Camping at Juniper Beach Provincial Park has both good and not-so-good features. On the less-desirable side, two railroad lines flank the spot and trains run throughout the night. The site has a few trees but for the most part is open and the campsites are side-by-side facing the river. There is power and water for hard-sided units now, along with … Continue reading…
ountain avens is normally only found in the Arctic or at high altitudes and in limestone/karst terrain. It is an prostate spreading evergeen shrub with small, leathery, wrinkled green leaves. The small flowers are white and saucer shaped growing on top of short stems. This one was spotted on top of Porcupine Ridge at the south end of Lime Ridge … Continue reading…
Each time I return to Painted Bluffs, I pick a different month and hike a different route, and every time I hike in the park, I am rewarded with a visual kaleidoscope of colors and shapes of the Bluffs badlands terrain. On this last trip I paddled across from Savona, landed on the beach, then hiked into the wash at … Continue reading…
Every year a paddle across Kamloops Lake to Painted Bluffs is planned, but I vary the hike in the hills. To avoid the strong winds that can blow down Kamloops Lake in summer, I watch the weather forecast carefully. This year the launch point was in Savona and a double loop was chosen, one on the lake, and one in … Continue reading…
The first wildflower to emerge each year is the sagebrush buttercup. We see it on south-facing slopes are lower elevations on early March. It is a perennial that has fibrous roots. The stems push up through the soil and serrated leaves form at the base. Yellow glossy flowers grace the faded colors of the season. Although buttercups and all of … Continue reading…
The treeless hills on the west side of the Lac du Bois Road provide good hiking in the early season. We parked at the gate and turned up on a single track that climbs between two summits of Batchelor Hill. The final uphill section is a steep climb to the Batchelor Hill Mine area. From the top of the hill … Continue reading…
By the end of February, the south-facing slopes north of Kamloops lose their snow and a week of muddy conditions follows. Sloped benchlands dry out quickly with no tree cover, so we can hike on the lower slopes of the Batchelor Hills early. The area to the west of the Lac du Bois Road has longer routes that wind … Continue reading…
It would be rare to meet someone at Painted Bluffs. It is a remote and quiet spot on the north side of Kamloops Lake. For those who do visit the site, most stay on the lower slopes, but some of the upper gullies and ridges have some surprises for explorers. On this last paddle and hike, I was able to … Continue reading…
July, 2018 July 1 – Mabel Lake July 6 – Wild Horse Ridge June, 2018 June 4 – Walloper Lake paddle June 6 – Three Amigos Hike June 8 – Floodlands paddle June 10 – Galiano Island hike June 11 – 13 – Wallace Island June 16 – Stake Lake paddle and hike June 20 – Inks Lake … Continue reading…
The Marble Range offers some of most interesting, rugged, and remote hiking in our area. Two trails lead all the rest – Mt. Bowman and Wild Horse Ridge. To find the trailhead, drive to Clinton and take the Kelly Lake turnoff. Just before Kelly Lake, turn right onto the Jesmond Road and follow the good gravel road for about km. … Continue reading…
One of the best hiking routes of our area can be found on Estekwalan Mountain, but the trail also has its challenges: the road up from Falkland is rough and steep (but 4WD is not required) don't go if it is wet (both the road and trail will be slippery) the trail to the top is quite steep there are … Continue reading…
This trail was a traditional route for First Nations people of the area, connecting the villages at Cayoosh (Lillooet) and Big Bar. The section of the Fraser between Bridge River and Big Bar has a number of cliffs on both sides and rapids below. When Simon Fraser came to map a route down the Fraser, the guides told him not … Continue reading…
A little-known route on Mount Mara takes the hiker/scrambler above the main trail past hoodoos and sculpted rocks of the front side up to the base of the cliffs below the summit. From there, several options are available – return by the same route, traverse east over to the main trail, traverse over to the west to come down … Continue reading…
We drove to the entrance to Castle Valley on the Colorado River northwest of Moab and enjoyed the views. The next week we drove up above Moab through Sand Hills Recreation Area (link) to hike the Porcupine Rim Trail. The area is designed for shared use – jeep tracks, mountain bike tracks, and “hiking” routes. We chose one … Continue reading…
In the grasslands and open forests rocks and outcrops are often covered and colored by crustose lichens. Frequently we see white/green, yellow, or grey-green lichens, but the one that stands out is the orange-red variety. Lichens are a symbiotic organism of fungus and algae (or cynobacterium). They are long-livbd and survive in all types of extreme conditions. The algaes produce … Continue reading…
In a spring trip to explore Elephant Hill Provincial Park (link to Parks info) a previous article on this site (link) explained access to these barren hills near Ashcroft. The big surprise for me was a hillside of bitterroot in bloom, an uncommon site in the Interior. Bitterroot (lewisia redviva) is a member of the purslane family, a perennial … Continue reading…
