The area above the south shore of Kamloops Lake has grassland-covered slopes, rounded hills, bluffs, alakali lakes, and few tracks for exploration. We come into the area from either the end of Abbey Road or off Deer Road in Cherry Bluffs. These larger ponds are fringed by alkali salts and diminish over the summer months. Pickleweed grows along … Continue reading…
From Valleyview Arena, a number of trails follow the gullies to the grassland benchlands in the Valleyview Silt Cliffs area. The trails extend up toward Juniper and beyond toward Barnhartvale, but there are a number of shorter loops that will make a route for a shorter hike (ramble). Some of the trails are signed withing the designated Nature Park, but … Continue reading…
Snow Dome Mountain is the snow-capped massif standing on the Continental Divide in the Columbia Icefield. It stands 11 400 feet and is considered the hydrographic apex of North America with meltwaters flowing to three oceans (the Arctic via Hudson Bay). Ice climbers and mountaineers climb the east face above Dome Glacier, but it can also be skied in a … Continue reading…
A loop trail can be hiked in the northeast corner of Kenna Cartwright Park. The two trails were featured in earlier articles: Sage Trail Red-tailed Hawk Trail Park past the recycling containers at the end of Bunker Road. Follow the Sage Trail along the bluffs, then descend into the big gully and climb to the other side, coming up … Continue reading…
Maccarib Pass in Jasper is usually hiked (skied, or snowshoed) as part of a loop route into Tonquin Valley. For years, though, we skied this as a long cross-country ski day from Marmot Basin up toward the Pass and back. In winter, we often skied right on the creekbed for much of the route, gaining as much as 732m over … Continue reading…
When the river floods, Dale’s Antique Beach is not very accessible, but in early spring this is a nice walk. Start on the River’s Trail from the end of Aviation Way. Walk along the trail west. Side trails stay closer to the river and come to a fence. You can go this way or go past the fenced enclosure and … Continue reading…
On Kauai, we can drive around 3/4 of the island, but there are no roads around the Na Pali Coast. Cliffs run right down to the ocean for 23 km. If we drive to the far west side of the island, we can come to the start of the the pali (cliffs) at a 7 mile beach. Polihale State Park … Continue reading…
This area is the domain of motorcycles and ATV s. Even though it is now in the provincial park, the hills were heavily used for motorized recreational purposes so that right has been grandfathered forward. The whole motorized area has been reduced to the southeast section which is rugged and steep. Normally non-motorized hiking or biking in this … Continue reading…
In March the hills take a while to dry out, so we look for south-facing lower elevation routes. The hills north of Brocklehurst offer us a series of trails. Over time, we have developed a 14km return route for shoulder season, but we can vary the route to do somewhere between 7km and 14km. On this last spring outing, we … Continue reading…
When spring starts to arrive, the hills become icy and muddy so we have to find lower routes that dry up early. Rabbit Island is a 4km beach-island walk best done in March. Park at the southeast corner of McArthur Island. Walk down to the beach and go upstream a short ways. Hikers will have to wade through … Continue reading…
All upslopes lead to the central peak of Kauai, but there a few outlier peaks too that rise 3000 – 4000 feet, all connected to Mt. Waialeale by ridges, but separated by gorges and pali (cliffs). Since the jungle/forest is impenetrable, trails from the coast to these peaks are very few. The exception are a small number of routes that … Continue reading…
Near the end of winter the winter snows turn to ice, then mud. We have to go higher to hike on the snow or we can walk on the low-altitude open beaches along the rivers or out at Cooney Bay. We chose to go past Tranquille on the river side of the property out to the Cooney Bay parking area, … Continue reading…
When the hills are blanketed in snow and the lower travels turn icy, we can still go to the shorelines of the river and walk on the long, wide, sandy beaches. Kamloops has about kms of beaches next to the North Thompson, the South Thompson, and the Thompson Rivers when the river recedes in winter. Most people go to the … Continue reading…
Lodestone Mountain is accessed from Coalmont. Drive into Coalmont and go south on the west side of the Tulameen River past Granite City, and follow the good road up the Granite Creek drainage all the way up to past the working Basin Coal Mine operation and then continue on to Blakeburn (at 6km), an old ghost town. Continue to climb … Continue reading…
Kauai is nicknamed “The Garden Isle.” Flowers, flowering shrubs, flowering trees, and luxuriant growth can be found everywhere. Public places, private homes, and roadways feature tropical landscaping. Flowering shrubs are used as borders. Hibiscus hedges grow 9 feet tall and can be hundreds of metres long. Feature gardens await visitors all over the island. The top of the island is … Continue reading…
The Navajo sandstone buttes, mesas, hills, and mountains of the southern Colorado Plateau are really hardened sand dunes, weathered into slickrock slopes awaiting our exploration. There are trails in canyons and washes, but to hike to higher elevations is often a scramble on a series of sandstone steps or slickrock ledges. The ledges are really just layers of sandstone, often … Continue reading…
