Without question, this hike is our favorite for 2012, and that is saying something. In this year, we also hiked the Kalalau Trail, Cirque Peak, Mount Temple, Angels’ Landing, Zion Narrows, Needle Peak, Assiniboine, Gibraltar on Jedediah Island, Waimea Rim Trail, and other wonderful routes. But the Fairyland Loop is as close to perfect as we can expect. It is … Continue reading…
The most hiked trail below the rim of Bryce Canyon is the Queen's Garden Trail, and for good reason. The trail starts at Sunrise Point and then drops 300 feet to gullies and ridges within the maze of hoodoos. Some of the route is cut through tunnels under the ridges, some sections wind down forested gullies, and new features are … Continue reading…
Even after reading the books beforehand, everything about Bryce Canyon surprised us. It is high and remote. If not for the road section on Highway 12 through Red Canyon, we would have found the route through the Dixie Forest unimpressive. Even after leaving Red Canyon, the high plateau is simply meadows and forest. Not until you reach the actual brink … Continue reading…
On the first day of hiking on the snow, we chose to climb Sunrise Mountain, sometimes called Middle Mountain. This steep ridge looms over the west side of Barnhartvale. It can be hiked from different starting points, but the classic route is on a good single track from the north side. From Todd Road, turn onto Ronde Lane and park … Continue reading…
I have been hiking the area above Pineview Valley for 35 years. In the 1970s, there was little development below and the Pineview Valley had a horse corral at the top of what is now Copperhead Drive and Python Lake sat in a bowl on the east side. The double tracks went up the hill above, access routes from one … Continue reading…
From the Watching Creek Forest Service site, there used to be two bridges, one below the site and another farther downstream, at the bottom of a gully. A loop route could be hiked by crossing the river and continuing along the Rim Trail on the east side and back by a footbridge south of the Rec site. Both bridges were … Continue reading…
A return trip to the Tranquille Canyon Slot Canyons was the result of a last minute decision when the weather cleared up. In our last visit to the canyon we traversed the slots in summer when the water was warmer and the summer was dryer. This was mid-October and the water was cold, but the weather was nice and … Continue reading…
After years about hearing about the arch up on the Dewdrop Escarpment, the clues were sufficient enough to go look for it. We couldn’t spot it from below, even though we had been assured it could be seen. What we found out was that the place to see it is farther up the road. We headed uphill to where we … Continue reading…
The peaks in the Coquihalla Summit area offer good hiking opportunities for hikers in the summer and cross country.snowshoe activities in the winter. Many of the peaks are steep, but once up at the treeline views are expansive. There are only a few designated trails up these peaks, and of these, the easiest is Zoa Peak. Take the Falls Lake … Continue reading…
We hiked Estekwalan Mountain a year after our first time on the mountain. The first trip last year was in late fall on the snow (link to previous post). This September trip had hot and dry conditions. The road up is still a bit rough, but most vehicles will be fine, unless conditions are wet. We followed the trail to … Continue reading…
Stoyama Mountain is the last big mountain in the north Cascades. It can been seen from the Coquihalla Highway as you drive between Merritt and the crossing of the Clearwater River, a long rocky ridge-like mountain to the west. Stoyama is 7438 feet, rising above the hills around. The mountain itself is part of an encircling ring of rocky mountain … Continue reading…
Mount Temple, at 11 760 feet looms above all the other mountains of the Lake Louise-Moraine Lake area. I had been to Sentinel Pass below Temple more than a dozen times and had even hiked up the Temple Trail to the first buttress to have a look at the trail. When I received the invitation out of the blue to … Continue reading…
If you go in to the Assiniboine area, there are 3-4 main dayhikes. The way in and back out can take 1-2 days each way. We once went from Bryant Creek to Magog Lake once, then out through Og Meadows, Valley of the Rocks, Simpson River, Citadel Pass, and Sunshine Meadows, a total of 48km. We did this on a … Continue reading…
We hiked all the main trails in the Assiniboine Mountain area and the Nub hike was our favorite. The peak of the Nub at 9000 feet stands out in the middle of the surrounding peaks with views to every part of the core area. From Lake Magog, follow the main trail for 3.6km through the forest towards the Nublet. On … Continue reading…
In the Mount Assiniboine area, most hikers basecamp from Lake Magog and do day hikes on a number of trails and just about everyone does the lakes loop past Sunburst Lake, Cerulean Lake and Elizabeth Lake. The most logical route is to take the trail up to the Niblet for the viewpoint then wind down toward Elizabeth Lake and the … Continue reading…
There are at least seven Trophy Peaks and the eastern ones are not easily accessible from the Trophy Mountain Trail. Fortunately, there is a good trail to the easternmost ridges and peaks and 3 can be reached by going up this well-defined trail. The route is used by Wells Gray Adventures to access the Trophy Hut (link) . Start on … Continue reading…
