Author Archives: dsmith

Lac du Bois Loop Hike

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Near the end of October I drove up the Lac du Bois Road and parked at the northeast end of the lake.   I hiked the track along the north side of the lake.    There were some ducks on the lake, aspens were in fall colors, but otherwise it was very quiet.    The track leads into Hanging Valley, but at the northwest end of the lake, I followed a faint trail (which have hiked before) into an area on the west side of the hills overlooking Lac du Bois.    There are some game trails and cattle trails too, but the best access is a wider track going up a gully toward the top of the ridge.   There are … Continue reading →

Adams River Hike

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In the last part of October I journeyed out to the North Shuswap Road and then parked at the Wade Road area in Tsutswewc Provincial Park.     This pull-off is on the north side of the road after crossing the bridge across Adams River.  Most hikers go upriver from this spot, but there is a trailhead sign for a trail that goes under the bridge, then continues downriver toward the main spawning area and continues down toward the southeast end of the park near Shuswap Lake. The upper end of the trail has many burned trees from the forest fire of 2023.   Danger trees have been cleared, but there are still a number of deciduous trees (cottonwoods, aspens, birch) still … Continue reading →

Custer Lake Loop

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On a fall day I drove to the Lac le Jeune area, going along the Rossmoore Forest Service Road to a point next to a trailhead, then I hiked a known loop route on ski trails, backroads and old tracks.    I had done parts of this route on foot, on a bike and on snowshoes.    At this time of year, there were a couple of dog-walkers on area trails, but for the most part, the rest of the route was quiet.    The Resource Road had been upgraded since there was some active logging on the slopes near the firebreak.   The first 2.7 km was on the Gus Johnson Trail to the end of Lac le Jeune.   The … Continue reading →

Wavy Range Hike

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We have been to Murtle Lake a number of times and we have paddled both arms, staying at various marine campsites for a few days.    From spots along the lakeshore, we have hiked into the mountains, through the forest, and along rivers and creeks.   This is all remote backcountry so all of the usual precautions are needed. On one trip we paddled up the north arm and camped at Strait Creek.    We decided to hike the Wavy Range Trail.    We forded the creek and started the steep trail up through the forest to the open ridge ascent. There is a small backcountry campsite at about 5 km.   At 5.5 km, the trail enters the alpine zone with … Continue reading →

Roche Lakes Backcountry Hike

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On a fall day, we drove up to Roche Lake, then we hiked a 12.25 km loop route through the Roche Lake Provincial Park backcountry area.    We started at the junction of the Roche Lake Road and the Black Lake Road.  We hiked along a rough double track to the shores of Black Lake, one of the picturesque and mostly-unspoiled lakes of the park.    From the end of Black Lake, we continued east, passing under the transmission lines and around Bog Lake.   There are several side tracks to ignore, but we knew the way and continued on, heading south past an old cabin to a backcountry campsite on the shores of Ernest Lake.     This is the most … Continue reading →

Crowfoot Mountain

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In past summers, I drove from the Magna Bay area on Shuswap Lake up steep backroads, then parked,  and continued to hike up trails to the top of Crowfoot Mountain.    The tracks going up Crowfoot and over to Mobley Mountain are used more by dirt bikes, quads, snowmobiles, and now mountain bikes, but only a few hikers get to the top of Crowfoot Mountain. The highlight of the hike is the alpine meadows in summer and long views when the weather is clear. Looking east past Angle Mountain are the Monashee Mountains. The track over to Mobley Mountain goes through open meadows.    It is a long hike out and back, so a mountain bike outing might be best. … Continue reading →

Juniper Ridge Park Grasslands Hike

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On a grey day at the end of September I drove up Rose Hill Road to Scott Road, then I hiked along the double track route across the grassland slopes of Rose Hill to the end of the track and back.   In 2025, 570 acres of this land was purchased by the BC Parks Foundation as a nature preserve – link to more information.   At this time the status of the park is that is still in planning stages. After a hot and dry summer, the grass was longer, but no longer green.    Rabbitbrush was just finishing its flowering cycle.    The route goes through a grasslands zone, but there are also some ponderosa pines, some junipers, a few … Continue reading →

West Guardsman Hike

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In early fall we drove up the Tranquille Criss Creek Road to a pullout near a gully which descends into the Tranquille River Canyon.    We followed a well-marked trail (thanks to Al Budreau) along a single track along the rim of the canyon to a steep area where the river canyon is narrow and is flanked by several large rocky hoodoos (The Guardsmen).    We have hiked on the other side of the river, following the Wheeler Mountain Road toward Pruden Pass, then turned down to the river on faint trails to a spot below the Guardsmen.    The trail to the West Guardsman is on the west side and ends at a point above the steep drop to … Continue reading →

Hiking the Lower Rose Trails

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At the end of summer I hiked a loop route on grasslands benchlands near Rose Hill.    This area was once under a glacial lake.    The silts, sands, and clay deposits were laid down over several ice ages.    Then as the ice retreated, gullies were cut by continuous meltwaters creating drainage channels for the melting snow and ice higher in the hills.    the gullies have continued to be eroded by spring melt each year.    Hiking in the Lower Rose area requires going down and back up some of the gullies and trails have developed following some of the easier routes.    Double tracks connected power lines and access for ranchers.    Single tracks were added by … Continue reading →

Bearcat Caves Exploration

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We had heard about the Bearcat Caves located in the Monte Hills and we decided to try to find the caves then explore them.    We returned several times, each time exploring farther along the caves and fissures and trying new routes where there was safe access.   To get to the Bearcat Caves, we go to Monte Lake and at the north end of the lake, we take the Monte Hills FSR.     The area has been logged many times and there are lots of side roads.    We had coordinates for the caves area so we followed backroads that took us to the trailhead.    A geocache listing provided lots of useful information – Bearcat Caves. There are no … Continue reading →