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.
Pavilion Lake sits in Marble Canyon between Cache Creek and Lillooet. It is at the southern end of the Marble Range which runs north to Jesmond. It is in a karst formation of grey limestone, steep and ragged. The crystal blue waters of Pavilion Lake lie at the foot of the cliffs. Not only are the waters of the lake … Continue reading…
If you have stayed at Mile High Lodge, you may have been on Face Lake, but if not, it is hard to get to. Drive up the Paska Lake Road and not far past, the road ends at the Mile High Lodge. You may be able to park at the lodge and launch your boat, possibly for a fee, but … Continue reading…
The Illecillewaet Glacier covered 9.3 square kilometres in 1850. By 1978, it was reduced to 6.8 sq. km. It is still shrinking and most of the loss is in the tongues of ice that stretch from the neve on top down into the valleys. When the railway was completed in 1885, tourists and climbers came to Rogers Pass to see … Continue reading…
The Bonaparte Plateau is not an easy place to explore. The backroads to 5000 feet are long and not well marked. The trailheads are difficult to find. Except for the Skoatl Point trail, most trails are hard to follow, overgrown, covered in fallen trees, and short on views. We head up there every summer to explore in spite of these … Continue reading…
Yak Peak is the rockslab-faced peak directly oerlooking the Coquihalla. It has been a climber's destination for some time, but the climbers also had a down-hike trail and this route has been upgraded to a good trail for hikers too. We parked at the Zopkios Ridge rest stop and hiked back along the highway to find the trailhead. The guidebook … Continue reading…
A historic trail in the Rogers Pass area is worth an hour of easy hiking. The Loop Brook trailhead is next to the Trans Canada Highway a few kilometres west of the pass. To avoid avalanche slopes, engineers brought the railroad into the Loop Brook Valley in a double loop (figure 8) shape. The wooden trestles were replaced with concrete … Continue reading…
The Tranquille Slot Canyons have been one of our favorite areas to explore for a few years. We usually go down to the slots each year, but often in different seasons. Summer is a favorite because once the water levels go down and the water temperature goes up, we can traverse the north slot and scramble the south slot. Previous … Continue reading…
The 500th article was published to this site. At the same time, about 920 000 separate visits were logged. Then the database was inadvertently wrecked and the site went down for two days. I wasn't sure it could be recovered, but I got some technical help and once I could get into the backend, I have been doing some additional … Continue reading…
Paska Lake is a higher plateau lake, attracting more fishermen in the middle of summer when the lower lakes are not very productive. To reach Paska, take the road to Logan Lake and turn north onto the Paska Lake Road and watch for the rec site 12 km up. A gravel boat launch makes a good spot to put … Continue reading…
We try to take the chair up Tod Mountain each July to hike the trails and see the wildlfower display. We chose Twoonie Tuesday this year, which is scheduled before the main flower display. In some years there is snow and mud at the start of July, but this year the trails were mostly dry and free of snow. Our … Continue reading…
The run down the North Thompson River from McLure to Kamloops is about 36 km. We launched from the McLure Ferry on the west side in our ocean-going kayaks. In high water, the river runs faster and all the island channels open up. We immediately chose the channel behind a larger island and we continued to take these types of … Continue reading…
Although we have visited the Guardsmen many times, we often take different routes in and out. Details on how to get to the area are already documented on this site (type Guardsmen into the Search box). On this trip, we followed a track and game trail into the vale between Wheeler Mountain and the Mara hills. Eskers from the last … Continue reading…
We try to visit Painted Bluffs every year. It can be done by driving the Sabiston Creek Road and then down to Copper Creek. but this is a long and awkward route. Our preference is to paddle over from Savona, a 6.5 km route (each way) with a 1.5 km lake crossing. There is a beach below the park suitable … Continue reading…
The floodlands out from Tranquille invite paddlers an opportunity to paddle for about 10km through channels, bays, and lagoon-like mazes of wetland vegetation. Launching out of Tranquille, both sides of the river await exploration. As the freshet approaches in June, the wildlife also moves in. The earliest residents are ducks, geese, blackbirds, and other nesting waterfowl and wetland birds. Under … Continue reading…
The Marble Range extends from Spences Bridge to Jesmond. The highest peaks are at the northern end and there are a number of hiking trails from the Jesmond Road up to Mt. Bowman, Mad Dog Mountain, Wild Horse Ridge, Mt. Kerr, Lime Ridge, and Porcupine Ridge. The northern part of the range is characterized by rugged limestone ridges and peaks … Continue reading…
I had heard about a cave near Monck Park on Nicola Lake, but waited for better location information. Recently a geocache was placed inside the cave and I now had coordinates to find it. I took a drive down to check it out. To visit the cave, drive along the road toward Monck Park. As you crest a rocky bluff, … Continue reading…
