Author Archives: dsmith

Cinnamon Ridge Hike

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

Near the Spring Equinox I crossed the tracks at Ord Road (just past the golf course) and drove down the bumpy dirt road to the parking area at the official trailhead for Cinnamon Ridge (also referred to as Mara Canyon or The Hoodoos).    I hiked up the trail to the junction, and then turned right following the switchbacks up the steep slopes as it angles around the rocky hill to the northeast. Looking north, Mara Mountain rises above the Mara outlier trails.    The Mara Canyon Trail winds up between the two steep rocky hills.     The Cinnamon Ridge Trail winds around the east side of the hills. The trail is steep, climbing 440 m (1444 ft.) in 2 … Continue reading →

Exploring the Charlotte Alplands

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

The Charlotte Alplands are located in a remote area of the Chilcotin Plateau.      We drove (580 km) to Nimpo Lake.    The next day we boarded a float plane and went southwest, flying over Charlotte Lake.    We landed on Fish Lake.    We packed our gear (supported by a horse pack outfitter) to the Frog Lakes and set up a base camp.    We hiked for a few days through the hills with support from a guide,  and we enjoyed meals provided by a camp cook. The Alplands have the highest concentration of alpine lakes in British Columbia.  To the west are the glacier-covered peaks in the Monarch Range in  Tweedsmuir Provincial Park.   To the south is … Continue reading →

Outer Dewdrop Range Hike

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

Conditions in the lower valley have dried out and those routes can now be hiked, but many of the hills surrounding the valley are still muddy or icy.    The exceptions are the Batchelor Range and the Dewdrop Range.    Those areas are south-facing and open to accelerated drying from the sun, warm conditions, and warmer winds.    The Dewdrop Range is a benchland with rocky bluffs overlooking Kamloops Lake, and the steep rocky Red Plateau Escarpment above.   Much of the Dewdrop Range is open sagebrush grassland with open pine trees in protected areas.   A few gullies and north slopes have more trees, but on the whole it is open enough to be fine for hiking by mid-March (later for … Continue reading →

Battle Bluff Hike

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On a cool day in the second week of March, the Battle Bluff Trail was the hike for the day.    The trailhead (N50 44.791 W120 33.921) is signed and the trail heads south, crossing the flats before going up a shallow gully.    The trail then winds up through open forest between low hills before emerging into the grasslands that slope down toward Kamloops Lake.   At 1.1 km, the trail starts the descent to the foot of Battle Bluff, and then crosses a flat grassy area before winding up the bluff. As hikers go up the ridge, the view to the north is of sets of basalt columns on Dewdrop Ridge. There are several possible routes up the rugged … Continue reading →

Deep Lake Loop

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

The trails to the Deep Lake area in the east side of Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area dried out after the first week of March and provided good hiking routes into the grasslands.    From the trailhead on Ida Road, I hiked the signed Deep Lake Loop Trail.     The first kilometer is uphill through open forest and on sloping ridges to the grassland bench above. A single track trail wound through grasslands to the junction with the Grasslands Community Trail (which is 13 km one way to McQueen Lake). This area is open sagebrush grasslands. The trail continued to Deep Lake, which was still partly frozen.   A single track continues on around and past Deep Lake, connecting to … Continue reading →

Savona to Sabiston Beach Hike

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On a grey cool day in early March we drove to Savona to hike the Savona to Sabiston Beach route.    This is an open (no trees) south-facing sloped area above Kamloops Lake that is one of the first trails to dry out in late winter.  The trailhead is at the end of the Savona Cemetary Road.    The turn is past Savona on the west side of the bridge over the Thompson River.   The trail starts as a double track, then continues east as a rugged single track on the sideslopes above the railway, above the lake. All along the trail we had open views of Kamloops Lake and the hills above.    This view is looking southwest to … Continue reading →

July Mountain Summit

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

July Mountain is located in the Coquihalla Summit Area, north of the core peaks accessible from the Coquihalla Highway.    The trailhead now has some access problems.    We used to take the Juliet Creek turnoff, following the road west, then we turned to cross a bridge and followed the rough July Mountain Road up to a parking spot.     The road was really a 4WD access and was grown in, but we could go slowly and park lower if we found the road too challenging.    Then, the July Mountain Fire burned the whole access area and the bridge went with it.    Access to the trailhead now requires a much longer route.     The extended access to the … Continue reading →

Rabbit Island Ramble

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On the first day of March I hiked from McArthur Island over to Rabbit Island.    In late winter the ice clears off and a narrow channel separates the beaches of the two islands.    Since I have done this route many times, I knew what to expect.    The route is to hike over from the corner of McArthur Island onto wet beaches.    I had already put on a dry suit and neoprene boots and I had my hiking boots in a dry bag.   The narrowest part of a river channel is about 12 m across.   I waded through the cold moving water.   The deepest water came up to my knees, but since the water is quite cold. … Continue reading →

Hiking the West Beaches

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On a mild end-of-February day we started a hike at the end of Aviation Way to go out to the West Beaches.    The route starts on the Rivers Trail, but we stayed on the narrower trail which follows the river downstream and out toward the Thompson River Estuary, looping back along the river for a 8 km, 2+ hour hike, much of it on the sand. A single track trail winds through the cottonwoods above the floodlands, bearing west. A single track drops down into a dry slough, following a single track past an old vehicle graveyard, sometimes called Dale’s Antique Beach. We emerged to the beach shoreline, then wound through the red-osier dogwood to the beach.   We went … Continue reading →

Hiking the Estuary

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

By the end of February a route that I try to hike is from the entrance area to Tranquille down to the shoreline where streams flow into the river, then along the rivershore toward Cooney Bay.    The whole area floods in late spring, but it is a wide estuary in the other seasons.   Conditions are wet after snowmelt, but we can pick our way downstream to get to a gravel beach. There are several streams which flow from the hills down to the river.    A faint trail heads southwest toward the wider estuary. We can follow the shoreline of the river, which braids out into several channels between silt islands, some still with ice. The beaches become wider … Continue reading →