The Stake Lake system has 60km of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and exploring afer the snows melt. From mid-June through August, we choose different loops each time to vary the outings and to enjoy the different forested areas . The 8.5km loop over McConnell Hill (Sidewinder-Ambush-Rustler) featured many wildflowers. The north side aspect was lined with columbine, violets, and … Continue reading…
A snowshoe trail within the Stake Lake Trails system crosses an interesting geological feature, the basalt bluffs of McConnell Hill. On both the north and west side of the hill, steep bluffs rise from basalt talus slopes to the top of the mesa. Basalt is formed when lava flows quickly close to the surface of the earth. During the cooling … Continue reading…
A hike we return to each year is the Sugarloaf Mountain hike from Lundbom Lake. Lundbom Commonage is reached by driving on the Okanagan Connector from Merritt, then a left turn onto the Lundbom Lake Road. The good gravel road passes Marquart Lake and goes along the shores of Lundbom Lake. There are campsites on both ends of the lake. … Continue reading…
We can hike or bike double tracks all the way from Lac du Bois to Tranquille. The route goes around the east side of Lac du Bois at an elevation of 882m and enters Lac du Bois Park in the upper grasslands. At 1.7km, we turned uphill onto the wooded flanks of Wheeler Mountain. A large pond is … Continue reading…
This trail was a traditional route for First Nations people of the area, connecting the villages at Cayoosh (Lillooet) and Big Bar. The section of the Fraser between Bridge River and Big Bar has a number of cliffs on both sides and rapids below. When Simon Fraser came to map a route down the Fraser, the guides told him not … Continue reading…
Three short hikes are side-by-side, but separated by deep gullies. They can be combined, but only with a lot of up and down. All 3 can be accessed from the main Dewdrop Trail parking area. Follow the trail up to the stile crossing, but veer left and follow an old track up into the canyon. The trail disappears after a … Continue reading…
After a long day of backpacking through Wild Horse Canyon, we were left with the second leg of the loop, a 13 km route, most of it uphill. The day was warm and we were out in the treeless south-facing slopes of Okangan Mountain, so we got an early start. From Goode's Creek (15 km from the start), the trail … Continue reading…
Okanagan Mountain Park was burned by the wildfires of 2003, and there are only patches of trees that were not incinerated, but the understory has now grown up and the gullies, canyons, and low spots are all full of spring growth. Shrubs, perennial wildflowers, grasses, and annuals cover the rocky slopes among the blackened stumps. We picked Okanagan Mountain for … Continue reading…
This area is mostly unknown, except to a few snowmobilers, quadders, or hunters. The lakes lie in an area east of Lac le Jeune (4 km as the crow flies) and north of Ross Moore Lake (2km). The best road access is to take the McConnell Forest Service Road (a good gravel road, heading east off the Lac le … Continue reading…
We enjoy hiking the old tracks above Lac du Bois in every season and we returned to the Homesteads Hike in May this year. Details on the Homesteads route was posted previously. Follow the (link) for a detailed map and description.The route is becoming more grown over now that access is limited to vehicles by the Nature Conservancy of … Continue reading…
At the top of the Lac du Bois Grasslands, right where the open areas meet the forest at 1000m elevation are outstanding flower meadows in spring. In mid-May the balsam root is flowering on open slopes. Chocolate lilies, larkspur, desert parsley, woodland star, shooting stars, death camas, violets, Thompson’s paintbrush, false solomons seal, avens, and lemonweed all compete for space, … Continue reading…
This trail is a nice one, but there will be lots of people along the route and at the arch. In Arches National Park, take the Delicate Arch Road and park at the trailhead. The trail climbs up to the top of the hill and back over 3 miles (5km). The upper part goes along a ledge to a slickrock … Continue reading…
This steep hill stands above Ashcroft. It is entirely within Elephant Hill Provincial Park (link) and is designated as a natural dry grasslands environment and, as such, has no designated trails, but from exploration, we know routes up the hill and back. We drive down the main route into Ashcroft, then we park at the Pegasus water tower, just across … Continue reading…
Bitterroot (lewisia rediviva) is more commonly found in eastern Wahington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, but can also be found in a couple of pockets in British Columbia. In this area, there are a few spots between Ashcroft and Spences Bridge and a few spots south of Summerland. It blooms at the end of May with flowers emerging above the … Continue reading…
We traveled to Moab, Utah and spent 15 days hiking in the area. Three of those days were spent in Arches National Park, completing most of the official hiking trails. From a hiker’s perspective, Arches offers some unique hiking and has much to offer: easy road access (10 minutes from Moab) a well-organized trail system lots to see (2000 arches … Continue reading…
A little-known route on Mount Mara takes the hiker/scrambler above the main trail past hoodoos and sculpted rocks of the front side up to the base of the cliffs below the summit. From there, several options are available – return by the same route, traverse east over to the main trail, traverse over to the west to come down … Continue reading…
