Tag Archives: hiking

Stake Lake Thrice

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On a warm June morning I drove to Stake Lake to paddle and hike.   I got onto the water early and paddled twice around the lake, once in each direction.    Then I loaded and secured the boat, put on some hiking shoes and followed trails around the lake for a third time.   This has become a favorite outing in the last few years, one I will do again, but the hiking route is varied each time.    On other days I have paddled a nearby lake (Lodgepole Lake, McConnell Lake, or Walloper), then I made the short drive to Stake Lake for the hike. When I arrived at the lake there were two fishing boats on the lake, but … Continue reading →

Up the Red Plateau Escarpment

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On a hot (34 degrees C) end-of-May day, we drove into the Dewdrop Range and parked at the Dewdrop Trailhead area.    We got an early start and hiked steadily up the steep trail, climbing a series of ridges on the Red Plateau Escarpment.     There are a number of viewpoints and possible end points along the way, but for this day, we continued along the rim, traversing west to the top of the Ragged Red Ridge, our lunch and turn-around point.   We enjoyed the open views and explored the lava flow formations a bit, then we headed back down, retracing our steps, hiking back the way we came up. The climb from the Dewdrop Range up to the rim … Continue reading →

Mara Northeast Route

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

Each year we hike to the top of Mara Hill/Mountain choosing one of three different routes.   Our favorite route is from the northeast, at the fenceline in Pruden Pass.    We drive up the Lac du Bois Road, then turn left onto the Pruden Pass Road.   We follow the bumpy route to the gate and park there (the former site of the Wheeler Mountain School).    The sign on the fence says “No Trespassing,” but it really refers to the private property 600 m farther on.    The lands to the west (for 600m ) are BC Parks lands so we can hike them, although there is no visible trail.   We angled off to the southwest, picking up an occasional … Continue reading →

Napier Lake Ranch Conservation Area

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

The Nature Conservancy of Canada, in partnership with Napier Ranch, has established a heritage grasslands conservation area (526 ha) in the rolling hills between Kamloops and Merritt.   Most of the area is open grasslands with pockets of aspens, mostly in gullies    It is still a working ranch area, but for a few months each year, we can drive up the narrow and steep gravel road to the gate.    There are grass tracks heading north and west and if cattle are on the ranges, we should choose to hike in a different direction.    I have been hiking the area for a number of years and I vary the route each time.    There are no established trails, but … Continue reading →

Rose Swanson Trails

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

We drove southeast through Falkland, then we continued on a series of backroads to the trailhead for the Rose – Swanson Trails, in the forested trails to the west of Armstrong.   We had hiked here before, so we chose this time to vary our route from previous hikes.    We hiked through the forest on the north slopes of the hill toward the southeast and then out to the top of bluffs looking south, southeast, and east into the North Okanagan.    Our route was about 7 km, but we included some breaks, so we were on the trails for about 2.5 hours. The main trail was a wide track through cedar, birch, and lodgepole (and jack pine) forests. From … Continue reading →

Gibraltar Rock from the West

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On a Saturday morning, we had the Paul Lake Park Group Site for a get-together, and we started off the day by hiking the trail up to the top of Gibraltar Rock and back, a moderate 6.7 km out-and-back route.   Many hikers, dog walkers, and runners also use this trail in Paul Lake Provincial Park.    It is a well-maintained trail with signage at the trailhead and at junctions.   It can be busy at summer prime times, but we met only a couple of other hikers along the way on this day. We started at the Paul Lake Group Site where Paul Creek flows out of the lake into a marshy area. Along the lakeside trail were continuing views of … Continue reading →

Neskonlith Meadows to Aylmer Lake Hike

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

Near the end of April, we stopped at the Adams Lake Indian Band Office to get a permit to hike the Neskonlith Meadows Trail on the Reserve.    We then drove up the Bear-Loakin/Neskonlith Lake Road to the trailhead.    We hiked 10.7 km to Aylmer (Star) Lake and back.   The lower end was through the wildflowers in the meadows.    The upper end was behind the ridge, through the forest to Aylmer Lake. There is a double track to follow all the way, but we went off track to enjoy the wildflowers in the meadows.    Neskonlith Lake lay 1.5 km to the west.   We will be back there to paddle the lake in the next month. As we … Continue reading →

Uplands Trails Ramble

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

On the first of April I started a 6.25 km hike from the end of McLeod Drive (at the junction of McLeod Rd. and Uplands Rd. in Barnhartvale).    Trails start at the gas pipeline track and they fan out across the sagebrush grassland benchland, through gullies, and up into the hills.    For this day, the hike was a series of single track trails through the grasslands above the gullies, out to viewpoints,  and then back to cross the heads of gullies for more loops.    The final loop went down one of the larger gullies, then back up onto another benchland.    The solo hike took about 1.75 hours.   The hike started through a north-slope open forest … Continue reading →

Dewdrop Ridge Ramble

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

In the third week of March we returned to the Dewdrop Range to hike a loop route over Dewdrop Ridge.    We started on the Frederick Road at the first pull-off on the right.   A single track trail goes across the low damp area and then winds up the ridge, and becomes the Bluebird Trail.    At about 0.6 km from the start, an unsigned junction is reached.   An old double track bears south (left turn) and climbs to the top of the ridge.  At the southern rim a trail goes east and west. Views from the Rim Trail extend to Battle Bluff, Kamloops Lake, and to the east the Thompson River Estuary. We hiked east for better views of … 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 →