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 →
In mid-April the ice had cleared from most of the area’s lakes, except for the higher elevation sheltered locations. I drove up to Edith Lake for the first time in 2025, then paddled the lake. there were light winds at the start, but stronger winds came from the north for the second half of the time on the lake. I paddled steadily for the … Continue reading →
With many windy days, paddlers sometimes need to venture in a direction of less wind. As a general rule, it is better to avoid paddling larger lakes in the wind, but the forecasts predicted less wind to the east so the decision was to drive to Chase and launch the kayak at the boat launch below the bridge over the South Thompson River mouth and … Continue reading →
I paddled Shumway Lake on a spring day in windy conditions. The forecast called for stronger winds in Kamloops but lighter winds to the east and to the south. I decided to go south to paddle one of the lakes – Shumway, Trapp, Napier, Stump, or Nicola. I drove past Shumway and the winds drove the waves down the lake so I decided to … 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 →
One of the first lakes to be ice-free in the hills is Jacko Lake. It is a popular fishing lake, but it is also a good lake to paddle, but best to avoid peak times. On a cool morning at the end of the first week I drove up the Jacko Lake Road and parked in the boat launch area. I launched my kayak … Continue reading →
We have camped at Big Bar Lake Provincial Park a few times, using it as a basecamp for hiking the Marble Range, for paddling the lakes of the area, and for exploring the area. There is a fine campground with 46 sites overlooking Big Bar Lake. To get to the park, drive west on TransCanada Highway, then turn north at Creek and go north and … Continue reading →
We hiked on the trails on the north end of the Batchelor Hills in Lac du Bois Protected Area on a greyish morning at the end of March. In recent years, the biking community has secured a trail development and management agreement for the Batchelor Hills Trails and they have renamed the trails. We hiked the Bighorn Loop (with a section through Batchelor Pass), a … Continue reading →
In March I hiked from Ida Road onto the Deep Lake Trails, following signed routes in a clockwise loop. The trails were dry and all was quiet. I spotted some wildflowers (sagebrush buttercups) and there were some grasslands birds along the trail. The hike was 5.3 km and took just over two hours. I will be back to hike another loop route in … Continue reading →
I recently hiked the Battle Bluff Trail from the Frederick Road in the Dewdrop Range. This was a 4.5 km hike taking about 1.75 hours. It was very windy on the way up the bluff and too windy to wear a hat on top. The views were great (as always). This was my third hike in the Dewdrop Range and more are … Continue reading →
