We traveled into the Washington State Desert Lands in spring to do early-season hikes for two weeks. We drove through Osoyoos then south across the border through Omak and series of small towns following highways and secondary roads. We camped at State Parks, then drove to trailheads for a good hike each day. On one of those days we camped at Dry Falls and … Continue reading →
Deadman River flows from the lakes on the Bonaparte Plateau and drains to the west for 40 km before it falls over the cliffs into Deadman Canyon. The river continues down Deadman Valley all the way to the Thompson River. To get to Deadman Falls, we need to drive west past Kamloops Lake, then turn north up the Deadman – Vidette Road (56 km) to … Continue reading →
The Clearwater River Trail connects Clearwater (by Dutch Lake) to Triple Decker Falls on Candle Creek. This trail is 8 km long and can be hiked either way, but since most of the attractions are at the upper end of the trail, we usually start from the Triple Decker Falls Trailhead. There is a good parking area and a new trailhead sign. The … Continue reading →
On a sunny and windy day in May I drove to the upper side of Aberdeen, then hiked a series of tracks, winding to the top of Coal Hill. I looped back, traversing three sides of Coal Hill back to the track to take me back to the start. This was a 5 km hike with many fine viewpoints and spring wildflowers along the way. … Continue reading →
On a mid-May day it had rained in the morning so I waited for the afternoon to do a shorter local hike. Although I had hiked Skyline Park once, I had not linked up the trails for a a loop route, with some out-and-back sections too. I started at the trailhead at the east end of Aberdeen Drive, then followed the Buttercup Trail, then … Continue reading →
Hikers and mountain bikers have been using Scott Road as a route for decades. It goes right around Rose Hill, but the entire circle route would cross private property, so we use one section of the track. Hikers can hike from Rose Hill Road to the fenced end of Scott Road (about 4 km each way). There are also some short side track … Continue reading →
We have paddled Kentucky and Alleyne Lakes and we have hiked the loop trails around the lakes. On our last hike on the trails at the end of summer, we hiked south around Kentucky Lake, then through the campground, to the west side of Alleyne Lake, then north around a series of lakes and back to the start. The north end goes through Douglas … Continue reading →
At the end of April we drove up the Lac du Bois Road to a trailhead into the middle grasslands. the lower grasslands areas are open sagebrush areas, but as we climb higher into the hills, the sagebrush is less common and the slopes are mostly grasslands, with some shrubs and lots of pothole ponds. There is a signed designated trailhead for a number … Continue reading →
We traveled to Central Washington State to hike the “desert lands” areas in spring. We camped at State Parks and hiked a different trail each day. We started with the Steamboat Rock hike, then did a loop route of hikes – Northrup Canyon, Lenore Caves, Umatilla Rock, Park Lake Canyon, Deep Lake, Gingko Petrified Forest, Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, the John Wayne Trail, Whiskey … Continue reading →
On a sunny early April morning I started a hike just off Rose Hill Road below the trailer park. I climbed on an unmarked grassy double track up onto a ridge and continued uphill to the steep slope break, then contoured east going across the heads of the gullies toward Highland Drive, then I wound down a single track in a gully to the lower … Continue reading →
