The hills above Lions Head are a surprisingly pleasing area to hike. There are many rock-faced hills one above the other with open forest and grassy slopes between. There were a few mostly-dry ponds in sheltered pockets. We started our hike on a side road that follows the transmission lines north up the hill, working our way up to get … Continue reading…
Our climb of Mt. Athabasca is now some decades past so most of this post is just a collection of memories, not a guide to completing the route. We were still on film cameras then, so by modern standards I did not document the detailed route with GPS and digital camera as we can today. We had taken a mountaineering … Continue reading…
Rockface Mountain stands at the southeast end of Paul Lake facing east toward Pinantan Lake. The hike to the top of the mountain is a short one, though steep. A high clearance vehicle can go right to the trailhead, but we started back on the Pinantan – Harper Road to add some more distance. Our 13 km return hike followed … Continue reading…
Skull Hill has a number of horseback-hiker trails that have been established for a number of years in the aftermath of the 2003 Louis Creek fire. Much of the area was burned and fallen trees lie on the slopes, but the double tracks have been mostly cleared and some single track trails have been added. We started at Fishtrap Camp … Continue reading…
We backpacked for 4 days in April, 2015 from Cedar Mesa into the Needles District of Canyonlands, Utah: An article to follow – currently scheduled for December 17th.
Continue reading...Spion Kop (Lookout Hill) is an area of Crown Land surrounded by private ownership. The hill rises to 879m and looks out west over Okanagan Lake and east over Wood Lake. It is really the south end of Ellison Ridge in Lakes Country. Trails have been used by local residents for decades, but a group called Walk Around Lake Country … Continue reading…
The Shorts Creek Canyon Rim trail is one of the trails supported by the Vernon Outdoor Club (VOC). Shorts Creek runs east from the Okanagan Plateau and drains into Okanagan Lake at Fintry. There is a short hike from Fintry Provincial Park to Fintry Falls at the bottom end. In between the two trails is a deep canyon separating Terrace … Continue reading…
The Hamilton Corrals Commonage is Crown land in the upper grasslands above Quilchena. To get there, turn up the Pennask Lake Road from Nicola Lake and watch the mileage markers on the way up as the road climbs 1700 feet past private lands to the Commonage. At about 11.5 km (N50 05.139 W120 26.978) a road goes off to the … Continue reading…
The Chimney Rock Trail is a 5.6km loop trail in Capitol Reef National Park (Utah). The trailhead is 6.6 km west of the Park Headquarters at Fruita. From the parking lot the trail winds along a sandy path through scrub pinyon and juniper for a short distance before starting to to climb the Moenekapi Formation red sandstone hills. We ascend … Continue reading…
The Cirque of Tarns trail is a remote and rugged area on the southern edge of Wells Gray Park, but it starts in Caligata Provincial Park on the north side of Raft Mountain. To get to the trailhead, turn onto the Trophy Mountain Road and stay right at the fork in the road, following the Spahats Creek Forest Service Road … Continue reading…
Capitol Gorge is a short hike in Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. From the Visitors’ Center, follow the Scenic Drive south to the end of the pavement and turn down a dirt spur road which winds through the canyon to the trailhead. This was the only east-west road through the Waterpocket Fold in the Park area prior to 1964. … Continue reading…
Skoatl Point is a large volcanic feature on the Bonaparte Plateau. The hike is 10km return, much of it through the forest on a single track trail. The final section is a steep scramble up basalt ledges to the top. The view from the top extends over much of Bonaparte Provincial Park. The road network is a bit difficult to … Continue reading…
This small provincial park is just off the bottom of the Big Hill on its climb up from Little Fort. There is parking on the east side of the creek below the bridge, though the track provided here is on the other side following the fibre optic line to the edge of the creek. When the creek is low in … Continue reading…
The Tranquille River Slot Canyons aren’t really slots. The definition of a slot is a canyon no greater than a full arms span wide. These are wider for sure, but they are the closest thing we have in the Kamloops area. There are two “slots” that can be accessed from one point, as detailed in previous articles. Traversing the … Continue reading…
Kentucky – Alleyne Lakes Provincial Park is found south of Merritt, a few kilometres off Highway 5C. The lakes sit in a valley between rocky hills and ridges. There are a series of pothole lakes in the upper Quilchena Creek drainage in a line from Bluey Lake to Pothole Lake. The lakes are a turquoise color and are popular for … Continue reading…
We were intrigued by the land shapes and open spaces at the west end of Green Lake. We checked the land status of the area and found that it was mostly Crown Land so we went to explore the area. Crown lands with grazing licenses will have cattle in the area and it is our obligation to close gates, keep … Continue reading…
