We camped in Lillooet and drove up the Duffey Lake Road to access the Downton Alpine Area. We turned off the highway onto the Downton Creek Forest Service Road 24 km from Lillooet. The road crosses a number of bridges over Downton Creek, some of which are signed as “closed.” This backcountry road becomes narrow, rough … Continue reading…
Tranquille River Canyon is a rugged area from Tranquille Crossing right down to Kamloops with steep walls or rock in some sections. In the narrrowest part of the canyon, the walls are vertical and close enough together to be called a “narrows” at least and a “slot canyon” for some sections. The river is funneled into these canyons, eroding … Continue reading…
I have been exploring the lakes and trails off of Highway 24 that connects Little Fort to 100 Mile House. I try to get to a lakeshore to launch a kayak, but I also try to find trails and double tracks to hike. The east end is very quiet and remote. On one summer day, I drove into the Latremouille … Continue reading…
On our last hike to the top of Trophy Mountain, we stopped to take many photos along the way. The alpine wildflowers were out, we spotted ptarmigans, grouse, and marmots, The snow was still melting, the tarns were full, and summer had arrived in the Trophy Range. Some of those photos are compiled here into a short video. … Continue reading…
We hiked to the summit of July Mountain in the Coquihalla Summit Area in July. Access to the trailhead is off the Coquihalla Highway onto the Juliet Creek FSR. The road is good for a ways as it climbs up the valley, bearing west. At 4.5 km, the road drops down to the creek, crosses a bridge (the sign says … Continue reading…
Our plan was to hike up the Yak Peak Trail then to traverse over Zopkios Ridge and then ascend Nak Peak, but too many steep hikes in a week took its toll on our legs, so we opted to climb to the top of Yak Peak only on this July day. We parked at the Zopkios Rest Area and walked … Continue reading…
In early July we hiked to the summit of Trophy Two, a long day on the trail. We covered 19 km and spent 8 hours on the trail. The day was warm and cloudy with some mosquitoes in the forest, but none in the upper meadows, nor on the high ridges. We followed the main trail to the end of … Continue reading…
The “trail” to the Tappen Bluffs viewpoint is really a backroad, except for the last steep section. A high clearance vehicle can drive for 3.5+ km and then park at a suitable spot for a short hike, but we chose to hike the whole way instead. The up and back route (including some exploration on top) was 9.4 km. The … Continue reading…
Lime Ridge is a 5 km long limestone ridge in Marble Range Provincial Park. From Clinton we drove on the Kelly Lake Road, then turned onto the Jesmond Road. This is the same way we get to the other hikes in the park – Mt. Bowman, Wild Horse Ridge, Mt. Kerr, Porcupine Creek, Jesmond Lookout, Mad Dog Mountain, and … Continue reading…
We drove to Brookmere, then found our way up a network of backroads to a parking spot next to the snowmobile hut on Mt. Thynne, then we hiked up the double track to the summit. The whole hiking route is through a subalpine zone on a moderate trail. Many wildflowers were in bloom in mid-June and we enjoyed the … Continue reading…
We padded up Clearwater Lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park to the Diver’s Bluff Marine Campground, then hiked the Eagle’s View Trail. We launched our boats (canoes and kayaks) and headed up the west shore of the lake. With calm conditions we were at our destination in about 75 minutes. From the boat launch at the end … Continue reading…
Cornwall Hills Provincial Park is situated in the hills between Cache Creek/Ashcroft and Hat Creek. Access is by the Hat Creek Road which bears west 18 km from Cache Creek on the Trans-Canada Highway. The gravel road climbs through the Oregon Jack Creek Valley for 11.5 km. At that point is the junction with the Cornwall Hills Forest Service Road … Continue reading…
The snow clears off the Trophy Mountain meadows and the alpine ridges above by July, but we can hike into the open meadows in mid-June most years. The Trophy Mountain Road should be clear, although it may not be graded until mid-month. The first 2.3 km of the trail is in the forest so snow drifts often linger in … Continue reading…
The south side of Mount Mara is very rugged, with many bluffs, cliffs, canyons, hoodoos, and rocky slopes. We usually hike on two trails on the south side, but there are a number of hard-to-get-to areas requiring scrambling on steep terrain. To the west of the main canyon is a “hidden vale”, untouched by cattle grazing, wildfires, or human activity. … Continue reading…
The Lundbom Grasslands Commonage area is a gem for hikers. We have been hiking there for decades, but with the rise of mountain biking new single track trails have been added that make good hiking trails too. Some of them are shown as dashed blue lines on the map. The white dashed lines are double tracks. On our last visit … Continue reading…
There are a set of recreational trails on the east side of the Rocky Mountain Trench southeast of Invermere. The Swansea Mountain Recreational area has hiking trails, mountain bike trails, and a base for paragliding and hang gliding using the Swansea Forest Service Road. We hiked from the lowest parking area to the summit of the mountain, a round trip … Continue reading…
