The Valleyview Silt Cliffs separate Juniper from Valleyview. A number of trails go up the gullies, ridges, and across the treeless benchlands. Hiking or biking across this area means going up and down, and skirting steep silt cliffs to the heads of gullies. A number of narrow clay bridges provide access across the tops of the gullies, and behind the … Continue reading…
There are so many good hikes in the Sedona (Arizona) area, and many of them link together. A number of the trails through passes, going around the steep red sandstone monuments of the area. One such route uses Soldier Pass to go over the top of Bryns Mesa in a loop route. This was the sign at the trailhead: This … Continue reading…
We hiked as many trails as we could in the Sedona area and we found Cathedral Rock to be one of the most interesting. From the parking lot to the end of the "trail" is only 0.7 miles, but almost all of it is up steep slickrock. This is the sign at the trailhead: The route follows cairns up for … Continue reading…
As the winter snows cover all of our trails, we shorten our hikes, we put on cross country skis or snowshoes,and we plan ahead for our spring hikes. We have also chosen to travel in the shoulder season to locations where good hiking can be found in later February through late March. On Spring Break we traveled to Sedona in … Continue reading…
We were up in the hills past Cooney Bay exploring fossil beds. Most of our previous activity had been in the long gullies closer to Cooney Bay. We have found fossils there, but the area had been picked over and it took some digging to find new fossils. On a winter day with no snow on south-facing slopes, … Continue reading…
Barnhartvale is separated from Kamloops by an steep-sided mountain which local residents refer to as Sunrise Mountain, but is really a series of hills between Juniper and Barnhartvale. A few trails penetrate through the gullies to the hilltops. All the direct routes are steep. Access to the hilltops from the south and west are long, round-about routes. The north side … Continue reading…
There is a maze of old roads and ATV tracks in the hills west of the Coquihalla Highway and below the flanks of Greenstone Mountain. The trails also extend north towards Chuwhels Mountain. For the sake of clarity, we will call the northern end of this area the Outer Inks Lakes Trails. The Greater Kamloops Motorcycle has a number of … Continue reading…
Opax is the steep and wide mountain between Lac du Bois, Pass Lake, and Tranquille Canyon. There are three good routes to the top and they can be combined into a loop route. In the winter, though, the route from the east provides the easiest access. In each of the last three winters, we have trudged in the snow to … Continue reading…
A well-hiked trail/corridor is the flat pipeline road from Barnhartvale to Juniper. The trailhead can found at the end of McLeod-Uplands Road. The route heads to a ridge below Juniper. Most walkers/hikers skirt the north end of the ridge and traverse some gullies to access the benchlands below Juniper. Another route option for hikers and bikers is to follow the … Continue reading…
Starting in the Inks Lake Exit area, backroads and trails expand through the forested slopes, linking over to Greenstone Mountain southwest, to the Timber Lake-Bush Lake area south and beyond southwest to the Chuwhels Mountain trails. The total area is 15km by 7 km, with hundreds of trails, tracks, and backroads within a 100 square kilometer area. Much of the … Continue reading…
When you live at N50 latitude, winters stretch from early December to the first part of March. Higher elevations become blanketed in snow. It takes a while for the snow to build up to allow good backcountry cross country skiing and snowshoeing and the short days also restrict our week day outdoors activity. Late Shoulder Season is a challenge for … Continue reading…
The hills above the north shore of Kamloops rise steeply above the flood plain, but the hills beyond are mostly rolling and treeless Bachelor Hill stands above this area with Telus towers on top. A road switchbacks up to the top, but this is the least pleasing route choice. Instead, a number of old double tracks can be combined … Continue reading…
Kamloops area rockhounds have uncovered many locations where agates can be found. Agates have been used for ornamental purposes, carving, and display since ancient times. Agates are formed through volcanic processes when crystalline silicas bond into layers within a pocket in the lava. Quartz layers may also be present in the nodules, Our area is well-know for its chalcedonies. Chalcedony … Continue reading…
Kamloops and area has a number of fossil sites nearby. There was once an inland sea over the area and plant and animal life became trapped in layers of mud and silt. Where these old shale layers have been uplifted and then exposed to the air, we can sometimes find fossil impressions by breaking apart the layers. In general, the … Continue reading…
For many years we have been quietly hiking to the top of Coal Hill and Sugarloaf Hill in the area to the southwest of Kamloops. There are trails to the top of both, though there are some fences here and there to be avoided. Access routes have changed hands and they are changing again with the start of the Ajax … Continue reading…
The chain of mountains to the south of Smithers dominates the skyline. Hudson Bay Mountain looms above the town. A gravel road winds up the flank to cross country and alpine ski trails. The road ends at a small village and the ski runs come down off the ridge in two directions, but the summit of the mountain is not … Continue reading…