The south side of Mara Mountain has many gullies, ridges, canyons, hoodoos, rock outcrops, and shaped features, many of which are off-trail and out-of-sight. Each year I hike a cross country route to explore some of the interesting topographicl highlights. On a cool fall day I hiked across the sagebrush slopes to pass by the Sentinels, then up to The …Continue reading…
Every year I hike to the summit of Mara Mountain and the most frequent route used is a route from Pruden Pass up the northeast side of the mountain to the top. It is the shortest route with the least elevation gained, but there are no trails for half of the route, but the way is straightforward, winding up through …Continue reading…
Some background: Pruden Pass is the gap between Mara Mountain and Wheeler Mountain. The first homesteader in the area was a man named Wheeler in 1876. Under the Dominion Lands Act of 1872, lands were made available for homesteading. Some of the next homesteaders of the area were the Prudens (1912), the Masseys, the Harris’s, and the Damgaards. A school …Continue reading…
When the weather starts to warm, the first areas to completely clear of snow and dry up are the south facing ridges. When the sun is low in the sky the angle of the sun’s rays are angled through the atmosphere so they are strongest at 90 degrees to the height of the sun at the time. In late February …Continue reading…
Several places we hike to are included here: Batchelor (with a t) Batchelor Hills, Batchelor Lake, Batchelor Mine Named after Owen Salisbury Batchelor who moved to Kamloops in 1895 He built and ran a stamp mill just below the hills and was involved in several other mining ventures in the area Mara Mara Mountain, Mara Trail, Mara Canyon (Kamloops) Named …Continue reading…
The Mara Canyon Trail is sometimes called the Cinnamon Ridge Trail or the Hoodoos Trail. the trail is in Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area (BC Parks) but the trailhead is problematic because of the railway line. Many hikers park on the main road then cross the tracks, but this is not a legal crossing and some people have been …Continue reading…
In late winter as the temperatures started to warm up, the snow melted slowly in the hills. I ventured up into the hills overlooking Tranquille River, following double tracks, single tracks, and some cross country sections through the sagebrush and the snow. From the Mara Trail start, I followed the old wagon track that connects Tranquille to Pruden Pass …Continue reading…
Most hikers go up Mara Canyon on a trail knows as “The Hoodoos” or “Cinnamon Ridge.” This unique trail goes up the south-facing slopes then drops into the bottom of the canyon following the dry streambed for a fun route before it opens up below the summit. There is a loop route possible, coming down along the ridge on the …Continue reading…
The south face of Mount Mara clears of ice and snow early because it has a south-facing aspect. On a mid-February day, we chose to explore gullies and hills around the base and west flank of the mountain. We visited a cave, Face Rock, hoodoos, bighorn sheep trails, fossil-laden slopes, ridges, and ice-filled gullies. We encountered a herd of sheep …Continue reading…