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 dry.

The Tower Classic Trail is a single track that winds up to a pass between Tower Hill (sometimes called Mitchell Hill) and Batchelor Hill.

Since there are communications towers on top of Tower Hill, Telus has upgraded the old road to the top with retaining walls and a good gravel surface.

From the top of hill are wide views in every direction.

I circled the tower compound, then worked my way west to a ridge with views toward Kamloops Lake.   I then went off-trail, down a steep route to join the road below.    I continued down the road to the main trails.

I finished back at the parking area and trailhead under Batchelor Hill, a 1.5 hour hike.

There are many route combinations in the area, and with conditions in transition, we can find some that are free of mud.