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.
The East side of Zion National Park is the area accessed off SR9 between the Zion-Mt.Carmel tunnel to the (East) Park Gate. There are a few pulloff parking spots and we can hike up or down the washes in canyons or we can strike off across the slickrock. Many Pools and Tallstack Canyon Slot can be hiked from a parking … Continue reading…
We can hike a loop route through Peterson Creek Park to the east side of eeh gorge and back by following existing trails. From the trailhead at the corner of Summit and Whiteshield Crescent South, we hiked east to the edge of the canyon then followed the Tom Moore Trail to the Billy Miner Trail junction where we descended to … Continue reading…
The Watchman Trail starts right by the Zion National Park Visitors Center and then climbs to a fine viewpoint and back. It is a popular hiking trail because of its easy access and rewarding views. Signs lead the way along the river, then up the gully into the rocky bluffs. As the trail climbs, we are provided with a landscape … Continue reading…
Balancing Rock is a well- known landmark in our area, but not many people actually hike down to it. The parking spot is at a pull-out and gate 1.5 km west of the Six Mile Viewpoint on the TransCanada Highway. Drivers need to make a careful turn if there are other vehicles nearby since it requires a sharp turn on … Continue reading…
The West Rim Trail in Zion National Park has been our favorite trails of the park for many years. We hike it every time we are in the area, but it is a long trail with some significant elevation gains so we were pleased to have a two vehicle shuttle system organized for us to hike the West Rim Trail … Continue reading…
For most of our winters, the Isobel Lake Road can be snowed in, so hikers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers have to trek 2.5 km along the road, but there is an alternative. A trail cut a few decades ago linked McQueen Lake to Isobel Lake. It was built by the BC Forest Service and was called the Forestry Capital Trail. … Continue reading…
Kiholo Bay is accessed via a rough road at the mile marker 82 north of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Kauai. The road winds down through the lava flows to a parking area near the by and then we can hike north or south along the coastline. One of the featured spots is a water-filled lava tube (Keanalele). There … Continue reading…
In late fall when the first snows cover the uplands hills we sometimes hike at the northern end of the grasslands near McQueen Lake. The season for cattle grazing is over in the Nature Conservancy and students are usually not at the Overnight Center in transitions season, but we still want to avoid trespassing on the site when students are … Continue reading…
Nonou or The Sleeping Giant is a small mountain overlooking the east shore of Kauai near Wailua. It is a popular hike near the population centers of Kapa’a, Wailua, and Lihue. There are 3 trailheads – from the southwest (longest), from the west, or from the east. All 3 trails join up on the ridge. We chose the east … Continue reading…
The upper grasslands on the edge of the forest is the north end of the Lac du Bois Conservancy of Canada. it is bordered by Park lands on the east and south and the McQueen Lake Environmental Education Center on the north. Clay Lake and Meadow Pond lie in a grasslands basin surrounded by forest. There are a number of … Continue reading…
Most mountain bikers and hikers access Coal Hill from Pineview. It can be accessed from the top of the Aberdeen area too, but these slopes are grazing lands so hikers have to be mindful of locked gates and posted signage. Most of the grazing is from spring to the middle of summer, so the Pineview trailhead may be a better … Continue reading…
We traveled to the Moab area and back and hiked every day. A few hikes from the Moab area (outside of Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park) are featured here as a video:
Continue reading...Stony Lake is a grasslands pond that lies in a hollow below a steep hill on the edge of the upper grasslands. When the area was occupied by homesteaders between 1900 and 1925, they named it Stony Lake. M. Scott built a homestead on the shores of the lake in 1914 but was gone by 1919. Some of the walls … Continue reading…
The Eagle Crags are spires of rock at the northern end of the Vermillion Cliffs, just outside Zion National Park. Access to the trailhead is in Rockville. Take Bridge Road to cross the Virgin River and go straight up the hill at the intersection (not right to Grafton). The road is gravel and some sections will not be suitable to … Continue reading…
A network of 132 kms of OHV trails can be found all along the flanks of Greenstone Mountain. On the east are the Inks Lakes Trails, On the north slopes are the Duffy Greenstone Trails and on the west side are the Duffy Lake – Dairy Lake Trails. The double track roads can be used by motorcycles, quads, and jeeps/4×4’s. … Continue reading…
We hike in the backcountry often and take a lot of photos. Every image we take is an attempt to capture part of the experience we have. Our personal impressions are rarely captured in a photo. In the first stage, we selectively choose (frame) the scene, including or excluding subjects or objects. We pay a lot of attention to exposure, … Continue reading…
