On a mild day in May we drove on the rough Upper Dewdrop Trail to access the Dead Coyote Trail. Using our maps and GPS, we located the Forgotten Trail and hiked to the foot of the Red Plateau Escarpment. The Forgotten Trail was the designated down route for the Dewdrop Trail. Soon after the trail was built I went … Continue reading…
On a cool spring day I drove a short distance up the Greenstone Mountain Road and hiked a loop route. The first trail was Take it Easy as it wound up Cherry Creek then crossed over to the open douglas fir forest. There is a maze of mountain bike trails to choose from but I tried to minimize steep sections … Continue reading…
The main goal of the day was to paddle Barnes Lake, but since it was only 4 km around, I also decided to hike through the hills on the west side of Barnes Lake too. These hills rise above the east side of Ashcroft. The hike was up open sagebrush-grassland slopes to the top of three hills which had open … Continue reading…
The Napier Ranch Conservation Area are lands under the care of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, but the grassland hills are still in use for grazing by Napier Ranch too. A gravel road leads up to the gate and we can enter the area to enjoy the benchland pastures and some of the hills above the Conservation Area (Crown lands). … Continue reading…
I spent half a day with a producer from CFJC TV recording footage for an video to be broadcast later in the month. We hiked up and along the ridge taking videos and flying the drone. The footage will be edited back at the studio. While on the ridge, I took some photos and recorded some action video, shared here. … Continue reading…
On a pleasant spring day I drove up the bumpy road to Pat Lake, sometimes called Six Mile Lake. It is a favorite spring fishing lake, but I stayed close to the shoreline paddling around twice, once in each direction. There were many birds on the shoreline and on the lake, including blackbirds, loons, ducks (mostly coots), geese, bluebirds, … Continue reading…
At the end of Abbey Road (west of Kamloops) an access road for the gasline runs through the hills. There are a number of possible routes through the rocky hills, some following old double tracks and an occasional single track, but the forest and the hillsides are fairly open so we can pick our own routes, respecting fencelines and posted … Continue reading…
On a cool grey day in early April we hiked the rocky Frederick Bluffs. There are no trails in the area, but we have hiked through the hills and gullies many times, passing a series of hidden ponds along the way. As we approached Bighorn Bluff we had our first views over Kamloops Lake. From the bluff, the views extended … Continue reading…
Every year I hike to the summit of Mara Mountain and the most frequent route used is a route from Pruden Pass up the northeast side of the mountain to the top. It is the shortest route with the least elevation gained, but there are no trails for half of the route, but the way is straightforward, winding up through … Continue reading…
We hiked some of the trails off the end of Uplands – Macleod Road in Barnhartvale, opting to hike mostly on the benchlands. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption. This was a moderate hike sandwiched between harder hikes and longer paddles. The Uplands Trails are one of our alternate hikes/walks for such days. The highlight of … Continue reading…
The Cache Creek Hills extend from Battle Creek (west of Juniper Beach) to Cache Creek. The range has open sagebrush – grassland slopes on the south side and forested slopes on the north side. Forest fires have burned the forest and have left charred stumps. Access is limited by rangeland fences, but we can access some routes from the Battle … Continue reading…
Every year we enjoy the hike up Buse Hill. The trailhead is on Robbins Range Road (link to more information) and the trail climbs up open slopes to the forest above. The upper part of the ridge is part of a provincial park. We hike on a double track first, across lands owned by the Buse Creek Ranch. Signs are … Continue reading…
On a cool, windy, and drizzly day I climbed the hills to the south with no set destination in mind. The hike was about 6 km through douglas fir forest, grassland slopes, and snowmelt ponds in gullies. There was some snow still at 1020m (3346 feet). On the lower slopes, buttercups, yellow bells, and rockcress were in bloom. In the … Continue reading…
The Barnes Lake Trails are horse-and-hiker trails in the hills of Barnhartvale (link to more information). We hike the trails in spring and fall each year, enjoying a longer (9.7 km) loop route through grasslands and forests. From grasslands, we hiked through a zone of open forest with a number of ponderosa pine snags. On the outside loop route, we … Continue reading…
The Sunset Trail is at the far west end of Kenna Cartwright Park. We usually hike up there from Hillside Drive past the prison, but the work on the Trans Mountain Pipeline has cut off that access. The hike from the main parking lot to the end of the Sunset Trail is about 3 km with a number of trail … Continue reading…
In 1976, Peterson Creek was the first area that I hiked when I arrived in Kamloops. I lived in Lower Sahali and routes of Peterson Creek were the closest and the most intriguing trails that summer. The lower entrance was well-established and the trails went to the canyon and up the sides, but the upper trails were not defined. Most … Continue reading…
