When the temperatures warmed up, the snow started to melt in the bottom of the valley. Some areas had some ice, slush, or mud, but the most open areas dried more quickly. At the end of January, the road to Cooney Bay was difficult, with deep puddles and mud. The parking area was muddy and there was slush, ice, and …Continue reading…
In mid-December there is sometimes too little snow for snowshoeing, but we can still hike in the hills, using old double tracks to climb into the hills. It helps to use good boots, to wear gaiters, to use poles, and to carry traction devices. On this day I did a 4 hour loop hike on double tracks, single tracks, and off-trail, mostly exploring.
On a grey day in Kamloops, I drove up the Lac le Jeune Road to hike above the foggy valleys. There was a bit of snow by the time I reached McConnell Lake at 1300 m (4265 ft.) elevation. There was no one else in the park. I hiked the lake trail past some large douglas firs.
After a light snowfall in early December, we hiked an old trail from McQueen Lake to Isobel Lake. The trail was used decades ago as a cross country ski, snowshoe, or hiking trail from McQueen Lake to Isobel Lake. Forestry staff installed interpretative signs along the route. It has since fallen into disuse, mainly because there is very little parking …Continue reading…
When we get some warmer temperatures in winter, the snows start to melt and the first places to be free of snow and mud are the shoreline trails and beaches of the rivers. The premier route for a winter walk/beach is along the Rivers Trail to the west beaches between the airport and Tranquille. We park at the end of …Continue reading…
When warmer winter weather wafts across the greater Kamloops area, the snows start to melt and the first areas to clear are the beaches and shorelines of the South Thompson River, the North Thompson River, the downstream Thompson River, and Kamloops Lake. These areas are lower, open, treeless, tend to be windy, and have granular soils. Within week of warming …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…
When we moved to Kamloops in 1976, Peterson Creek was the first area we explored and hiked. There were few trail signs there and the park boundaries had not been defined. Some of the rails were only faint game tracks or scramble routes across the slopes. Over the years, more trails were added, some were decommissioned, and mountain bikers “excavated” …Continue reading…
There is an endless variety of routes to hike in the Dewdrop area on the north side of Kamloops Lake. Most of the hikes are within Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area. There are a couple of official trails, but many of the routes are off-trail or pieces of tracks and trails that have to be connected. In the end …Continue reading…
Tranquille River high on the Bonaparte Plateau, collects in Tranquille Lake and then flows down through the river valleys to empty into Kamloops Lake at Tranquille. The lower river is in a more open valley but at about 4 km upstream, the valley narrows to a canyon and it stays that way for 12 km, just above Tranquille Crossing. Much …Continue reading…
When all the trails are snowed in and ice develops where we would like to hike or bike, we can sometimes use backroads that are seldom-driven but kept open with snowplows. The Goose Lake Road runs for 12 km from the Long Lake Road near Knutsford up to the high country forests of the Lac le Jeune Road. On a …Continue reading…
In the middle of winter a quiet country road may be a good choice for a hike. Trails get snowed in and eventually become icy. We can walk some of the winter beaches or we can find a backroad to walk on and if there are some hills to climb, we have a winter hike route. While we were on …Continue reading…
When I first arrived in Kamloops in 1976, Peterson Creek was the first place I explored. I followed various tracks and trails before it was a City Park, before there were any signs, designated trailheads, or established boundaries. I found out that the trails ventured onto private property on the south end and on the east side and by just …Continue reading…
The Batchelor Range is a chain of rocky hills overlooking the North Thompson River from the Deep Lake area to the edge of the City in the Batchelor Hills. The south end of the Range is accessible from the Lac du Bois Road, but the north end is harder to get to. We can drive on rough backroads to get …Continue reading…
The source of the Tranquille River are the meltwaters of the southern end of the Silwohiakun Plateau. A dozen streams flow down the slopes below Porcupine Ridge (6000 feet) and end up In Tranquille Lake. The river really starts at the lake, but the log starts at the longest stream that flows into the lake. Km 0.0 – Porcupine Meadows …Continue reading…