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 hundreds of lakes to paddle in the area and we try to get out to as many as we can, adding a few new ones to the list each year. From Highway 24 (Little Fort to 100 Mile House area) are dozens of lakes of all sizes, with differing challenges of access. On a summer\s day, we drove … Continue reading…
We hiked to the summit of July Mountain in the Coquihalla Summit Area in July. Access to the trailhead is off the Coquihalla Highway onto the Juliet Creek FSR. The road is good for a ways as it climbs up the valley, bearing west. At 4.5 km, the road drops down to the creek, crosses a bridge (the sign says … Continue reading…
Access to Minnie Lake and Stoney Lake has been the subject of media attention after Douglas Lake Cattle Company closed down public access 20 years ago. The Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club took up the challenge of public access and after many years in the courts, they won the case. The judgement in the case ordered Douglas … Continue reading…
Every year we take the Sun Peaks summer chairlift to mid-station, then hike to the top of Tod Mountain and back, but we vary the trails each year. We took the Top of the World Trail > West Ridge Trail > Tod Peak Trail > summit, then we returned by Tod’s Backside Trail to West Ridge. Wildflowers were out and … Continue reading…
The Embleton Mountain Trails are fine hiking in all four seasons. We snowshoe the trails in winter, then time an early hike in spring to be after snow melt and mud as spring emerges, then return in summer to enjoy wildflowers, summer views, and warm temperatures, and return in the fall for the autumn colours. Our last hike there was … Continue reading…
Our plan was to hike up the Yak Peak Trail then to traverse over Zopkios Ridge and then ascend Nak Peak, but too many steep hikes in a week took its toll on our legs, so we opted to climb to the top of Yak Peak only on this July day. We parked at the Zopkios Rest Area and walked … Continue reading…
Dairy Lake is found on the high shoulder of Greenstone Mountain at 1423m (4700 feet). The best road to get to the lake is the Dairy FSR from the Duffy Lake FSR. It is a high clearance road, but a reasonable drive in dry conditions, There is a Rec Site on the west shore of the lake. On a summer … Continue reading…
In early July we hiked to the summit of Trophy Two, a long day on the trail. We covered 19 km and spent 8 hours on the trail. The day was warm and cloudy with some mosquitoes in the forest, but none in the upper meadows, nor on the high ridges. We followed the main trail to the end of … Continue reading…
Buse Lake Protected Area is a 228 hectare BC Parks area in Barnhartvale. It includes Buse Lake and some of Buse Hill and the forested steep terrain in-between. Buse Lake is accessible from Barnhartvale Road.and Buse Hill is best accessed from the Robbins Range Road. Access into the park lands on Buse Hill is through private/leased lands, with permission from … Continue reading…
When we stay at the campground at Lac le Jeune Provincial Park, we sometimes hike over to the Lookout Trail, part of the Stake Lake trail system. We exit through a gate at the east end of the park, go along Lac le Jeune Park Drive, onto the Ross Moore Lake FSR, and then up the Rustler Trail. Just before … Continue reading…
The “trail” to the Tappen Bluffs viewpoint is really a backroad, except for the last steep section. A high clearance vehicle can drive for 3.5+ km and then park at a suitable spot for a short hike, but we chose to hike the whole way instead. The up and back route (including some exploration on top) was 9.4 km. The … Continue reading…
Lime Ridge is a 5 km long limestone ridge in Marble Range Provincial Park. From Clinton we drove on the Kelly Lake Road, then turned onto the Jesmond Road. This is the same way we get to the other hikes in the park – Mt. Bowman, Wild Horse Ridge, Mt. Kerr, Porcupine Creek, Jesmond Lookout, Mad Dog Mountain, and … Continue reading…
There are many routes in Kenna Cartwright Park, but the one we return to most often is at the west end of the park. We follow the pipeline route from Hillside Drive to the Sunset Trail but then we turn onto the Mesa Trail then follow a winding route, turning onto Cryptogamic, Lava, Big Pine, and Ponderosa for a 5.5 … Continue reading…
We drove to Brookmere, then found our way up a network of backroads to a parking spot next to the snowmobile hut on Mt. Thynne, then we hiked up the double track to the summit. The whole hiking route is through a subalpine zone on a moderate trail. Many wildflowers were in bloom in mid-June and we enjoyed the … Continue reading…
Greenstone Mountain Provincial Park is an 124 hectare area at the top of the mountain. We can drive right to the top at 1793m (5884 ft.) where there is lots of parking near the communications towers and buildings. There is also an old fire lookout to the south. A number of trails follow the ridge or descend the … Continue reading…
We padded up Clearwater Lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park to the Diver’s Bluff Marine Campground, then hiked the Eagle’s View Trail. We launched our boats (canoes and kayaks) and headed up the west shore of the lake. With calm conditions we were at our destination in about 75 minutes. From the boat launch at the end … Continue reading…
