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.
Okanagan Mountain Park was burned by the wildfires of 2003, and there are only patches of trees that were not incinerated, but the understory has now grown up and the gullies, canyons, and low spots are all full of spring growth. Shrubs, perennial wildflowers, grasses, and annuals cover the rocky slopes among the blackened stumps. We picked Okanagan Mountain for … Continue reading…
This area is mostly unknown, except to a few snowmobilers, quadders, or hunters. The lakes lie in an area east of Lac le Jeune (4 km as the crow flies) and north of Ross Moore Lake (2km). The best road access is to take the McConnell Forest Service Road (a good gravel road, heading east off the Lac le … Continue reading…
We enjoy hiking the old tracks above Lac du Bois in every season and we returned to the Homesteads Hike in May this year. Details on the Homesteads route was posted previously. Follow the (link) for a detailed map and description.The route is becoming more grown over now that access is limited to vehicles by the Nature Conservancy of … Continue reading…
Although the backroads of Campbell Range and Robbins Range are perfect for riding, the long hill up to the top is a big challenge, a big 625m (2000 feet) elevation gain over 5km. So, we chose to park a vehicle at the bottom and drove the rest of the bikes and riders to the top, starting at the edge of … Continue reading…
At the top of the Lac du Bois Grasslands, right where the open areas meet the forest at 1000m elevation are outstanding flower meadows in spring. In mid-May the balsam root is flowering on open slopes. Chocolate lilies, larkspur, desert parsley, woodland star, shooting stars, death camas, violets, Thompson’s paintbrush, false solomons seal, avens, and lemonweed all compete for space, … Continue reading…
Jackson Road runs from Highway 5A South up to the Long Lake Road, a total of 9 km each way. We drive to the turn-off and park at the bottom. We ride our bikes up the gravel road, climbing 173m. Much of the route is an easy climb, but a few sections are steeper. Most of the route is past … Continue reading…
Some trails that are not well known are right within the City. The Lower Rose Trails are a combination old double tracks and newer single tracks. Our recent hike on these trails was 6km. To access these trails, park near the end of Orchard Road (lower left above) or near the trailer park on Rose Hill Road. There are almost … Continue reading…
This trail is a nice one, but there will be lots of people along the route and at the arch. In Arches National Park, take the Delicate Arch Road and park at the trailhead. The trail climbs up to the top of the hill and back over 3 miles (5km). The upper part goes along a ledge to a slickrock … Continue reading…
This steep hill stands above Ashcroft. It is entirely within Elephant Hill Provincial Park (link) and is designated as a natural dry grasslands environment and, as such, has no designated trails, but from exploration, we know routes up the hill and back. We drive down the main route into Ashcroft, then we park at the Pegasus water tower, just across … Continue reading…
Bitterroot (lewisia rediviva) is more commonly found in eastern Wahington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, but can also be found in a couple of pockets in British Columbia. In this area, there are a few spots between Ashcroft and Spences Bridge and a few spots south of Summerland. It blooms at the end of May with flowers emerging above the … Continue reading…
We traveled to Moab, Utah and spent 15 days hiking in the area. Three of those days were spent in Arches National Park, completing most of the official hiking trails. From a hiker’s perspective, Arches offers some unique hiking and has much to offer: easy road access (10 minutes from Moab) a well-organized trail system lots to see (2000 arches … Continue reading…
A little-known route on Mount Mara takes the hiker/scrambler above the main trail past hoodoos and sculpted rocks of the front side up to the base of the cliffs below the summit. From there, several options are available – return by the same route, traverse east over to the main trail, traverse over to the west to come down … Continue reading…
Horseshoe Canyon is a unit of Canyonlands National Park, situated in a remote part of the high desert in Utah. We came into the site from Moab, a 2.5 hours drive each way, the last part on a backroad. We drove on one 47 mile backroad from the town of Green River (we saw no one the entire distance), then … Continue reading…
This story has been taken down because it had some errors. The most important of these is that the property is still a working ranch and is not open to the public without permission from the owner. I used the sign at the gate and the article on the Nature Conservancy site to base the article, but additional research would … Continue reading…
Moab, Utah lies at the bottom of a fault in the Colorado Plateau. Red cliffs, buttes, and hills rise up on every side. On the west side are cliffs that stand 1500 to 1800 feet above the town. This is the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Area. There are no trails or tracks that go over these cliffs from … Continue reading…
The backroads by Stump Lake provide moderate and scenic riding. We started at the south end of the lake where the Planet Mine Road meets the Highway. We followed the paved road northwest as it winds through some hills, then passes a number of homes, and at the end of the paved section, followed the rougher double track that went … Continue reading…
