The Gus Johnson-Lac le Jeune Loop Trail is a four-season trail. This week we biked around the lake, but we have also hiked it, run it, and cross country skied the route. Recent wind storms have brought down many trees which won’t impede hikers, but it is more of a challenge to mountain bike right now. Nevertheless it is a … Continue reading…
Many years ago, we used to hike up above the Lac le Jeune Ski Hill to get the first day of cross country skiing on the Ridge Lakes and Mildred Lake Trail. We could usually drive up the Ridge Lake Forest Service Road, then hike to the snow. At the top of the hill above Mildred Lake, the 5000 foot … Continue reading…
Hiking on icy tracks all winter has been so much safer using trekking poles. They add stability, take pressure off the knees, and are great for testing the snowpack. Many people use two, but I prefer to have one hand free for a map, camera, or GPS. My pole is always in the truck and goes with me on every … Continue reading…
When you live in the Interior of B.C., there are numerous unnamed hills, ridges, mountains and high spots to explore. Some have backroad access, some have trail access, but some have no established trails at all, but can still be hiked following a "route." With the old topo maps, we used our compass and map to navigate a route to … Continue reading…
Friends (Jeremy and Raegan) snowshoed from Lac Le Jeune Resort to the top of Ridge Mountain. This is the account of their route and experience" "We started out at the old Lac le Jeune ski ranch. There is parking along the road and we pretty well jumped the fence and went after we saw others do the same. The start … Continue reading…
This is a long way from the Interior of B.C., but when in Halifax, hikers walk the trails of Point Pleasant Park. The point is at the south end of Halifax: Many trees were brought down by Hurrricane Juan, but replanting has been done and the trees are now a few years old. Trail surfaces vary from pavement to wood … Continue reading…
There are no product reviews on this site. Until now. It is not the intention of the author to review and recommend products. Unless something special comes along. In a previous life as a mountaineer, I brought my crampons to cross glaciers and climb peaks, but they were awkward to get on and off, awkward to store in your … Continue reading…
We have been exploring hills in Barnhartvale this winter, even in the snow. Lower areas can sometimes be a bit icy, but we either walk in the snow at the side or we put on our microspikes/yaks. Once we start to climb, we just stomp through the snow, and it has been only mid-calf depth on exposed slopes but deeper … Continue reading…
Bring your GPS with you when you go for a hike/bike/paddle and it can record how far you have traveled, how much actvity time you had, your average speed or much more. The Trip Computer (or whatever it is called in each type of GPS) can record any of the following that you choose: Field Description Accuracy of GPS Your … Continue reading…
The hills bounded on 3 sides by Barnhartvale Road, the Campbell Range -Scuitto Road, and the Campbell Creek Road have a well-established trail system designed for non-motorized use. The Barnhartvale Horse and Hiker Trail Preservation Society has received funding and through its volunteer efforts has done a nice job on a good network of trails in grassland-sagebrush and forested terrain. … Continue reading…
A trail network connecting Barnhartvale and Dallas has developed over last decade, with hikers using either the Eliza Road trailhead or the Dallas Drive (lower) trailhead in an areas called the Dallas-Barnhartvale Nature Park. We have not had an accurate map up to now, although there have been paper copies available from time to time. In the last … Continue reading…
Those of us who have been exploring the backwoods for many years spent the majority of our time having poor map information. Topo maps were either out-of-date or too large in scale to be useful. Trail maps were rarely to scale and were not very helpful in the field. Well-researched maps with trail-specific information was rare because the process of … Continue reading…
We live in an area molded by geological processes. The last major events of our area were the Ice Ages. While the ice was on the land and as the ice retreated 10 000 years ago, landforms were created and have since been weathered and eroded for 100 centuries. We can still see evidence of the work of the ice … Continue reading…
The Upper Grasslands of Lac du Bois Provincial Park are a wonderful place to hike in the snow, snowshoe, or cross country ski. Your choice will be determined by the conditions. When we did the hike listed here, the snow was about 1' in depth and a bit crunchy so boots with gaiters were a good choice. With more snow, … Continue reading…
As of today, there are 156 posts on this site. Over the next year, it will grow to over 300. How do you find information on this site? Use the Search function (on your right). It works very well. Go to the Site Map page (see Pages on the right) for a quick scan of content. Search by Category. Over … Continue reading…
The Barnhartvale Horse and Hiker Trail Preservation Society has been successful in establishing a number of trail systems in Barhnartvale. Trailheads are marked and horse-man gates are installed. At junctions, trail posts mark the way. There are boxes for trail maps, but each time I have been here, the boxes have been empty. If I can get hold of a … Continue reading…
