The Marble Range offers some of most interesting, rugged, and remote hiking in our area. Two trails lead all the rest – Mt. Bowman and Wild Horse Ridge. To find the trailhead, drive to Clinton and take the Kelly Lake turnoff. Just before Kelly Lake, turn right onto the Jesmond Road and follow the good gravel road for about km. … Continue reading…
The Oyster River Nature Trails follow the Oyster River down to the estuary, then continue along the seaside to Salmon Point and back, a 6km walk with fine views. Take Highway 19A north from Courtenay and at the Oyster River Bridge, turn onto Regent Road. Park near the pub and follow the trail into the forest. Continue down the riverside … Continue reading…
The back valleys behind Chase, Sorrento, and Tappen are ideal for mountain biking on quiet backroads. There are 3 potential roads/starting points, but we chose to start at the west end near where the Chase Creek Road meets the Turtle Valley Road. We rode west to Turtle Valley, turned left to create a loop route and then turned down the … Continue reading…
One of the best hiking routes of our area can be found on Estekwalan Mountain, but the trail also has its challenges: the road up from Falkland is rough and steep (but 4WD is not required) don't go if it is wet (both the road and trail will be slippery) the trail to the top is quite steep there are … Continue reading…
As the snows clear off the upper slopes of our mountains, perennials, annuals, and flowering shrubs make a brief appearance in a short growing season. First to be noticed are the alpine buttercups, anemones, and avalanche lilies. If we hike the Trophy Mountains in early July, we also see spring beauties, chickweed, hellebore, false solomon's seal, draba, moss campion, … Continue reading…
The road to the Trophy Mountains clears up by the end of May, but the hike to the meadows is not worthwhile until later in June. As the snow melts, the first wildflowers emerge. By early July, the trails can be hiked right up to Plateau of the Tarns. South-facing slopes also clear early and hikers can go to the … Continue reading…
One of the best spots for paddling in our area is Heffley Lake. If we follow the shoreline (including the bays), we can cover 13 km in all. Although it can be busy on a warm summer afternoon, it is a long enough lake to accommodate a number of boats. Kayaks and canoes are frequently seen on the lake, but … Continue reading…
When the chairlift opens at Sun Peaks Resort, we hike from mid-station at the top of the Sunburst Express to the summit of Tod Mountain. This is a steady uphill to Top of the World, then an up and down venture to the final hill that is the peak of Tod Mountain. The return hike is about 9km. Early in … Continue reading…
The Marble Range has a number of first-class hikes that are not well-known. They are accessed off the Jesmond Road, a two hour+ drive from Kamloops. We return to hike there in June-September each year, but we often choose an earlier date because the snow clears earlier there than in other ranges, even at the 7000 foot elevation. Our favorite … Continue reading…
The Stake Lake system has 60km of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and exploring afer the snows melt. From mid-June through August, we choose different loops each time to vary the outings and to enjoy the different forested areas . The 8.5km loop over McConnell Hill (Sidewinder-Ambush-Rustler) featured many wildflowers. The north side aspect was lined with columbine, violets, and … Continue reading…
A snowshoe trail within the Stake Lake Trails system crosses an interesting geological feature, the basalt bluffs of McConnell Hill. On both the north and west side of the hill, steep bluffs rise from basalt talus slopes to the top of the mesa. Basalt is formed when lava flows quickly close to the surface of the earth. During the cooling … Continue reading…
A hike we return to each year is the Sugarloaf Mountain hike from Lundbom Lake. Lundbom Commonage is reached by driving on the Okanagan Connector from Merritt, then a left turn onto the Lundbom Lake Road. The good gravel road passes Marquart Lake and goes along the shores of Lundbom Lake. There are campsites on both ends of the lake. … Continue reading…
We can hike or bike double tracks all the way from Lac du Bois to Tranquille. The route goes around the east side of Lac du Bois at an elevation of 882m and enters Lac du Bois Park in the upper grasslands. At 1.7km, we turned uphill onto the wooded flanks of Wheeler Mountain. A large pond is … Continue reading…
Sunrise Mountain rises steeply above Barnharvale and makes a good hike in any season. Previous articles detail some of the seasons and routes: Sunrise Mountain Sunrise, Sunset In June, we chose the trailhead at the end of Ronde Lane and hiked briskly to the top in 1.25 hours, had lunch on top, and returned the same way. The final section … Continue reading…
This trail was a traditional route for First Nations people of the area, connecting the villages at Cayoosh (Lillooet) and Big Bar. The section of the Fraser between Bridge River and Big Bar has a number of cliffs on both sides and rapids below. When Simon Fraser came to map a route down the Fraser, the guides told him not … Continue reading…
Last fall we hiked a 5 lakes loop in (link to previous story). We returned to bike the same loop this time, but extended our ride to include the south part of Roche Lake Provincial Park too. The double track past Black, Bog, and Ernest Lake is rough and there are many large permanent mud puddles to skirt, rocks to … Continue reading…
