The Bushwacker Trail was first established when the Stake Lake Trail system was built following the decision to run the Coquihalla Highway through the existing Bush Lake-Timber Lake trails, which had been earlier built for the 1979 BC Winter Games.   Bushwacker was added when the Sidewinder Trail crossed a high shoulder of McConnell Hill.   It was always considered to be a backcountry, ungroomed trail.   It saw a only a few cross country skiers each year.   It was also used by hikers and mountain bikers, but the trail had not been well-marked and many trees had fallen down.

This last fall, the Kamloops Thompson Trails Alliance and Overlander Ski Club had a work crew of 10 out with chainsaws and other tools for a day of work to clear the trail and mark it better.   The goal was to create a multi-use trail, suitable for skiers, snowshoers, hikers, and mountain bikers.   Then, Overlander Ski Club looked for a way to link the existing snowshoe trails to Bushwacker.   A new trail was marked and cleared up a steep spur on the northwest corner of McConnell Hill.   This short section is harder compared to the trails below or the Bushwacker Trail, but it is only 0.5 km long.

We can now snowshoe the established trails and take the spur off the Basalt Cliffs Trail up to the top, then complete the Bushwacker Loop on top.   We did this recently and enjoyed the route.

The lower trails were well-stomped-in.   The spur trail was fine, but would be unsuitable in icy conditions,   Bushwacker is a nice loop with interesting terrain and nice views.  There are two established viewpoints.   We had lunch at the shelter on the south side, about half-way along a 9.5km route.

The Bushwacker loop is not often snowshoed so we were going through fresh snow for much of it.   Our tracks will be there for followers until another snowfall.   Watch for flagging tape at various spots to stay on the trail.

This may be the premier snowshoe route in the area now.   Check it out for yourself.