Buse Hill is an easy hike on the east side of Kamloops. The hike climbs a hill to a fine viewpoint on top of cliffs overlooking Barnhartvale. To get to the trailhead, follow Barnhartvale Road to the Robbins Range Road turnoff and then at the Campbell Range junction, take the left turn onto Robbins Range Road and then follow it … Continue reading…
The Dewdrop Trail climbs from the Dewdrop Range up the Red Plateau Escarpment to the Rim. The route goes up a gully, then traverses over onto a broad ridge to the top, a vertical climb of 510 m (1673 feet). The next ridge to the west is narrow, steeper, and rocky. This ragged red ridge has no trail, but it … Continue reading…
Mosaic Canyon is a popular hike in the Death Valley area. The name comes from the textured and colorful patterns of mosaic breccia, dolomite, and marble in the canyon walls. The trail has both narrows and wider spots as it goes up into a fault in Tucki Mountain for about 1.8 miles (2.9 km). The canyon has been scoured by … Continue reading…
Ross Moore Lake lies in the forested lands east of Lac le Jeune. It is a popular fishing lake, but all the routes in are either long or rough, best suited to high clearance vehicles. The route to the Rec Site at the south follows a network of roads from the Brigade Lake – Long Lake area (article). Another choice … Continue reading…
False Kiva is a Class 2 archeological site high near the rim on top of Island in the Sky, Canyonlands (Utah). The ceremonial site (kiva) is in a large alcove located under the rim. There is no official trail, so it helps to know where to park and the approximate location of the site. There were a number of … Continue reading…
Black Canyon is a narrow spot among black cliffs where the Thompson River takes a curved path. It can’t be seen from Highway 1, nor from the Highland Valley Road so hikers have to turn onto the Kirkland Ranch Road which goes down the east side of the river to Spences Bridge. Much of the land in the area is … Continue reading…
Titus Canyon is the longest canyon in the Grapevine Range, north of Furnace Creek in Death Valley. A signed gravel road 15 miles north of Highway 190 goes north from the Scotty’s Castle Road to a parking area at the mouth of the canyon. The canyon narrows off right away with bulging colorful rock slopes on both sides. Right away, … Continue reading…
There are old double tracks going up Mount Wheeler on the northeast and southwest corners but no tracks on the southeast side so any exploration of this area means hiking up, crossing a grazing fence, then winding up open forest slopes up to the top. We started on the Pruden Pass Road and followed a double track in the Lac … Continue reading…
We explored the hills down to Black Canyon near Ashcroft, carefully sticking to Crown Land, avoiding private property and CN/CP rights of way. A story to follow in June.
Continue reading...The Corona Arch Trail starts on the Potash Road on the Colorado River west of Moab, Utah. The route to Corona Arch and back is about 5km, but there is some additional exploration past the arch and up to Pinto Arch. The signed trail crosses the train tracks then follows a short canyon route up to the Navajo sandstone … Continue reading…
Overlooking the west side of the Tranquille River is a series of open ridges that climb toward the prominent hilltop that is sometimes called The Pimple, The route up Tranquille Ridge climbs 1150 feet in about 3.5 km. It starts on an old double track that climbs steeply through the sagebrush and grass, then we have to cross the first … Continue reading…
Marble Range Provincial Park was established in 1995 and then in 2013 additional lands were added. Before it was a park the mountains were used for hunting, hiking, snowmobiling, mining, guiding, and ranching.The northern end of the Mable Range is at the Big Bar Lake Road on the edge of the Cariboo Plateau. the southern end of the range is … Continue reading…
The hike up Mara Canyon is one of the best in the region, but we hiked up the loop trail to the summit, then we came down the canyon for this outing. We drove the side road from the CNR level crossing to the end of Ord Road, then followed the trail through the sagebrush toward the mouth of the … Continue reading…
Backroads climb up into the bottom of the east crater of Wai’ale’ ale, below the wettest spot on the planet. From the end of the paved road at the Keaha Arboretum we have to drive through two streams and navigate unsigned, muddy and rough backroads deep into the rainforest. For those wishing to explore the Kaapoko Tunnels or the Blue … Continue reading…
Just south of Kilauea on the island of Kauai a backroad bears east down the hills to a parking area about Kahili (Rock Quarry) Beach. This fine beach is a short hike down to a crescent breach on the northeast corner of the island. On calm days this is a good place to swim and snorkel. On our last visit, … Continue reading…
