The whole range of hills from Lafarge to Lions Head above Shuswap Road are rocky, steep, and seldom-visited.   The steep slopes from the valley floor have no trails or tracks.   The route in from the north is a long and complicated one.   Private property lines the foot of the hills and fringes the northwest and eastern sides.   In this hiking day, I went straight up into the hills above Rivershore.

This approach is relentlessly steep, climbing 1500+ feet in one kilometer.   The going was slow indeed, but there were a few distractions along the way – cactus, poison ivy, bald eagles, bighorn sheep, a mama bear and two cubs, a kangaroo rat, a pine snake, scats from coyotes, bears, sheep, and deer, woodpeckers, a few late-flowering plants,

poison ivy	bighorn sheep
white columbine seed heads	mama bear and cubs fleeling the scene
a jet flying over the hills above	the steep slopes above Rivershore
rabbit brush in bloom	a bit of fall color on the dry south-facing slopes

Once I was at 825 m (2700 feet), there were some gentler slopes among rocky bluffs.   The highest point is at 1100 m (3610 feet), only 800 m above.

From the edge of the hill, views to the southeast included Martin Mountain and the Monte Hills.   Directly below was Rivershore.

To the southwest is the Lafarge Bridge area.

Although the hills above called for more exploration, that will come on another outing from the north side so I worked by way down the steep slopes one careful step at a time.

The hills above Rivershore await another day of exploration, planned for next year.