Opax Mountain is a sprawling high plateau sitting northwest of Lac du Bois. The sides are steep and a lava cliff fringes the south, west, and east sides, but there are two routes up and some good hiking, biking, and exploring to do. Earlier articles listed two of these routes: West Opax West Opax approach East Opax (on the snow) … Continue reading…
As we travel northwest along the Tranquille Canyon, we can see a line of rugged mountains/hills overlooking the river. Volcanic cliffs and eroded bluffs loom over the canyon starting with Mount Mara, then Wheeler Mountain, and Opax Mountain. The fourth in this line is Watching Hill. It sits over the confluence of Watching Creek and the Tranquille River. The … Continue reading…
One of the first snow-free backpacking or day-hiking areas of our area is the Stein Valley Heritage Trail. To reach the trailhead, drive two hours to Lytton and take the reaction ferry across the river. Follow the signs north to the trailhead: The trail follows the Stein River as it flows from the headwaters in the Coast Range down to … Continue reading…
The northeast side of Cache Creek rises gently with treeless slopes, then higher to aspen habitat, and forest up high on the way to the Arrowstone Hills. Double tracks lead off through the hills. Drive up Stage Road and turn off any road bearing north. The main route is off Stanley Parke Boulevard. Park at the … Continue reading…
A local hiker contacted us about some changes that have occurred in Mara Canyon recently. His comments are provided here: "I have a very concerning issue that I want to get out to the kamloops hiking/outdoor community, and your website seemed like the best place to start. Last year I hiked the cinnimon ridge hoodoo trail for the first time. … Continue reading…
We hiked into Lyons Lake over the winter and provided information on the route and its merits (link). We returned today by another route, climbing over the hills to the northeast. The main route in is easy; the hills are all off-trail and challenging. From the top of a hill to the south, we could see Lyons Lake. With a … Continue reading…
If you just like to explore, the Valleyview Silt Cliffs are rich with ridges, gullies, sinkholes, and spines. The ridges come down from Juniper to the river valley and as they do, they narrow and become narrower as they descend to Valleyview. Some are just a narrow ridgetop, but most have a goat track on top of the spine. Hikers … Continue reading…
Deep in Lac du Bois Park sits Long Lake. It is in the bottom of a trench, draining both the McQueen hills and the Batchelor Range. The lake itself is 1.5 kms long, but the chain of ponds is 4km long. It is hard to get to so it sees few visitors, but it is a worthwhile destination since it … Continue reading…
The fires of 2003 turned much of Strawberry Hill into a burned landscape. We were crossing the Bonaparte Highlands during the first part of the fire and saw the mushroom cloud on our east horizon. When we got home, we watched it from the south. When you go up to the plateau now, you may be surprised by how many … Continue reading…
Hiking on Kauai has many variations – ridges, beaches, jungle, volcanic cones, sinkholes, pali (cliffs), scrambles, and shoreline walks. There are hundreds of hiking locations and until you do a hike, you can't be sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised by a hike at the end of a minor road down to an idyllic area – Moloa'a Bay. … Continue reading…
On the southeast coast of Kauai is a shelf of lava that reaches out into the windward shores where sand dunes have built up for millions of years. The dunes are lithified and shaped by wind, sun, and surf. Within this sits the Makauwahi Cave, a large sinkhole and tunnel system. The cave is dated to be … Continue reading…
A few years ago, we backpacked to Garibaldi Lake, camping at the Battleship Islands campground and hiking the trails above the meadows. We took a number of photos along the way. Near our campsite, the view was spectacular. Hiking with an artist is a different experience. David Langevin is a well-know painter who lives in Kamloops. From the same view, … Continue reading…
Shuswap Trail Alliance has had 7 years of success in promoting, planning, developing, and maintaining trails (link). We have often remarked that this kind of initiative should also be seen in the Kamloops area. The first steps toward this goal were started this week. A group met to start the first steps. The initial group included the City of Kamloops, … Continue reading…
We have been hiking these trails for over 30 years and many of the trails are the same, though mountain bikes have made new trails and widened others. There has also been new building above on Juniper and a new home in the south central area with fences blocking the traditional trails. At the eastern end there are some fences … Continue reading…
There are many trails between the Coquihalla Highway and Greenstone-Chuwhels Mountains, but there is so much terrain, it is hard to link the trails and routes. The Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association (GKMA) has explored the area on ATVs and motorcycles and has set up route signs along various trails, but has not provided maps to anyone wanting to ATV, hike, … Continue reading…
The Lyons Lake trail is a pleasant forest walk along a double track on a fairly level route to a grasslands forest at the end of Sullivan Valley. On a winter day, I trudged along this path in wet conditions, enjoying the quiet of a gully track between hills. The trailhead is near the Heffley Dump. Drive east towards Sun … Continue reading…