Every winter we snowshoe over to Clay Lake, then work our way through the forest to the open grasslands, passing Stony Lake on our way back. This journey on the snow is about 8 km, but our actual route varies each time. The whole route is outside of the McQueen Lake Environmental Center which meant that we had to cross … Continue reading…
The Embleton Mountain trails provide good hiking in all 4 seasons, but in mid-winter we need snowshoes to get to the top of the hill. Usually we can hike on the lower trails in winter boots, but about halfway up, the snow gets deeper and the trail gets steeper. It takes about 2 hours to work our way up on … Continue reading…
Wheeler Mountain is a nice summer hike, following old double tracks to the top of the mountain, but in winter those same tracks are hard work. We broke trail from Wheeler Pond to the top, taking turns on our snowshoes on the 11km return route. We were pleased to have a sunny day in the upper grasslands on our way … Continue reading…
We snowshoe at Lodgepole Lake because it is high enough (4655 feet) for the snow to be reliable and at the same time, the Chuwhels Mountain Road is kept plowed, including a good parking area at the end of the lake. Most of the people who snowshoe there head downslope to a series of ponds and creeks that head southwest … Continue reading…
The Ridge Lakes are found on a plateau above Lac le Jeune. We have been hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking to the area for decades. We used to either climb up past the Lac le Jeune ski hills or up the Ridge Lakes FSR, but a single track trail from the end of Lac le Jeune Drive is … Continue reading…
The Murtle River Trail follows the south bank of the Murtle River upstream to the Majerus Farm and beyond to Pyramid Bay. It is also part of a bigger loop that includes the cross-country ski loppet trail from Helmcken Falls Lodge, over McLeod Hill, down to the river, past Majerus Farm and then south to Blackwater Creek. For winter visitors, … Continue reading…
The Bush Lake area is an informal area of routes through the high country forest. There is one flagged “trail” on the north end of the trails and there are another 8 km of routes on the south side. Right across the road are the Dogwood Marshes. All of the routes can be snowshoed from one parking lot on the … Continue reading…
The Dogwood Marshes are a large bowl-shaped area near the Bush Lakes parking lot on the Lac le Jeune Road. There is grazing fence around these Crown lands, but a section of the fence has been removed for winter snowshoeing. Drive up the Lac le Jeune Road and turn into the Bush Lakes parking area on the left. Go through … Continue reading…
Our climb of Mt. Athabasca is now some decades past so most of this post is just a collection of memories, not a guide to completing the route. We were still on film cameras then, so by modern standards I did not document the detailed route with GPS and digital camera as we can today. We had taken a mountaineering … Continue reading…
Harper Mountain has good ski trails and bike trails, but we can hike or snowshoe some of them too. Hiking on the mountain bike trails on weekends in season may not be the best idea. Most trails are for downhill bikes and going up these steep single tracks is asking for trouble. On the other hand, a combination of the … Continue reading…
This route is really a snowshoe route, but with the warmer weather, all the tracks turned hard and the backroads became icy. Once snowmobiles have ridden along a route or a few snowshoers have stomped in a track, it is possible to walk/hike on tops of the tracks. So, this route can be snowshoed in winter conditions or hiked on … 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…
While snowshoeing and hiking in the middle of winter, we find ourselves in low-light minimal-chromatic environments. White snowbanks, brown-grey trunks, green-grey conifers, and dull skies await us. On a sunny day, the blue skies and reflected light brings out a greater range of colors, but also harsher contrasts of light and shadow. The low sun, though, can be used to … Continue reading…
When snows blanket the hills, we can still hike. In fact, it is a good time to explore new areas, especially rarely-visited hills, grasslands, and open-forested slopes. With low winter light and frequent cloud cover, slow progress in the snow, and limited access to viewpoints, we can reset our objectives. An interesting choice is to hunt out dead standing trees … Continue reading…
Snowshoeing areas are found in the hills surrounding Kamloops, but access varies according to the month and snow conditions. In December we usually have to drive to 4000 feet to find enough snow. In January, snowshoe routes start at about 2500 feet, but it is still better at 3000 feet. By February, any north-slope hill or anywhere above 2500 feet … Continue reading…
The first snowshoe outing of the season usually happens before the snows have built up to a depth actually requiring snowshoes. At 4000 feet+ the snow gets too deep for regular hiking, so first tracks can be set in the forest. The Bush Lake North Loop was the first “snow stomp” of the season. To follow this track, drive up … Continue reading…
