The road through the pass between Mt. Wheeler on the north and Mt. Mara on the south has a block of private property bounded by fences and signs so any east-west travel is not possible without climbing well up the hillsides of either mountain above the fencelines. We parked on the public road and climbed north up the sagebrush slopes … Continue reading…
The Cathedral Rock Trail is a 1.5 mile return hike in the Sedona, Arizona area. We hiked up the steep route from the trailhead off the Back of Beyond Road. Cathedral Rock is one of the most photographed landmarks of Sedona, a turreted butte of red sandstone. The hike starts as an easy trail to the base of the rock, … Continue reading…
The Canyon Overlook Trail in Zion National Park starts at the east end of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel. There are a few parking spaces nearby but they fill up by late morning so an early start is recommended. The trail climbs the rocky hill and then follows the north rim of Pine Canyon as it winds to the west. The … Continue reading…
Park Avenue is a short hike in Arches National Park. It is only 1 mile one way, but is an impressive walk. Two of us stated at opposite ends and exchanged truck keys in the middle. From the top features like Queen Nefertiti’s Rock, Sausage Rock, and Queen Victoria Rock stand tall above the sides of the wash. Along the … Continue reading…
With many great hikes in the Sedona, Arizona area we can pick a new one every day for months. An easier scenic hike of 4.25 miles is found 6.2 miles south near the Village of Oak Creek. The trailhead is at the Bell Rock Vista. There are several route options, but we chose to follow the Big Park Loop through … Continue reading…
When snows cover the hills and cattle have left the rangelands, we go out and walk the “empty” hills watching for wind-swept living trees and old standing snags. We continue to explore until spring when we leave the ranges for the cattle. We go across the sagebrush and grass-covered hills to viewpoints, exploring wherever our interest takes us. On this … Continue reading…
The Upper Grasslands of Lac du Bois has a few old tracks, but no trails are needed in the mostly-treeless terrain. When we reach the rolling hills past the 7km mark on the Lac du Bois Road, we can contour around hills or we can follow ridges to viewpoints. Raptor Ridge is so named because hawks often perch on the … Continue reading…
Jag Hill is the southeastern-most ridge of the Red Plateau Escarpment. It is an easy hike out from the Red Plateau Forest Service Road (article), but it is a hard scramble up from the Dewdrop Range. We started at the Dewdrop Trail parking area, but went off-trail right away, climbing grassy slopes up to a view over the Dewdrop Range. … Continue reading…
The hills overlooking the south shore of Kamloops Lake have extensive slopes of sage and grasslands. The hilltops and north-facing areas have ponderosa and douglas fir trees, but it is open forest allowing easy passage in any direction. There are a few tracks/dirt roads too, all behind fence lines. Cattle will be on these ranges soon so we keep our … Continue reading…
The treeless hills on the west side of the Lac du Bois Road provide good hiking in the early season. We parked at the gate and turned up on a single track that climbs between two summits of Batchelor Hill. The final uphill section is a steep climb to the Batchelor Hill Mine area. From the top of the hill … Continue reading…
Harper Ridge is really just the east end of the ridge that starts with Mt. Paul to the west. On the east end a lower ridge stands between Harper Ranch and the benchlands. The challenge is that access from the west is on the Kamloops Indian Reserve and access from the east is on private property, Harper Ranch. Access from … Continue reading…
Where does the desire to go into the backcountry come from? When does it start? I wonder if it came from hanging out with the Lyles? Lyle L. was an overweight, quiet boy who lived down the lane when we were about 9 years old. In those days, kids just played anywhere, so he and I would meet in the … Continue reading…
In winter, Tranquille Creek continues to flow, but it ices over in frigid temperatures. Although water does move under the ice, it backs up and spreads horizontally, creating ice shelves along both sides. Tranquille Creek empties into Kamloops Lake at Cooney Bay. In the outwash plain near the mouth, the ice expands into a wide fan. Crossing the ice is … Continue reading…
The Subway route is a hike-canyoneering route in Zion National Park that needs little introduction. People come from all over the world to do this and we were lucky enough to get a permit, then be informally guided down the route by our friend Deborah. We were a party of 9 and we got an early start up to … Continue reading…
When winter snows blanket the hills, it is nice to have some routes that can still be accessed for shorter walks/hikes (2 – 8 km) and the beaches of our two rivers offer flat expanses of sand and silt to explore. Overlander Beach disappears in May, but in winter when the rivers are lower, we can do a 3km loop. … Continue reading…
This hike is not in any of the guidebooks and it takes either local knowledge or some careful planning and exploration to link up a route. Almost all of the route is on slickrock in the southeast side of Zion National Park with no trail markers whatsoever. We have been exploring the slickrock terraces, hills, ridges, and canyons on … Continue reading…
