At the end of 2015, Kamloops Trails pauses to look back and also to look ahead.

2015

• Just a few days ago, Kamloops Trails achieved a milestone – 1000 articles published.
• Earlier in the month, the Number of Site Visits (meter at the bottom of the site) passed the 3 000 000 mark.

The year started slowly because of major surgery and there was a month and a half of recovery which meant very few outings.   Some backlog of photos and information helped, but the site was shifted to a new post every 4 days for that period of time.   For most of the year, a frequency of every 2 days was used.

• With the surgery and a mild winter, there was no cross-country ski season and only a small number of snowshoe outings.
• By spring the activity increased to its normal rate of 3-4 outings a week.
• In April a trip to Utah included some new territory and new stories, many of which did not get published until December.

Spring also saw the start of the kayaking season and in 2015, the boat was on the water 60x with a number of new lakes, waterways, and many revisited paddling routes.

• Paddle camping in 2015 also included some newer areas and a return to favorite spots – Murtle Lake, Clearwater Lake, the North Thompson River, and Mahood Lake.
• In the summer, a paddleboard was purchased with the purpose of using the SUP on smaller lakes.   Hauling an 18.5 foot kayak to a small lake seemed to be overkill so a few smaller lakes were paddled on a SUP in 2015.
• In November a trip to New Zealand meant having a month of posts done in advance, but there was a backlog, so posts every 2 days appeared even though we were 11 600 km away.   Most NZ stories will appear over the winter.
• Our favorite outings of the year were Upper Salt Creek Canyon, Mount Tongariro Northern Circuit, and the Abel Tasman Track.

2016

• For the winter, new articles will likely be posted every 3 days.
• It would appear that there will be a full season of on-the-snow activities for the upcoming season.
• Hikes, snowshoes, and paddles with Kamloops Hiking Club will continue in 2016.
• Hiking will start in March and by the end of March, the kayak will be in the river again (with another kayak added to the “fleet.”)
• We will return to mountain biking, starting with shorter rides in the spring.
• A return to Utah is planned for the spring.
• Kayak camping in the summer will include some saltwater destinations.
• A couple of backpacks will be planned, weather pending.   Its always a love-hate relationship with the heavy backpack.
• Trips to the Rockies, North Cascades, the Selkirks, and the Bugaboos are planned.
• We do some hikes and paddles almost every year, so we will see Murtle Lake, Skoatl Point, Opax Mountain, Mt. Peter, Trophy Mountain, Clearwater Lake, the North Thompson River, Mt. Mara, Tod Mountain, the upper grasslands, the Marble Range, Coquihalla Summits, Valleyview Silt Cliffs, Outer Inks Trails, Bush Lakes, Heffley Lake, Embleton Mountain, Mt. McConnell, Wheeler Mountain, the Dewdrop Range, the Floodlands, Wells Gray, the South Thompson River, and many more (again)!
• Some destinations have been on “the list” for a while so we will try to do a few more of them in 2016 – Llama Peak, the Upper Shuswap River- Mabel Lake, Anstey Arm, Mad Dog Mountain, Illal Meadows, Table Mountain, Huntley Col, Slocan Lake, Botanie Mountain, Kalalau Valley, Mt. Kerr, Tsuis Mountain, and really more that will likely never get done.
• A return to the Island of Kauai is planned for the fall.
• Another new website will appear soon as a guide to hiking in the Kamloops area (www.kamloopshikingtrails.com, in draft now)
• thanks for following KamloopsTrails!