On a hot day we got an early start to hike a loop route in the hills. We followed Al Budreau (Kamloops Backcountry Hikes) who had developed a trail up and over Jag Hill. Al led us up the steep trail on the southeast side of Jag Hill, starting on the Tranquille Criss Creek Road. We hiked over the top … Continue reading…
For 45 years I have been hiking up Mara Mountain. There are several ways up, but the best one is from the northeast with the trailhead at the Pruden Pass Road. the route climbs through grassland and open forest steeply up to a benchland pond, then steeply up to a shoulder of the mountain. A trail can be picked up … Continue reading…
Over the winter I purchased a folding kayak so that I could use a backpack to hike to hard-to-get-to-lakes with a kayak. The first lake for this adventure was Island Lake, a grasslands lake in the middle grasslands of Lac du Bois Protected Area. With the backpack on, i hiked from the trailhead to the lake on a faint single … Continue reading…
The Upper Grasslands Track is an old cart track set by homesteaders over 100 years ago. It goes from Lac du Bois through the grasslands hills south and eventually connects with the Pruden Pass Road. When we hike the grassy double track we go for 3.75 km then veer off to the top of a hill for the view and … Continue reading…
I hiked up to explore the old gold mine on Batchelor Hill. The first time was in about 1977 and each time I have returned, there is less to see, but since the views are terrific from the top of the hill, it is still worth the effort. I started at the trailhead area just past Batchelor Lake which is … Continue reading…
We spent a few days hiking on Denman and Hornby Islands in April. Boyle Point Provincial Park is located at the south end of Denman Island Trails wind through the douglas fir – hemlock – cedar forest, along the shores of some large marshes, and out to the rocky shoreline and seacliffs. At the point we scrambled down to a … Continue reading…
The Clearwater River Road goes from Clearwater up the Clearwater River (west side) all the way to the Mahood River. It is a bumpy 38.5 km gravel road, but it provides access to a number of scenic locations and some trails and routes to hike. km 5.4* – Entrance into Wells Gray Park km 8.1 – Trail to the Kettle … Continue reading…
Frederick Bluffs are series of rocky hills in the Dewdrop Range, a benchland overlooking Kamloops Lake. There are no trails through the Bluffs, but we can hike various routes through the grasslands hills to create a loop route of about 6 – 7 km. All routes will involve lots of up and down and there may be loose material underfoot … Continue reading…
In mid April we hiked in the Six Mile Hill area, starting at Pat Lake. We hiked on a single track around the south side of the lake, then linked onto old double tracks through the hills. The area on the south side of the lakes has rocky hills and seasonal ponds with old tracks winding through the dales. We … Continue reading…
We will have hiked through Mara Canyon three times in April, each with a different route. On this day, we hiked up the (east) ridge then down the canyon, a 5 km route. We started climbing right away. The ridge route is 2 km and gains 1600 ft. in elevation. From the top of the ridge there are … Continue reading…
The lower valley routes dry out first, and then the valley benchlands clear of snow, ice, and mud. The benchlands tend to have open grasslands or open forests so the trails become good for hiking near the start of spring, or in colder years, a couple of weeks later. Dallas Barnhartvale Nature Park and the adjacent Blackwell Horse and Hiker … Continue reading…
In early April I went up Mara Canyon with a plan to explore the steep slopes of the canyon. The trail was dry on the south-facing slopes, and mostly dry dropping into the bottom of the canyon and up through the narrows. I hiked about half-way up the canyon trail before heading east, up a steep slope below a series … Continue reading…
Each year in late winter and early spring we hike a number of lower benchland trails to find dry routes. One of the best loop routes is not well-known, but has a number of good single and double tracks that can be combined for 2 hours of hiking. All photos by the author. Click an image for a lightbox view … Continue reading…
AS the hills dry out in early spring we often hike in the lower Mt. Mara – Tranquille Hills in spring. On a late March day we started at the Mara Trail then hiked up the Pruden Pass Road to do the Mara Outer Trail Loop. The Outer Loop follows an old double track up a sandy hill to a … Continue reading…
As the hills dry out we can hike more trails. From Rose Hill Park there are a number of trails on the east side and more on the west side. A favorite spring hike is a figure-eight loop on aseries of trails, some with views of the benchlands and valley below. Some of the first wildflowers were spotted and each … Continue reading…
Lower sagebrush grassland benchlands dry out quickly in spring and we can enjoy good hiking in about a dozen areas. The trails off the end of Uplands and McLeod Road in Barnhartvale provide 5 – 6 km of hiking mostly below the forest. There may be some forest in the gullies, but the trails mostly go around the heads of … Continue reading…
