Tag Archives: hiking

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 lake too, but it is a longer route and there are sections of private lands  and some fences, but there is a short section of trail that branches off the Leighton Lake Trail that goes to a hill overlooking the lake.

From the hill between the lakes we can look back north across Leighton Lake toward where I started the hike.

At one point along the trail is a section of burned forest.    On some barren trees just off the trail were 8 turkey vultures, 7 shown here.

The trail around the west side of the lake is all open grasslands, a hot section for hiking in the summer.    

The trail comes back to the Leighton North Campground, then continues to the start at the main Leighton campground/boat launch/day use area.

This is a pleasant hike in late spring or in the fall, but an open route in the summer heat.    I will choose a cooler day next time…

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 →

Eagle Pass Mountain

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Eagle Pass Mountain is located in the Monashee Range, north of the TransCanada Highway, overlooking Eagle Pass between Sicamous and Revelstoke.   Access is by mountain backroads.    The Crazy Creek Forest Service Road angles up the hill and after a few junctions, the final climb up the Eagle Pass Road winds up to a small parking area at the trailhead.    The road is in good shape, but best suited to high clearance vehicles.   We got an early start for the longer drive to the trail. The trail starts by winding up through the forest, then it emerges into an area of sloping meadows, always traversing uphill to the northeast.    The first half is a steady climb, but not … Continue reading →

Dead Coyote – Three Amigos Loop

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There are a number of trails that climb from the Dewdrop Range up the Red Plateau Escarpment to the rim of Red Plateau.    We can combine any two of the trails into a loop route.    Most hikers go up the Dewdrop Trail from the east end of the Dewdrop Range.    The Dead Coyote Trail and the Three Amigos Trail were both developed by mountain bikers as downhill trails from the Red Plateau Traverse route.    The uphill route was from the Tranquille – Criss Creek Road near the Pimple, winding up and around Jag Hill, then continuing west along existing hiking trails west along the plateau.   Alternately, cyclists could bike up the Red Plateau Forest Service Road … Continue reading →

Gil’s Trail to Tod Lake

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The chairlift at Sun Peaks starts at 10:00 am and I was first on the chair to hike the upper trails on a sunny July day.    From mid-station I took the Gil’s Trail which winds around through the forest on the east side of the mountain crossing a number of steep downhill runs on the way to the north part of the mountain.  The trail is a single track which gradually gains altitude for 2.4 km. There are some open viewpoints as the trail crosses ski runs.    The views look to the east.    There are two reservoirs (used for snow-making) and one lake (Cahilty Lake) on the forested plateau. Gil’s Trail joins the main trail system at … Continue reading →

Trophy Meadows and Tarns

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At the end of the first week of July, a hike to the Trophy Mountain meadows and tarns was the course for the day.    It takes about 2 hours to get to the end of the Trophy Mountain Road and the trailhead.   It was an early start and I was first on the trail, hiking through the forest for 2 km, then up through the meadows below Little Hill. From the Shepherd’s Hut I followed the ridge up past some small tarns to a rocky crest. Just past the crest the trail passes above Sheila Lake.    The backcountry campground there is located on the south end of the lake and there was no one camping on this day. … Continue reading →

Tod Mountain Summit

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Most of the snow had cleared off the trails on Tod Mountain by the third week of June.    The chairlift had opened in the middle of June and hikers had been exploring the trails above mid-station for a couple of weeks.   I was first on the chair on a mid-week morning and started my hike up the hill early.    I was not sure about trail conditions so I thought that I would continue to climb as far as was reasonable for the early season.   As it turned out, the first snow was below the summit at the junction between the Westridge Trail and the upper end of the West Bowl Trail.    The dale below the peak was … Continue reading →

Reinecker Creek Trails

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We drove out to Shuswap Lake and continued onto the Sunnybrae – Canoe Point Road out to Herald Provincial Park.    From the parking lot we hiked into Margaret Falls and back out to the start area, then hiked a loop route up the east side to a side trail above the falls, and then continued up Reinecker Creek to cross a bridge and return back down the east side.   This was a two hour hike, taking our time to enjoy the views and the spring wildflowers. The trail up to Margaret Falls is a flat route going up the gorge to the base of the falls. Margaret Falls falls 90 feet in tiers down into the creek. From the … Continue reading →