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 Sullivan Range is a 1000m high ridge that runs north-south, parallel to the North Thompson River, 5 km south of McLure. The trails are old backroads and double tracks accessed from the Orchard Lake Road. They are part of a trail system adopted by the Horse Council of BC. The Orchard Lake Trails can be accessed by a lower … Continue reading…
Just south of Potholes Reservoir is the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, an area of lava flow cliffs, lakes, ponds, grasslands, and canyons. It is part of the channeled scablands, scoured by the release of an ice age lake, an eroded and complex terrain. We drove into the middle of the Refuge to hike the Frog Lake – Mesa Loop … Continue reading…
The Nicola River’s source is in the highlands west of Okanagan Lake on the west side of the divide, north of the Bear Creek Recreation area and south of the Shorts Creek watershed. The meltwaters of the mountains and high plateau at about 1700 m (5580 feet collect in many streams to become the Nicola River which runs for 3 … Continue reading…
Just south of Potholes Reservoir is the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, an area of lava flow cliffs, lakes, ponds, grasslands, and canyons. It is part of the channeled scablands, scoured by the release of an ice age lake, an eroded and complex terrain. We drove into the middle of the Refuge to hike the Frog Lake – Mesa Loop … Continue reading…
There are no trails or roads into the Charlotte Alplands. Access is mainly by floatplane from Nimpo Lake or for a few, by rough horsepack routes from Charlotte Lake. We flew into Fish Lake and hiked around the Fish – Frog Lake area then hiked out past Cowboy Lakes. There are other ways to get into the Charlotte Alplands for … Continue reading…
The Dewdrop Traverse is a route that spans 19 km one way from the Red Lake Road to Hardie Hill, across the top of Red Plateau. It follows old double tracks, the Dewdrop Trail (single track), and some new single tracks on the west end set by motorcyclists, mountain bikers, and hikers. Only the middle section (the Dewdrop Trail) is … Continue reading…
The Cantilever Range is a part of the Lilloet Ranges on the western side of the Freser River. None of the peaks are easy access. Hikers go up the Stein River but the peaks are too far below the treed valley to be visible We do see them from the tops of hills and mountains in our area, though. From … Continue reading…
A loop route over the hill of Wheeler Mountain and back through Hanging Valley is a nice 7.75 km hike in the grasslands and forest. We followed the double track south from Lac du Bois, then at a clear junction climbed up the muddy double track onto a low shoulder of Wheeler Mountain. Some fall colours still remained around the … Continue reading…
In late October in Kamloops fall colours adorn the riverbanks, especially on the North Thompson River. I launched at Pioneer Park and paddled downstream to the confluence, then turned upstream paddling steadily against current to the Halston Bridge and back. This same route was paddled in March (Up the North Thompson) and will be hope to return in early spring … Continue reading…
While on Kauai, we stayed on the North Shore and chose to paddle the Hanalei River on a cloudy, warm day. We rented boats from Kayak Hanalei and launched into the river. These were 11 foot sit-on-top kayaks. Rudderless, tubby, buoyant, and slow. We turned upstream and paddled for about 2.2 miles into the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge. With a … Continue reading…
Our week in the Charlotte Alplands was based out of a camp on Frog Lake, then we hiked up through the forest to subalpine and alpine terrain north of the Fish-Frog Lakes Valley. We spent two days hiking into rocky alpine terrain on the peak immediately north of the camp. Maps do not name the broad peaks and ridges on … Continue reading…
We returned to hike Estekwalan Mountain in October, 2016. The loop trail is steep one, but the terrain is one of the most interesting in the Interior. The trail follows the rim of an amphitheater of cliffs with rewarding views of rugged terrain. To get to the trailhead, turn onto Wetaskiwin Road (the Dump Road) at the west end … Continue reading…
The Charlotte Alplands are a protected area of rocky mountains, forested valleys, and alpine lakes in a remote area between Charlotte Lake (West Chilcotin) and the Coast Range. The area has no roads or trails so access is by floatplane from Nimpo Lake or through a horsepack outfitter like One Eye Outfit. Once out of the forested valleys, the subalpine … Continue reading…
One of Kamloops finest parks is Peterson Creek Park, a gorge that runs right into the downtown area. The creek starts high on the rocky slopes of Chuwhels Mountain at 1746m (5730 feet). Meltwaters drain to the east for 4km into Connolly Lake, then east down through douglas fir forests continuing east. We have crossed Peterson Creek at various points … Continue reading…
The Jag Hill Jaunt is a moderate hike to a wonderful viewpoint on the rim of the Red Plateau Escarpment. All of the hikes from the Dewdrop Range to the hilltops on Red Plateau are harder hikes with lots of elevation gain, but there are a few routes from the Red Plateau Forest Service Road that are more moderate and … Continue reading…
Stand up paddle boarding on flat water is a lot easier than SUP on the sea. Off the south shore of Kauai we can launch the board through the surf and head out through the waves past all the breakers to the rolling ocean, but its not easy to stay on top. From the shore, we can watch the skillful … Continue reading…
