Tag Archives: hiking

Napier Lake Ranch Conservation Area

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 →

July Mountain Summit

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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

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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 →

Mad Dog Mountain

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There are a number of fine hikes to the summits of peaks in Marble Range Provincial Park.    Among the best are Mt. Bowman,  Wild Horse Ridge, Mt. Kerr, and Lime Ridge.    But there are some lesser-known and seldom-hiked routes too.    Mad Dog Mountain is a rocky peak standing between Mt. Bowman and Lime Ridge.   There is a trail which follows Foundation Creek to the lower slopes of the mountain.    The trail is mostly used to summit the northwest end of Lime Ridge, but a marked junction to a faint trail turns north and works its way up Mad Dog Mountain. Most of this area was burned in a forest fire in 2010.    We wound up … Continue reading →