On a hot and somewhat smoky day I got an early start and hiked the western edge of Kenna Cartwright Park. The Trans Mountain Pipeline is buried but there is still remediation work to do, The construction equipment and some materials are in place, but there is no activity on the pipeline track at this time. I have used a little-known single track to the west while the work was on, to go around all of the construction, but on this day all was quiet so I went straight up the track.
I hiked out along the Sunset Trail to the end of trail, at the edge of the park.
The viewpoint looks west out past the Thompson River Delta to Kamloops Lake. This is a great spot in all four seasons.
On the rocky southwest corner there were a few blazing stars still in bloom. I collected some seed and took some photos.
I returned on the Sunset Trail to the Mesa Trail. It winds down into a partly-forested draw and has some viewpoints to the northwest.
The trail climbs back over a series of ridges with some volcanic rock outcrops and views to the north.
There are a number of ponderosa pine snags across the hillsides. There have been an unkindness of ravens in this area for many years. There were a number of croaks and caws as I moved through their territory.
When I returned back to the main trails, I chose a shorter route than planned, keeping in mind the heat and the smoke and to save something for the next day’s paddle. A few moments are captured in this YouTube video:
