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 down Hanging Valley, then turned onto a grassy track bearing northwest (N50 48.133 W120 28.516).

The track continues to climb, winding its way up over the bluffs onto the Opax Mountain plateau.    At a junction in an open spot, we turned west, then turned onto a single track (at N50 47.642 W120 30.868) and went out to a viewpoint at the top of the bluffs.

We had lunch there, then looked for the flagged trail down the ridge.    We spotted it on the ridge to the southeast of the viewpoint.   We hiked down the ridge watching for more flagging tape or cairns.   There is a rough trail, and at times we didn’t see the track, but by taking the most natural way down the ridge and watching for signs, we made our way down to Hanging Valley.

We followed the old single and double track up Hanging Valley and then around Lac du Bois (5 km) back to the start.

The West Opax Loop route is a rugged backcountry 16 km route with varied terrain and fine viewpoints.    Anyone who tackles this hike will need reasonable route-finding and navigation skills, and must be well-prepared for a more challenging route.   Our thanks to Al Budreau for blazing this connector trail.

We usually get up Opax Mountain each year and the next time will be a route on the east side of the mountain, on tracks we know, but haven’t done for a few years.