Zoa Peak is an accessible hike in the Coquihalla Summit area. A short side road turns off the highway and climbs up to the Falls Lake parking lot. When we arrived there on an October morning, Trans Mountain Pipeline crews were excavating a corridor for the twinning of the line, but they kept the road open for hikers. We followed … Continue reading…
Skoatl Point is a favorite hike so we try to plan for it each year. It is a wet route in the summer so we schedule our hike for late summer or early fall. This year we picked a fine day for the hike. We drove on the Jamieson Creek Forest Service Road for 28 km to Whitewood Lake, then … Continue reading…
The Orchard Lake Trails are backcountry horse trails in the Sullivan Range. They are accessed from the Badger Creek Forest Service Road, which starts 16.5 km north of Heffley Creek on Highway 5 (North). Most of the “trails” are double tracks through the forest, passing small lakes and forested ridges, but increasingly the area has also been logged. Routes on … Continue reading…
We camped in Manning Park and did some of the hikes into alpine areas. We hiked to Third Brother Mountain on a fine day and took many photographs along the way. On our drive up Blackwall Peak, we stopped at a lookout for the view. While we up on the slopes of Big Buck Mountain, we had a direct view … Continue reading…
The Heather Trail starts at the end of the Blackwall Peak Road in Manning Park. The trail bears north, then northwest through subalpine meadows. It can be hiked or backpacked. We even ran the whole length of the trail some years ago. On our last trip to Manning Park, the goal was to hike to the summit of third Brother … Continue reading…
Frosty Mountain stands at 2408 m (about 7900 feet) just one kilometer north of the US border in Manning Park. The trail to the summit of Frosty starts at the Lightning Lake Day Use area. For the first 3 km, the trail switchbacks above the lake through the forest, gaining altitude steadily. Frosty Creek Camp is an open-forested area at … Continue reading…
We hiked to the top of Frosty Mountain in Manning Park on a fine day. At the top we enjoyed the views and took some photos. By matching photos to maps and GPS/compass bearings we were able to identify the mountains in the distance in each direction. Looking northwest, Skyline Ridge (another fine hike) was only 5 km away. The … Continue reading…
The best hike of our area is to the rim of Trophy Mountain. Starting in 1977, I have done the hike every year since and sometimes I have hiked to the meadows or to one of the peaks more than once (3x in 2019). The plan is to do the Trophy hike for as long as I can. … Continue reading…
I have paddled Azure and Clearwater Lakes a number of times and in the summer of 2020. I decided to do a solo paddle of the lakes. On a cloudy day in August, I took the water taxi from the Clearwater Lake Campground to the Rainbow Falls Campground near the end of Azure Lake. On Clearwater Lake near Diver’s Bluff … Continue reading…
The Porcupine Creek Trail starts at the Porcupine Creek Rec Site off a narrow and rough forest service road in the Marble Range. the rainy days of 2020 had taken its toll on the backroad. It was narrow and rough and a small slide had partly covered the road. Nearby the road is crumbling away and may fall into the … Continue reading…
We hiked up McConnell Hill in the Stake Lake Trail system, then we braved the Bushwhacker Trail loop, stopping for lunch at a viewpoint, then returned to the Sidewinder Trail to complete an 11.5 km loop. With such a wet spring we encountered a number of wet areas to get past and all the forest ponds were full, reflecting the … Continue reading…
Mt. Thynne is a rounded, open mountain just 145 km from the Coquihalla Summit area. Because of its elevation (2256 m), location, and shape, snows clear off the access road and the summit ridge relatively early so we can do a summit hike in June. In 2020, the snows were slow to melt so we rescheduled our hike until the … Continue reading…
The Lundbom Commonage Reserve area is one of our favorite places to hike in the spring. The grasslands hills are some of the finest in the province and the multi-use trails are pleasant to hike, although some navigation is almost always required. One of the easiest-to-follow trails is the double track from Lundbom Lake to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. … Continue reading…
There is a commonage (publicly owned lands) at the height of the road that climbs from Quilchena to the Minnie Lake area (Pennask Lake Road). The area is over 4000 feet and there are a number of fences for seasonal grazing licenses, but hikers can access the area at the right time, respecting grazing cattle, closing gates, and leaving nothing … Continue reading…
We explored the hills above McQueen Lake and Pass Lake on a grey and stormy day. Using high clearance vehicles we climbed on the Dairy Creek Branch Roads to a spot at 1223m and parked. We followed skid tracks, motorcycle trails and also did some bushwhacking. We found an easier route on the way out. The douglas fir forest had … Continue reading…
