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 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 →
Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area is situated in the open hills on the north side of Kamloops. There are multi-use trails off the Lac du Bois Road close to the City, but access to areas higher in the park is from spots along the main road. The largest lake in the grasslands is Long Lake. It lies in a valley/trench on the … Continue reading →
The south-facing lower slopes of the valley’s hills are ice and mud-free, but if we go in behind these hills, there will be some mud. With this in mind, I hiked up the Tower Classic Trail, turned onto the Naked Pistol Trail, then used the Tower Hill Road to the top. This was a good climb, but all the trails in the grasslands were … Continue reading →
On a mild early March day the route chosen for a hike was the Mara Outer Loop. This is the Mara Trail with an extended route over two hills which overlook the Tranquille River Canyon. The Pruden Pass Road is part of the route, a rough double track that goes up to a pass between Mara Mountain and Wheeler Mountain. If you hike the loop … Continue reading →
