A series of tracks between Lac du Bois Road and Mount Mara can be linked up to create a hiking or biking loop. It is an area best suited to shoulder-season since there are no trees and can be very hot in summer. There are a number of junctions to interpret so it takes a couple of outings to recognize … Continue reading…
Without question, this hike is our favorite for 2012, and that is saying something. In this year, we also hiked the Kalalau Trail, Cirque Peak, Mount Temple, Angels’ Landing, Zion Narrows, Needle Peak, Assiniboine, Gibraltar on Jedediah Island, Waimea Rim Trail, and other wonderful routes. But the Fairyland Loop is as close to perfect as we can expect. It is … Continue reading…
The most hiked trail below the rim of Bryce Canyon is the Queen's Garden Trail, and for good reason. The trail starts at Sunrise Point and then drops 300 feet to gullies and ridges within the maze of hoodoos. Some of the route is cut through tunnels under the ridges, some sections wind down forested gullies, and new features are … Continue reading…
Even after reading the books beforehand, everything about Bryce Canyon surprised us. It is high and remote. If not for the road section on Highway 12 through Red Canyon, we would have found the route through the Dixie Forest unimpressive. Even after leaving Red Canyon, the high plateau is simply meadows and forest. Not until you reach the actual brink … Continue reading…
A single track route has been in place all the way from Peterson Creek to Barnhartvale for many years, long before the first house was built in Juniper. The west end has a piece of private land and fences, so it is less used. The eastern end now has a gravel pit and a private home to steer around, but … Continue reading…
Few people know about this excellent trail system in Barnhartvale. About 12 km of trails can be found just off Barnhartvale Road. The lower trails are in the open grasslands on double tracks. The upper trails wind through the forest. All trails are marked with numbered signs. On the snow, we hiked the main Bunchgrass Trail (#1), then veered off … Continue reading…
On the first day of hiking on the snow, we chose to climb Sunrise Mountain, sometimes called Middle Mountain. This steep ridge looms over the west side of Barnhartvale. It can be hiked from different starting points, but the classic route is on a good single track from the north side. From Todd Road, turn onto Ronde Lane and park … Continue reading…
For many years, we hiked in behind the University, following the bench as it wound through the hills above Mission Flats. Most of this trail was a single track following the edge of the fence line. It led to the gully and up the other side to the slopes of Mount Dufferin, coming around three sides of the bunker property. … Continue reading…
I have been hiking the area above Pineview Valley for 35 years. In the 1970s, there was little development below and the Pineview Valley had a horse corral at the top of what is now Copperhead Drive and Python Lake sat in a bowl on the east side. The double tracks went up the hill above, access routes from one … Continue reading…
Red Lake is a scenic drive of 40 km from Tranquille, following the Tranquille River through the canyon and then into the uplands area near Criss Creek. Take the turn to Red Lake (Sabiston Creek Road) and continue to Red Lake Drive. There are two places to launch a boat. A small park, parking area, and boat launch has been … Continue reading…
The Upper and Lower Flumes Trails both start at the same parking area. The Upper Flumes Trail follows Bear Creek upstream, through the creek gully and up the ridge, tracing the route for the Flumes placed there one hundred years ago. The Lower Flumes Trail follows Bear Creek downstream until it meets Adams River, then splits to go upstream or … Continue reading…
On a litter of fall leaves, we followed the Flumes Trail from the parking lot up the left side of Bear Creek. Small waterfalls rush down the creek valley alongside the trail. The upper section is a loop with remains of old flumes still standing or in pieces on the ground. Most of the upland logging was done in the … Continue reading…
We hike to Battle Bluff about three times this year… When conditions are marginal, this is always a good choice. The trailhead is much easier to spot now. BC Parks has erected a sign in front of a concrete barricade and the route is now a straight line to the gully. The trail is easy to follow, although a couple … Continue reading…
The Mara Canyon Trail (sometimes referred to as the Hoodoos Trail or the Cinnamon Ridge Trail) is one of the favorites of our area. Even though we have hiked this route many times in the past, we went up the route this fall to look at the possibility of improving the trail, to see how much erosion had occurred and … Continue reading…
From the Watching Creek Forest Service site, there used to be two bridges, one below the site and another farther downstream, at the bottom of a gully. A loop route could be hiked by crossing the river and continuing along the Rim Trail on the east side and back by a footbridge south of the Rec site. Both bridges were … Continue reading…
A return trip to the Tranquille Canyon Slot Canyons was the result of a last minute decision when the weather cleared up. In our last visit to the canyon we traversed the slots in summer when the water was warmer and the summer was dryer. This was mid-October and the water was cold, but the weather was nice and … Continue reading…