The Outer Inks Trail system is a wide area of forested routes on the lower slopes of Chuwhels and Greenstone Mountain.    The Coquihalla Highway is the eastern border.    There are a few roads and a lot of ATV tracks.    Many of the single and double tracks provide good hiking, especially in the off-season for motorized vehicles.   Some of the tracks are signed by the Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association, but the trails are unofficial, though still used.   I don’t hike there from late spring through summer, especially on weekends.    I prefer the quieter times of early spring, fall, and winter.   On this last late April day, there was no one else on the trails on a 9.6 km route.   

From the main parking area on the Inks Lake Road, I turned up the hill to follow single tracks through the open forest.  

My first destination for the day was Dam Lake.   The lake was full and spilling its banks over a double track.   It was draining in a cascade into Alkali Creek.  

When the lake is full a small island is surrounded by the lake water.   By late summer, it will just be a point sticking into the lake. 

From Dam Lake I worked my way west to a marsh and meadow on the Thickets Trail, and from there down to Spade Lake.  

I spotted a coyote, a couple of deer, ducks and geese, and many birds along the way.  

ruddy duck
wren nest

Next to Spade Lake is a marshy lake full of waterfowl, toads, and pond life.   

This lovely, but remote spot is a favorite that I try to hike to at least once a year.  It is 3.5 km from the parking area.  

On the way back the slopes of Sugarloaf Hill were lighted by the sun’s rays shining through intermittent cloud. 

The hike took 2 3/4 hours.    It was quiet the whole way allowing for a time of moving meditation in the open forests of the Outer Inks Trails.