Nov 22nd. Skaha Pictographs

The weather…as I keep on saying…..is becoming progressively cooler and I am trying to pick hikes at a lower elevation to reduce our exposure to extreme weather/conditions. So …today was a return to Skaha bluffs…but this time a far less scary route with a lower level hike….including the promise of some pictographs…..

When we got to the park the gate was closed…not sure why…but it meant that the first 1km of our hike was straight uphill to the parking lot….to begin the proscribed trail.

It seems pretty steep in the truck…I’m telling you it was a bit of a slog…!!..but once we got up to the park the elevation was much easier. It was a really windy day…and I think we picked a fairly sheltered hike…most of it was up the valley between the rock faces ( pretty intimidating rock walls either side of this hike….!!)

I did the phone call to mum on the way up….had to shorten the call cos the wind was so bad when we hit the top of the trail she could not hear me any more…!!!..and we also found this cool pictograph on the rock wall on the way up…

Lots and lots of bear sign……a bit of a bear alley really…but no actual bear sightings….either the bells work….or they were all sensible enough to be tucked up somewhere warm that day…!!!

Once we got to the end of the valley…the views out across the lake were phenomenal…

…..then as we climbed up to get a better view…we stumbled across more pictographs. A little unexpected delight….!!!

They are such simple drawings…but they are just sooooo cool…….

I tried to research to see if I could find more information about the pictographs, or pictographs in general….but information is pretty scant……anybody out there got some references..?

We were hoping that we could get to the other side of the rock here to get better vistas down the lake…..

Scott disappeared up the ladder and across the top of the rock…leaving a very cross wife……( has he fallen off, has he been eaten by a bear….crap he has the truck keys…!!!) (Editor. Did we keep that life insurance going ?)

…thankfully he re-appeared…and with some pix of eagles…so he said….!!!! I dont know…maybe he faked them so I wouldn’t kill him…!!!

….we always seem to find the fungi on the way down…!!!!

…..and so to the journey back down…..

…and I just have to add these two pictures…its the view from the entrance to the big Pentiction PC grocery store….

Next trip out goes up the Naramata Bench (mega wine country)….following the very spectacular Kettle Valley Rail trail

Extra pix.