. A few 4WD vehicles drive into the area so it is best to wait until the road is track is packed down enough before venturing … Continue reading…
At the end of winter, I head into the canyons to find frozen falls. There are a number of them in our area, but many are hard to get to. A favorite is deep in Red Canyon in the Red Plateau Escarpment. I donned my microspikes and hiked up the Dewdrop Trail, then veered left into the mouth of Red … Continue reading…
We snowshoed a loop route in the Lac du Bois Grasslands Conservancy on a mild sunny winter day. We parked at the gravel pull-out just before the McQueen Lake SW gate and walked down the road to the edge of the forest where we followed an old double track into the forest above Clay Lake. The first part of the … Continue reading…
There is a rough trail up to the foot of Bridalveil Falls in the Peterson Creek Canyon. In summer it is a light scramble, but care must be taken because of the possibility of falling rock in the narrow canyon. In winter, the whole route is on ice. I went in with microspikes on which worked fine but I encountered … Continue reading…
When winter snows blanket the hills we first hike on the snow, but as the snow depth builds up, we turn to snowshoeing. But in many months in the Kamloops area, warm temperatures arrive for up to a month and the snow melts at lower elevations. The snow on the hills becomes slushy, crusty, or icy, so hiking becomes a … Continue reading…
The trailhead for any hikes into the Red Hill area is 6 km up the Lac du Bois Road from the cattleguard. A parking area, gate, and sign are on the right. From the gate, trails go left, right, and up the hill. The trails dwindle on the east side of Red Hill itself, but the whole area is open … Continue reading…
In the middle of winter the northwest slopes of Hull Hill provide snowshoeing opportunities. The easiest trailhead is just off the Goose Lake Road, 400 m down from the Lac le Jeune Road. Snowshoers can park near the gate or can park higher up and walk down to the trailhead. There are no official trails but there are tracks set … Continue reading…
When the sun is shining on a winter’s day, we head up into the high forest to snowshoe eclectic tracks and routes mostly choosing a different route each time. On this mild day we stomped tracks and paths in the Bush Lake area, including around the lake itself. Bush Lake is not a large lake. A stomp around the perimeter … Continue reading…
Back in 1979 I did a solo backpack to Battle Mountain. I took some photos with a cheap disposable camera, but lost the photos over the last 40 years. Recently I purchased a device to scan old negatives and found a few images. I did the backpack again in 2019 (link to the article). In 1979, I parked at the … Continue reading…
As winter progressed we had some milder days and over a few weeks, the snow and ice on south-facing lower slopes melted and ran off downhill. The lower slopes of the Batchelor Hills are often the first to be clear of snow and ice. On a cold day, the ground was frozen so I chose to start at one of … Continue reading…
The Santa Catalina Mountains rise above the Sonoran Desert near Tuscon. Stream-cut canyons provide access into the mountains. A narrow and winding road was built into the canyon, wide enough for only vehicle at a time and since 1978 a tram has run up the canyon for 3.8 miles with 9 stops along the way, providing access to various trailheads. … Continue reading…
Every winter we snowshoe from the Lac le Jeune Estates area up to the Ridge Lakes. There are several possible routes, but many of the tracks shown on any map are plagued by windfall and so no one follows them on snowmobiles or snowshoes. A reliable route that is usually tracked with snowshoes starts at the end of Lac le … Continue reading…
There are a number of snowshoe routes that start at Lodgepole Lake. Various shorter loops can be combined for a day in the snowy forests. A longer route has been developed over many years of exploration. It connects a series of ponds, lakes, streambeds, double tracks, and established single tracks, all in the Walloper Creek drainage area, but the route … Continue reading…
In winter I either hike in the valley or snowshoe in the high country. One of the areas that offers many routes choices is Lodgepole Lake. I drive to the end of the road at the Rec Site and then head out on one of the many route possibilities, sometimes exploring new routes. On a mild winter day, I went … Continue reading…
The snowshoe trails in the Stake Lake system are a reliable, pleasant outing on a winter day. With good weather we snowshoed a 6.6 km loop route on the Giant Firs Trail, the Marsh Trail, the Basalt Bluffs Trail, and the Lake Trail, a 2.5 hour stomp in the woods. The low winter morning sun had not yet risen over … Continue reading…
We have been snowshoeing, hiking, cross country skiing and exploring the Bush Lakes areas for 40 years. Trails were established in 1977 for the first BC Winter Games. That’s when the parking lot was first established. Trails went west on double tracks and single tracks. We had a number of established trails, outhouses on the route, signage, and some grooming … Continue reading…
