We have been hiking the tracks and trails west of Barnhartvale for over 40 years and we have seen a number of changes.   The rise of mountain biking brought many new single tracks to the slopes above and to the benchlands below.   In addition, land has been purchased in various locations – higher in the western valley, on the eastern side of Juniper Ridge and in the middle, part of a gravel pit operation.   These have cut off access to the backcountry but hikers and mountain bikers have been able to work out routes around the fencelines and blocked areas.   We recently went up through the hills from the Uplands trailhead and found new fencelines so we tried some “go-around routes” and found that they are probably there, but the routes add a lot of distance.   It will take additional exploration to see if there is a reasonable route around the gravel pit operation.

From the ridge above the Uplands Trails are fine views to the northeast.

The benchlands have gullies and ridges, all within the grasslands zone.

To the west is the South Thompson River Valley.

We hiked out and back on the upper track, then did a loop on the benchlands for a 6 km route.  More exploration is needed to find a longer route that avoids fences and private lands.

More Information:

• Uplands Bench Loop