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.
Update – there is a new map for this area. Please check the KBRA site for the most recent information. For a few decades we have been running, hiking, and then biking through the Ironmask Hills. Several successions of new land-owners/grazing leaseholders put up fences over the years, but we quietly continued to follow the old tracks, always avoiding seasonal … Continue reading…
Park Avenue is a short hike in Arches National Park. It is only 1 mile one way, but is an impressive walk. Two of us stated at opposite ends and exchanged truck keys in the middle. From the top features like Queen Nefertiti’s Rock, Sausage Rock, and Queen Victoria Rock stand tall above the sides of the wash. Along the … Continue reading…
With many great hikes in the Sedona, Arizona area we can pick a new one every day for months. An easier scenic hike of 4.25 miles is found 6.2 miles south near the Village of Oak Creek. The trailhead is at the Bell Rock Vista. There are several route options, but we chose to follow the Big Park Loop through … Continue reading…
The Batchelor Range runs from the grasslands of the Deep Lake area all the way to the Batchelor Hills subdivision. There are a series of steep hills and any route that traverses the hills will have lots of elevation gain and loss. We chose a loop route that had 1900 feet gained and 1900 feet lost over 11 km. The … Continue reading…
When snows cover the hills and cattle have left the rangelands, we go out and walk the “empty” hills watching for wind-swept living trees and old standing snags. We continue to explore until spring when we leave the ranges for the cattle. We go across the sagebrush and grass-covered hills to viewpoints, exploring wherever our interest takes us. On this … Continue reading…
Much of the Dewdrop Range is rolling grassland hills separated by gullies, but the middle section has a number of rugged, rocky hills. We can contour between the hills and climb ridges to viewpoints. With the pine beetle and tussock moth invasions, dead trees have fallen on the double tracks and they are fading into faint trails and tracks so … Continue reading…
The Upper Grasslands of Lac du Bois has a few old tracks, but no trails are needed in the mostly-treeless terrain. When we reach the rolling hills past the 7km mark on the Lac du Bois Road, we can contour around hills or we can follow ridges to viewpoints. Raptor Ridge is so named because hawks often perch on the … Continue reading…
Jag Hill is the southeastern-most ridge of the Red Plateau Escarpment. It is an easy hike out from the Red Plateau Forest Service Road (article), but it is a hard scramble up from the Dewdrop Range. We started at the Dewdrop Trail parking area, but went off-trail right away, climbing grassy slopes up to a view over the Dewdrop Range. … Continue reading…
A good early-season paddle is to launch at Pioneer Park and paddle down to the Confluence of the two rivers, then take a sharp right turn right to go up the North Thompson River. It is never an easy paddle upstream, but we look for the slowest water on the river, crossing back and forth, sometimes progressing quite slowly. This … Continue reading…
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Continue reading...Although we have been hiking into the Deep Lake area for decades, parking access has now changed. We now start lower down on Ida Road, at the turning circle before the new subdivision. Once we are above the new development, the traditional trails can still be followed up the hill. As we approach the hill that overlooks Deep Lake, we … Continue reading…
The hills overlooking the south shore of Kamloops Lake have extensive slopes of sage and grasslands. The hilltops and north-facing areas have ponderosa and douglas fir trees, but it is open forest allowing easy passage in any direction. There are a few tracks/dirt roads too, all behind fence lines. Cattle will be on these ranges soon so we keep our … Continue reading…
The treeless hills on the west side of the Lac du Bois Road provide good hiking in the early season. We parked at the gate and turned up on a single track that climbs between two summits of Batchelor Hill. The final uphill section is a steep climb to the Batchelor Hill Mine area. From the top of the hill … Continue reading…
When the winter ice melts, we can get out paddling on the river early. This year, our first outing was in February. The water is cold so a number of measures can be taken. We wear neoprene socks and booties so we can step into the water to launch and land. We wear neoprene gloves for our hands and try … Continue reading…
Our best riverside walk starts on the Rivers Trail at the end of Aviation Way. The trailbed is a raised dike above the high water mark. If we hike this in early spring/late winter, we can combine the trail with a diversion to Dale’s Antique Beach, and the sandbars that extend toward Tranquille. The trail heads west passing between riparian … Continue reading…
By the end of February, the south-facing slopes north of Kamloops lose their snow and a week of muddy conditions follows. Sloped benchlands dry out quickly with no tree cover, so we can hike on the lower slopes of the Batchelor Hills early. The area to the west of the Lac du Bois Road has longer routes that wind … Continue reading…
