Hiking on the Gulf Islands has a long season – from March through November. We traveled to Cortes Island in the summer, paddling and hiking for a week. The island is too big to do in one week, so we contented ourselves with first doing the easy access routes. We were more than surprised to find that Kw'as Park by … Continue reading…
Salt Spring is the biggest of the Gulf Islands and we have not yet made the time to explore it fully enough. We enjoyed our paddling in Ganges Harbor and Long Harbor. We were impressed by the hiking and camping at Ruckle Park and we enjoyed the hikes on Mount Maxwell, but we have yet to do a dozen or … Continue reading…
Paddlers can base out of Montague Harbor or can launch from many sites on the island. Routes down to shoreline offer explorations. Two are featured here: Bellhouse Provincial Park is a small park near Sturdies Bay with a short trail but with interesting sandstone formations: Dionisio Provincial Park is accessible by boat only and paddlers will have to pay … Continue reading…
We were impressed by the hikes on Galiano Island. Good trails, excellent viewpoints, and a variety of terrain. Bodega Ridge Provincial Park Near mid-island, park at the end of Cottage Drive and start a gentle climb up Bodega Ridge. It is a 12 km return trip along the top of the ridge featuring sandstone formations, eagles and peregrine falcons, and … Continue reading…
We will continue to return to Galiano Island for a late winter retreat to hike and explore, and in summer to camp and paddle. Galiano is the first stop on the Southern Gulf Islands Ferry from Tswassen. Once the ferry is launched, you can be offloading at Sturdies Bay in an hour. We prefer to head inland down the … Continue reading…
In two previous posts, Mount Warburton Pike and East Point Park were featured. There are lots of opportunities to hike and paddle on Saturna and a few are noted here. Winter Cove Park This point of land is within the National Park Reserve. There are about 1.5km of hiking and some shoreline viewpoints. Winter Cove and the shores around Samuel … Continue reading…
Although the Mount Warburton Pike route is the premier hike on Saturna, there are several other hikes, walks, and bikes. One of our favorites is the hike/scramble around East Point Regional Park. The hike is only 1.5 km, but the sculpted shoreline and offshore islets make this a special place to explore: Nature’s artwork here is fascinating: A … Continue reading…
Much of Saturna Island is National Park or Protected Area. We have found the hiking and explorations here to be top-notch. Our favorite hike was the ridge walk along Mount Warburton Pike. We were able to drive to the top, then hike the open ridge south. The west slopes are open grasslands and bluffs with wide views in every … Continue reading…
At the end of winter, Interior Mountains and all high terrain is still blanketed in snow. Well-used trails have ice until mid March then mud follows. After the hills dry out, it is only the lower slopes that can be hiked for another month or more. Anxious to get started on hiking, we have opted to go for a week … 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…
If you travel to Painted Bluffs Provincial Park on the north shore of Kamloops Lake, you can hike into the bluffs, and when you do, you will be stunned by the "other-wordly" feeling of the shapes and colors in front of you. Eroded, sinuous multi-colored slopes drain the slopes above, channeling water into one stream gully above the alluvial fan. … Continue reading…
Wood Duck (click to hear the call) Mallard
Continue reading...Although we have enjoyed skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing at Silver Star, we have never found the summer hiking here to be memorable. If hikers come right at the peak of flower season, the hike to the peak is a pleasure. For a good workout or for downhill mountain-biking, the mountain offers trails: Alternately, hikers can choose the Sovereign Lake … 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…
This was an article I wrote for Gold Country: Moving goods through the Interior of B.C. was never easy. High mountains, steep canyons and raging rivers challenged every route. The Pacific Fur Company established posts at Okanagan, Spokane, and “Shewhaps” (Kamloops) at the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers. In competition, the Northwest Company connected routes between New … Continue reading…
