The Six Mile Hills area has rocky hills, ponds and marshes, two lakes, double tracks routes, and open slopes suitable for hiking. We usually hike a route through the hills each year and we paddle one of the lakes in most years. On this October day, we hiked a 9+ km route under sunny skies. We drove up the bumpy … Continue reading…
We camped at the end of the Clearwater Valley Road by Clearwater Lake and paddled the lake and hiked some trails, then, on the way back we hiked the North Dawson Falls Trail. A sign marks the trailhead not far from the Pyramid Trailhead. A loop route can be hiked, but on this occasion, we hiked in and back out … Continue reading…
On a sunny fall morning, the Raptor Ridge route was chosen for a moderate hike through the middle grasslands. The ridge parallels the Lac du Bois Road and from the high point at the north end there are often hawks perched on douglas fir trees and stumps, watching over the Lac du Bois Grasslands below. The start is at the … Continue reading…
We parked at the McQueen Lake entrance, then continued down the Isobel Lake Road, turning (at N50° 50.081′ W 120° 26.001′ ) onto the Forest Capital Trail (now called Beer’s a Waitin’ by the mountain biking community) and continued along the single/double track/trail to Isobel Lake. The trail is a good one, which we also use in winter on snowshoes. … Continue reading…
We hiked up the east side of Opax Mountain and out to the open ridge overlooking Hanging Valley. Lava cliffs face south and above is an open grassland slope with wide views. We drove up a side road from McQueen Lake and parked near Mud Lake. We followed an old double track road as it climbed for 2.7 km to … Continue reading…
To get to Murtle Lake, we have to drive to Blue River, then drive up into the mountains for 23 km. At the trailhead we have to load the kayaks onto carts and portage for 2.5 km. At the boat launch on Murtle Lagoon, we then paddle for 12 to 14 km to camp at a marine campsite. On this … Continue reading…
The Clearwater Lake Campgrounds are at the end of the Clearwater Valley road in Wells Gray Provincial Park. From the campground are several tails which go east and north. The trailhead for the Osprey Lookout starts right at the campground. The signed and well-maintained trail is also the trailhead for the Sticta Falls and Dragon’s Tongue, the Osprey Loop, … Continue reading…
From the Clearwater Lake campsites there are trailheads to several trails, including the Sticta Falls and Dragon’s Tongue Trails. In the morning we we hiked on the trail which goes through a cedar-hemlock forest. A junction is reached with the left fork going up to the Osprey Lookout and the Chain Meadows Trail and the right … Continue reading…
At the end of summer we drove into Lac du Bois Grasslands Park, then out on the Pruden Pass Road to the end. We hiked up the grassland and open forest slopes (within the Park) up to an open bench where homesteaders once lived. Remains of the cabin are still there but the pond that provided water was dry after … Continue reading…
At the end of summer we hiked a loop route starting at the southern boundary of the Lac du Bois Grasslands Conservancy, following an old double track to Stony Lake. These lands were homesteaded more than 100 years ago, but there is not much to see now, except for rock piles which designated pasture/field boundaries. We hiked along the grown-over … Continue reading…
We hiked a route around Lac du Bois which included some overgrown trails, some existing double tracks, and some off-trail traverses of ridges on the west side of the lake. We returned to do the same route gain, but in reverse, with an adjusted route. From the northeast end of Lac du Bois, we followed the double track south past … Continue reading…
We hiked on trails that led west from the main parking lot in Kenna Carwright Park on a pleasant end-of-summer day. After a long hot summer, the hillsides were dry and the colors were muted. We hiked along the Pondorosa Trail, then Big Pine and around the Lava Flow Lookout Trail to viewpoints overlooking the Thompson River Valley and west … Continue reading…
We took the chairlift to mid-station at Sun Peaks and hiked a loop route on the upper slopes of Tod Mountain. Most of the wildflowers were past the prime season, but there were a few late-flowering varieties in alpine meadows along the route. A few shrubs and perennials were starting to show fall colors already. We chose a combination of … Continue reading…
Some years ago we traveled to Tyax Lodge on Tyaughton Lake to do some hiking in the South Chilcotin Ranges. One of the hikes we did was into Taylor Basin. We drove on backroads up the Mud Creek FSR to Taylor Creek, then started the long hike up the valley into the basin under Eldorado Mountain and Taylor Peak. The … Continue reading…
Near the end of summer we were looking for smoke-free days to hike some of our local area trails. We picked Dewdrop Ridge as our hike, on a route we have done many times. We started at the first pullout on the right on the Frederick Road and headed south, up the open slopes to the top of the … Continue reading…
The Great Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park starts at the main trailhead by the campground and follows Asulkan Creek upstream before heading up the Illecillewaet River Valley. When the trail was first established, hikers could leave Glacier House and walk for just 15 minutes to the toe of the Illecillewaet Glacier. So now the trail winds up the valley … Continue reading…
