Author Archives: dsmith

A Hike Around Face Lake

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On a sunny summer day I drove up the Paska Lake Road and continued toward Mile High Resort.    I parked outside the resort property, and then walked to the camping area and past to the trailhead for the around-the-lake trail.   The trail is lightly marked, but at a couple of junctions, I took the one closest to the lake and continued all along the east side of Face Lake. The area around Face Lake has lodgepole pine and douglas fir forests, with mixed forests in low or wet areas.   Some of the trees have been thinned lower down.    Higher on the slopes of Chuwhels Mountain the slopes have been logged and replanted. At the north end of the … Continue reading →

Rattler Viewpoint Hike

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On previous hikes this summer I hiked over two of the Stake Lake Hills.     First, the Lac le Jeune Lookout (Vista Trail) was hiked from Lac le Jeune.     In the middle of summer, it was a loop route over McConnell Hill.     On this recent day, the hike was through different cross-country and snowshoe trails to the top of the hill Rattler Viewpoint.   The fastest route up was around the west side of Stake Lake (Cartwheel Trail), then up Hold Up.   A sign shows the way to a snowshoe trail which winds through the forest and up the hill. Most of the area around Rattler Viewpoint is douglas fir forest. From the viewpoint there are views to the … Continue reading →

Mt. Embleton Hike

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On a sunny day the Mt. Embleton Trails was the hiking destination.    From the upper parking lot, the upper trail wound up through the forest to the Pine Loop Trail and over to the gazebo and the lookout, the highest point on the trails.    From there, the trail descends to a junction and the trail to the right goes down to the Skyline Trail following a rocky ridge back down to the forested slopes. There are fine views most of the way down the Skyline Trail.    As the trail winds down, there are several junctions to return back to the parking lot.    The return route was along the Old Mills Trail, a favorite.   This loop route … Continue reading →

Leighton Lake Trail

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On a hot summer day I drove up to Tunkwa Provincial Park, then turned onto the Leighton Lake Campground Road to the campsite and boat launch area.    I paddled around Leighton Lake first, then secured the boat, and changed into hiking gear.   I hiked the Leighton Lake Trail counter-clockwise, a loop route of 4.3 – 4.5 km (depending on route choices). The trail winds through open forest on the southeast side of the lake and then joins the Tunkwa Lake Campground on the south side of the lake. The lake trail goes between the two lakes (they are connected by a short stream).    Tunkwa Lake is the larger of the two lakes.    We can hike around that … Continue reading →

Tranquille Slot Canyons

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The Tranquille Slot Canyons are an extended gorge in the Tranquille River Canyon.    They are accessed by parking at a pullout area off the Tranquille Criss Creek Road, then hiking down a steep trail to the river’s edge.    There are two slot canyons not far apart.     The North Slot has a deeper pool to wade and swim through, but we can go all the way through to the north end, then back.   When we go down to the slot canyons, we bring our gear and leave it by the shoreline, before entering the river. The steep trail down is a single track, winding around a cliff, past some car wrecks, along a ridge, then down through a … Continue reading →

Twilight Hill Loop

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There are a number of steep hills and there are a few trails up through them which can be combined from the trailhead at the end of Uplands/McLeod Drive in Barnhartvale.   For a moderate hike, we sometimes hike a series of single tracks through the grasslands benchlands (Uplands Trails Ramble).   The routes into the hills require some steep climbs on single tracks.    To the east is the Sunrise Mountain Trail which follows the ridge to the top.   West of Sunrise is a mountain/hill of the same elevation which I have been calling Sunset Mountain for many years.    It can be accessed from various directions using old double tracks and newer single tracks.     North of Sunset Mountain are … Continue reading →

West Opax Loop

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We have been hiking from Lac du Bois to Hanging Valley, then up an old double track up Opax Mountain for many years.   Most years we hike out to the western side of the mountain to the tops of bluffs overlooking the Tranquille River Canyon.    Sometimes we traverse the top of the lava cliffs bearing east and then return on routes down to Lac du Bois.   A newer route was blazed by Al Budreau (Kamloops Backcountry Hikes) in recent times and we decided to try the route down a steep ridge to the western end of Hanging Valley and then back to Lac du Bois. We hiked around the north side of Lac du Bois and started to go … Continue reading →

Hiking the Timber Lake Hills

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On a hot summer day, I drove up the Lac le Jeune Road and turned onto the Timber Lake Road, passing under the Coquihalla Highway and parking near a junction of a road that bears west, going up into the hills.   The plan was to hike a known route, one I have done on foot, on cross country skis, and on snowshoes.    The first part of the hike was to go to the top of Timber Lake Hill where a tall communications tower overlooks the grasslands and forests. There are several spots on the east side of the tower area with views looking north over the grasslands hills. From a side route out to the top of a rocky … Continue reading →

Zoa Peak Hike

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We have hiked up to the top of Zoa Peak almost every year for many years.    It is usually a fall hike, but this time it was an end-of-July day for the 8.2 km out-and-back route.     The forecast was for 39ºC in Kamloops, so we got an early start and we were at the trailhead by 9:15 am.    The first two kilometers is a steady uphill up the gasline track then onto a single track which winds through the forest up to a subalpine ridge. The second half of the hike up to the top has open views, meadows, and forest pockets winding around rocky hills.    To the north July Mountain stands above the other side … Continue reading →

McConnell Hill Hike

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One of the hikes to be done each summer is a route that goes over McConnell Hill.    There are a number of ski trails, snowshoe trails, and even cross-country bike trails that can be combined to go up and over McConnell Hill.   Each year the route is changed.    This year the route started at Stake Lake, then followed cross country trails up to the basalt bluffs area, and onto a single track snowshoe trail up to the top of the hill/mesa. The day was hot and there was no wind on Stake Lake as I hiked by. The snowshoe trail is a bit rough and at one point near the top, it passes under a wooden archway. At … Continue reading →