We returned to Joss Peak in 2015 on a hot, hazy day in the summer. It takes about 2.5 hours to get up to the trailhead of Joss from Kamloops. At Three Valley Gap, we turned south onto the Wap FSR and at the 6.0km mark, we turned up onto a high-clearance road in an active logging area. … Continue reading…
The premier hike of our area is into the Trophy Mountains in Wells Gray Provincial Park. It is a 2 hour drive from Kamloops to the trailhead. The trail is a good one with a large parking lot, signs, and a well-graded trail. We can hike up to the end of the trail in 2 hours and from there, we … Continue reading…
Each time I return to Painted Bluffs, I pick a different month and hike a different route, and every time I hike in the park, I am rewarded with a visual kaleidoscope of colors and shapes of the Bluffs badlands terrain. On this last trip I paddled across from Savona, landed on the beach, then hiked into the wash at … Continue reading…
Needle Peak is a destination hike in the Coquihalla Summit for hikers, skiers, and snowshoers from the Coast, Fraser Valley, and Interior of BC. There is an abundance of information on this hike online and in guidebooks. We start at the Zopkios Ridge Rest area (through the tunnel and bear west) and we climb steeply through the cedar-hemlock forest to … Continue reading…
A good trail leads from the end of the Clearwater River Road up to Sylvia and Goodwin Falls and beyond to Mahood Lake (article on this route). In July of 2015, we started from the other end and hiked down from Mahood Lake. There are two trails – a fisherman’s trail down the north side of the river … Continue reading…
The route over two of the summits of the Trophy Mountains is a complex one involving hiking, scrambling and route-finding. We hiked through the meadows to the top of Trophy Two, then followed the ridgeline down to the high col between the two mountains and scrambled up Trophy One to the summit. We then followed the broad ridge south to … Continue reading…
A trek through the Trophy Mountains is incomplete without a route to see Cwem Cwem Lake. Its a hard place to get to. We can see it from the summit of Trophy Two, a 3.5 hour hike. We can continue along the high col between the two peaks to get other views of the lake. We can traverse from Plateau … Continue reading…
We have been working on completing a series of peaks in the Coquihalla Summit area. Some we have done a number of times and a few are slated for our first ascent. Zupjok Peak was one of these. The hike starts at the Zopkios Ridge Rest Area and goes northwest following an old double track towards Ottomite Hill. This is … Continue reading…
Mt. Ida stands south of Salmon Arm at 1564m (5134 feet). The upper part of the mountain is all rocky ridges and cliffs making interesting hiking, but the road up is a long and rough 4WD route. [map style=”width: auto; height:400px; margin:20px 0px 20px 0px; border: 1px solid black;” gpx=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/Mt. Ida Road.gpx” elevation=”no” download=”no”] After driving very slowly for 10km, … Continue reading…
Flatiron Mountain is another fine hike in the Coquihalla Summit area. We followed the Needle Peak Trail to the meadow, then we headed over to The Flatiron. The parking area for The Needle and The Flatiron are the same. Start at Zopkios Rest area, go through the underpass, and go up toward the works yard. Turn right onto a dirt … Continue reading…
Marble Range Provincial Park has a number of fine hikes that lead to the summits of a range of limestone peaks. The Porcupine Creek Trail starts 5.5 km along the Jesmond Road. A signed backroad winds up past the powerline and into the Two Mile Creek valley, then over to Porcupine Creek. A Parks sign is found along the … Continue reading…
In June, the Trophy Meadows start to clear of snow and the first wildflowers are blooming. By the end of June we can usually hike onto the upper ridge to Plateau of the Lakes. In 2015, the snows melted early and the route to the summits was already open. When we hike to the Trophies, we can go to the … Continue reading…
We returned to hike Crowfoot Mountain 5 years after our first hike there. Crowfoot Mountain stands above Celista and Magna Bay on Shuswap Lake. We can drive right to the edge of the subalpine meadows on an older Forest Service Road. The route is well-used by snowmobilers and ATVers so it has been kept clear of fallen trees, but the … Continue reading…
Cornwall Hills Provincial Park lies southwest of Cache Creek and Ashcroft. Cornwall Mountain is 6880 feet high. Access is from Highway 1, 7.5 km south of Ashcroft. Turn west onto the Hat Creek Forest Road and follow it up into the hills for 13km. The junction between Oregon Jack Provincial Park and Cornwall Hills is well-signed. The road up … Continue reading…
I keep saying I will never hike Yak Peak again. It is relentlessly steep and there are a number of awkward spots. But going up is easier than coming down the “Marble Staircase.” Almost every footstep coming down is onto smaller marble-shaped rocks. It is a demanding route with constant risks of falling, a continuous opportunity to tear up … Continue reading…
The Birch Bluffs Rim Trail is a side trail from the official BC Parks Moul Falls Trail. Just above Moul Falls is a bridge that crosses over onto private property owned by the Neaves. Hikers may cross the bridge and then veer west to the brink of the falls and beyond to the Birch Rim. Mindful that the first section … Continue reading…
