Mount Perry rises to 1729m (5672 feet) above the lowest point in North America, the Death Valley Basin. It is in the rugged Black Mountains on the east side of Death Valley. The best access point is to take the Dante’s View Road and then from the parking lot continue to bear north following the tops of all the ridges. … Continue reading…
White Lake is a medium-sized alkali lake in the southwest end of the Cariboo. It is accessed by driving west on the Meadow Lake Road past Meadow Lake. The hand lunch area is at the west end of the lake. We drove in from Big Bar Lake on backroads. There were no homes or grazing fences, nor any evidence of … Continue reading…
There are numerous trails on the west side of the Lac du Bois Road in the lower grasslands that are used by hikers, walkers, mountain bikers. Just recently the mountain bike community (in an agreement with BC Parks) has started to install signage for mountain bikers, but hikers are also welcome to use the multi-use trails. Motorized vehicles are not … Continue reading…
Mosaic Canyon is a popular hike in the Death Valley area. The name comes from the textured and colorful patterns of mosaic breccia, dolomite, and marble in the canyon walls. The trail has both narrows and wider spots as it goes up into a fault in Tucki Mountain for about 1.8 miles (2.9 km). The canyon has been scoured by … Continue reading…
We traveled to Death Valley to hike in February. The days were warm and dry and the nights were cool, but all the hiking was outstanding. Our first hike was the Golden Valley – Gower Gulch Loop, a moderate route through barren badlands not far from Furnace Creek. The start from the singed trailhead was up a broad wash into … Continue reading…
The hike up Mara Canyon is one of the best in the region, but we hiked up the loop trail to the summit, then we came down the canyon for this outing. We drove the side road from the CNR level crossing to the end of Ord Road, then followed the trail through the sagebrush toward the mouth of the … Continue reading…
A the end of March, the snow had melted and left the grasslands wet, but open to hiking. There is a good parking area just off the Lac du Bois Road. We passed the interpretive signs at the trailhead and headed northeast toward Island Lake following grassland tracks among faded brown hills. Some mud lingered in sheltered spots and there … Continue reading…
Swakane Canyon is north of Wenatchee just off Highway 97 (Alt.) on the west side of the Columbia River. Drive north for 8.7 km, then turn left on the Swakane Road. Follow this rougher dirt road for 5 km and park where an old double track road climbs uphill, bearing east. The entire hike is on a double track … Continue reading…
We hiked the 8.7 km Upper Barren Hills hike today and we found lots of good hiking with some dryish conditions on south-facing slopes, but some mud and snow on north-side slopes too. It will be almost dry within a week.
Continue reading...In this transition period, we can make some good choices for hiking and some more challenging routes too. Generally speaking, the first trails to melt also get mud first. Second, any trail that is on a side slope will drain faster. Third, any trail that has a south-facing slope will dry faster. Fourth, forested trails are slower to clear. Fifth, … Continue reading…
The Batchelor Range is a chain of rocky hills overlooking the North Thompson River from the Deep Lake area to the edge of the City in the Batchelor Hills. The south end of the Range is accessible from the Lac du Bois Road, but the north end is harder to get to. We can drive on rough backroads to get … Continue reading…
The first hills to clear of snow are the lower Batchelor Hills. The south-facing slopes are sometimes called the Barren Hills but recently the mountain biking community has established new single track trails with new signage and new names. We hiked these trails on the dirt in February. From the cycling community’s map, we followed the Lazy Boy Trail … Continue reading…
December, 2016 Dec. 2 – Frederick Bluffs Dec. 3 – Kamloops Climb Dec. 7 – Outer Inks trails Dec. 9 – Kamloops Climb Dec. 14 – Dogwood Marshes snowshoe Dec. 18 – Bush Lake snowshoe Dec. 21 – Lodgepole Lake snowshoe Dec. 23 – Hull South snowshoe Dec. 28 – Upper Goose Hills snowshoe Dec. 30 – Bush Lake South … Continue reading…
Looking ahead, these are some of the outings planned, although the weather, family demands, and serendipity often changes out plans: Hull Hill West on snowshoes with KHC snowshoeing – Mara Hills Snowshoeing near McQueen Lake with KHC snowshoeing on the southwest end of Hull Hill with KHC (a new exploration area) hike (tbd) hiking the Barren Hills with KHC hiking … Continue reading…
Much of the Island of Mauai is Haleakala, a 10 000 foot shield volcano. We can drive to the summit, entering Haleakala National Park on the way up. The Visitors Center is on the rim, just below the highest point and this is where the main trailhead is. Almost all of the hikes must drop into the crater, 3000 feet … Continue reading…
The road on the west coast of Maui goes south past Kihei, through Wailea and then ends at Kahena. At the end of the paved road, a narrow road winds through lava flows in the Ahihi Natural Preserve before ending at La Perouse Bay. The Hoapili Trail continues south along the coastline. It was once part of the “Kings Highway,” … Continue reading…
