Jag Hill is a prominent high ridge that juts out in a southeast direction from the Red Plateau Escarpment. Hikers can drive up the Red Plateau Forest Service Road and hike to the viewpoint, but there is no established trail. With some navigation and some help with flagging tape, a good place to start is at N50° 46.320′ W 120° …Continue reading…
One of the premier hikes areas in the Kamloops area is on the Red Plateau – Dewdrop Escarpment. There are several trails that climb from the Dewdrop Range to the top of the escarpment – the Dewdrop Trail, Dead Coyote, Dewdrop Traverse, and Three Amigos (there are articles on all of these trails on the website). There are some informal …Continue reading…
When Red Plateau dries out (in May) and before the heat of late spring we climb from the Dewdrop Range up the Red Plateau Escarpment to the rim. The best trail is the Dewdrop Trail which winds up a gully, then a ridge, climbing 611 m of elevation (2000+ feet) in 3 km. An alternate route with no established trail …Continue reading…
When winter comes we continue to hike and when the snows blanket the hills we look for new routes through the forest, trying to link up new known routes to create loops. There are no references to help us with these explorations so we check with Google Earth and do some scouting, but in the end we get an idea …Continue reading…
Castle Butte is a promontory/ridge that juts out from the Red Plateau Escarpment. To get to the top of the hill at the end of the ridge, a ledge is followed to the east side then a short scramble is required to go the south end of the butte. Most hikers who choose to go to Castle Butte follow the …Continue reading…
One of the first routes to clear and dry up in early spring is an off-trail route up a series of open ridges to the top of the Pimple. This up-and back hike is 6.64 km and climbs 545m (1788 feet). Along the way are wide-open views of the Tranquille River Valley, the flanks of Mount Mara and Mt. Wheeler, …Continue reading…
At the very start of spring, I hiked into Battle Bluff twice. The first hike was half way in to check out conditions. There was some mud and ice, but by skirting those spots, the route was clear enough for a group hike. When I returned 4 days later, the ice was gone and the mud was really only in …Continue reading…
With a group hike of Battle Bluff planned, I was worried about snow, mud, and ice so I scouted the trail going to a viewpoint about halfway along the trail. There was mud and wet spots at the start, ice and mud on the next section, dry sections in the middle, then I could see snow on the north side …Continue reading…
This is not a route we recommend to anyone. The plan for the day was to solo hike up into Red Canyon to see the frozen waterfalls at the end of the hikeable section, but then I decided to traverse under the lava cliffs for the views of the hoodoos, gargoyles, air pocket caves, and ragged outcrops Once I traversed …Continue reading…
In the winter the streams that run off the south side of the top of Red Plateau will freeze up. I have found 4 frozen waterfalls recently and I am still exploring to look for more. One of the more interesting falls is at the end of a 2 km hike into a deep canyon between the Dewdrop Trail summit …Continue reading…
The trail to the top of Battle Bluff is a popular hike in 3 seasons in the Kamloops area. It has one of the best viewpoints at the end of a moderate route. On an early May day, though, we explored the shoulder of Battle Bluff and found it quite rewarding. Although we struck out across the hills, hikers could …Continue reading…
There are a series of ridges that can be connected from the top of the Pimple (a hill overlooking the Tranquille River) all the way down to where the Tranquille- Criss Creek Road and the Tranquille River intersect. There is no trail, but we can work our way downhill over 4.6 km staying on top of the ridge where we …Continue reading…
The Red Plateau Forest Service Road bears west from the Red Lake Road and climbs onto the top of the forested Red Plateau. Much of the east end is within Lac du Bois Grasslands Provincial Protected Area, but the western end is Crown land, heavily logged and criss-crossed with side roads, skid roads, and decommissioned roads. Red Plateau has a …Continue reading…
We hike in the Frederick Bluffs each year. It is a rugged area of rocky bluffs, grassland slopes, gullies, and wonderful views. There are no trails into the Frederick Bluffs area. We park just off the Frederick Road and create our own route going up one bluff, down in the gullies, and up the next bluff, sometimes …Continue reading…