Category: Travel posts

Another trail starting from that winding road from Okanagan Falls…The weather forecast was for snow, so we rushed out the door fingers crossed.

The starting point we found from the Dogtown trail…is the Mahoney Lake Ecological Reserve….and this was roughly in the vicinity of the trailhead for this one…but heading north instead of south. The path itself starts through ponderosa pine with those enormous pine needles (8 to 9 inches long) covering the path as you go.

There is an area just inside the reserve that has a generous scattering of those big white mushrooms peeking their heads up…an area obviously being harvested by someone judging by the number of cut stems….need to get my mushroom app on those ones…..they might just be delicious..!!!

Interestingly (to me anyway) this trail is two valleys down from where all the flooding happened in Merritt BC…destroying the roads and rail…and much farmland and homes in these past few days….but the pools and ponds along this trail are quite dry and at low levels……interesting how those mountains drain…..and how narrow the influence of that ‘atmospheric river ‘ was.

Lovely trail…with a few rocky scrambly up bits…..I might be getting used to these…maybe just a little….

As we headed ever higher we realised the view from this one is actually down onto the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO…… https://astro-canada.ca/l_observatoire_federal_de_radioastrophysique-the_dominion_radio_astrophysical_observatory-eng )………..…and then we started looking for better vantage points to see down that valley.

As we continued up…as promised the snow clouds rolled in…and now we were up in the snow line…..not a lot…..just enough to make it pretty……(not too slippery just in case anyone is concerned)

It was another bust on the view from the top…as once again we were in the cloud and blizzard so the views down were not up to promise….but we made up for it with some of the snowy scenes we were able to witness….and no bears…..

We did have one lone deer galloped across the path…waited for me to fumble out my phone and then take off again before I could snap any pix…..

It was a long loop across the top of the ridge ( we came up through the valley) on the way back down…we managed to find our way without dropping off any cliff faces…again.

….and just a little bit of bear sign………!!!!

Another great day out…thoroughly enjoyable…….

Next trip out is back to Skaha Bluffs but this time for the pictograph route.

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Not only was the trail called Mount Conkle Bonk (with frontal loop..!!!) but the trailhead was in Summerland……

We drive through and past Summerland on the way to Kelowna….but we had not actually stopped there before…..

As the weather gets a little colder and winter is tapping on the window ….Summerland sounded like a good place to spend the day.

At the start of the trail…the signposts indicate that it is part of the Trans Canada trail…which was kinda cool too…..considering some of the bits we have done.

Theres a fair bit of history to Summerland it seems…..

It would appear that all kinds of important banking people in Canadian banking history have connections to Summerland…as does the Cremation of Sam McGee ( it was all new news to me ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cremation_of_Sam_McGee

Its a lovely walk…and less intensely uphill than some of the ones we have done recently. There were quite a few mountain bikes……those guys are braver than me..(or crazier..!!)

Winding up the switchbacks we met up with a couple of hikers that we passed , they passed, we passed a few times…eventually we stopped for a chat on the top (Hi to Deb and Keith..!!). I think they were quite a bit fitter than us…..very nice couple. Good chat…and some recommendations on local trails……

They also pointed out the train station….this little bit of the KVR has a working steam train… https://www.kettlevalleyrail.org/ ……..unfortunately the train does not operate past the end of October….but for a reasonable fee one can ride it up the valley .

The views from the ridge at the top did not disappoint….also, curiously, there was this Tibetan flag tribute……kinda cool to find up there…

Deb and Keith also made the recommendation for our next hike ( Dogown Trail ) nice people…we hope to meet them again some day out on the trails.

There was a bit of bushwhacking on the way back down on this one….but no sheer drop off a cliff incidents….so all good…!!!

There are lots of trails up around this spot….so there may be a return journey…..

Next spot will be Dogtown Trail….or as Scott is keen to call it…Cloudy Mountain…!!!

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We had been chatting to the cheese vendor at the Kelowna market…and he mentioned this three day market in Penticton that he would be at…..so it seemed like another , slightly different adventure to add to the calender. https://www.visitpenticton.com/event/yuletide-market-at-the-penticton-trade-convention-centre/

Penticton Convention centre is also where the pool (and the hockey arena ) are…so we knew where we were going (for once..lol).

Lots of the usual suspects……Christmas crafts abounding……

I was surprised that Macrame seems to be a thing….there were quite a few vendors selling macrame crafts..!!!

The cheese guy was there (so we bought some fancy Gouda….!!(😋)…

…and the samosa lady…so …of course we had to get some of those…..very festive…!!!

We finished up, I would have to say, more than a little disappointed…..I thought we might find some interesting ideas….and there probably were……

I think its more than possible that what one learns from this new minimal lifestyle we seem to have adopted…..is how much ‘stuff’ no-one really needs…!!!

Next adventure ….back to the hikes…..conquering Conkle Bonk…!!!

Soooooooo close……..!!!! ……………….it was tempting..!!!

A trip down to Osoyoos for a mail pick up seems more efficient if we can find another hike in the area. South Grasslands area lookout was the name of the trail…I did not have high hopes for it…It was posted as 8 km……so we were expecting a fairly easy walk with some views down into Osooyoos from a higher vantage……

We got that for sure….cool but lovely day with a mirror flat lake reflecting the image of the mountains on the other side of the valley.

The other fun piece on this hike…was that for about a kilometre it runs along the fence that is the Canada /US border….since we can’t actually get there…it seemed like an entertaining jaunt…just to say…well there it is….!!!

The route had other plans for us…….apart from being a steady up…..once we got to the fence, we walked along it heading slightly west……and up…!!

…a little treat on the way up…some eagles…..( just a little bit too far for the lens the photographer had on the camera……)

Once we got up there, the view became, not just the vista down in to Osoyoos….but we got the unexpected reward of a panorama into the next valley….including the snowcapped range on the west side, and the Okanagan valley on the east side…..truly spectacular….and worth the climb. It was a clear enough day that we could actually count four ranges of mountains looking west….

The further up we climbed the more impressive the view became…..

We stopped for a water break and a snack at the top….and so we found a rock to sit on…Scott sat down first and put his hand down on….a previously invisible local resident……

There were a few words ($%&**”#$>>>!!!) said as I, apparently, was not fast enough with my picture taking…!!!! Offender removed…..got to love my monster band aids..!!

( Editor. Pulling the spines out sounded like separating velcro and felt quite uncomfortable )

And so…somewhat reluctantly…we headed back down…..

Yet again…we started the day with no great expectations…and this great land that is Canada wow-ed us again……It was a beautiful day, and its almost as much fun picking through the pictures for the blog post seeing those clouds and those mountains again.

Next trip is the Penticton Yuletide market……

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We were headed to Osoyoos for a mail pick up anyway (we have a PO box there ) and Scott had found a review for Spotted Lake…. (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-spotted-lake-kliluk-osoyoos-canada )

The reviews describe it as being like something out of Dr Seuss….how could we resist a description like that!!!….so we searched for a trail close by and Kilpoola Lake was the winner promising us spectacular views of the valley. It looked ( from the map ) like it might afford us a view down onto the Kliluk lake…

You can’t actually get to the lake itself, is on protected land…..so the view is from the road…..Its pretty cool…even tho we were not there at the right time to get the full spectacle with the algae doing their artistic best..!!

It was a classic western Canada road halfway up the mountain winding and twisting as it goes…and the ever present cows milling about (a bit like sheep do in Scotland!!!) …oh…and I had the first chance to wear my new fancy little low gaiters….no more pine needles in my socks….!!!!

It was a beautiful, definitely fall day….

Blue sky and mirror flat lakes. It was a relatively easy walk, compared to some of the trails we have done……a steady up grade and a beautiful crisp day…..

It was a wide enough, smooth enough path that we met a couple of cars on the road….( they missed all the fun….you can’t drink in a landscape in quite the same way if there isn’t a bit of suffering involved…!!!)

The landscape changes again….

Around the corner into some old growth trees and more sage brush (and more sage flavoured cows..!!)…brought us along the path to Kilpoola lake. Somewhat disappointingly , the road continued around the lake where two pick-up trucks sat…their owners sitting in the middle of the lake fishing. It did look like a very peaceful spot to fish……

Like many of the lakes here in BC the edge of the lake was white with salts …and it looked curiously like it might also have a bit of the spottedness happening…..might have to see it in a different season…and with a polarising filter to get past the shiny surface of the water.

…and having made it up to this spot…which……other than the fisherman is relatively remote……another curious sight (site..?) appears….

I’m sure there is a mundane explanation….but where is the fun in that…!!?

The stroll back down involved a bit more gaping at scenery…!!

Lovely walk.

A couple of days later there was the beginnings of snow on the mountains…so we took a drive back up to Apex (the starting point for the Nickel Plate Park ).to see if we could take some interesting pictures….Apex had had a foot of snow overnight. It was impressive….but we wont be driving back up anytime soon…it is truly dramatic how much the climate changes as you get further up the mountain….!!!

Next stop will be our flirt with the US border..!!!

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The historic Grist Mill and Gardens in Keremeos. (https://www.oldgristmill.ca/ )

What a find…..we had seen the signs on previous trips through Keremeos ( my new fruit and egg buying spot……handily on the way to the Ashnola Valley).

…and it was early enough in the day to stop to see what it was all about.

When we arrived it was not open…but such a very pretty little spot. Unexpectedly there is also a little campground here (Creekside campground …11 serviced RV spots on the edge of the creek…)

As we wandered around, the manager appeared and invited us to wander up to the mill and through the gardens. Its a heavenly little place…..with an outbuilding converted into a fine little museum. We continued on up the path to the mill itself. …we started taking some pictures of this quite lovely little early 1900’s mill building… https://youtu.be/XnLzc5psL7s

Carrying on down through the gardens there is a little small but superbly comprehensive museum…It was a delight..!!

When we got down to the end of the path where the mill itself sits, I got a big surprise turning around the corner, as there was an aproned and flat capped gentleman working away in the mill grinding grain. He was a wealth of information….. lovely man…..the history of the mill itself is fascinating. Short version of the story…early 1900’s this area was relatively inaccessible……goods were still being brought in on pack mules via the old mountain trails ( we were shown a photograph from the era when there was a proposal to widen the trail to accommodate two loaded pack horse/mules to be able to pass on the trail.)

This is a link to a video of the man himself…very interesting guy https://youtu.be/hp0GuDQ9VK0

The mill was built in 1877 and built with state of the art equipment of the time…..it only operated for ten years and then the railway came through so removed the need for local milling……

The building was closed up and abandoned…so when they opened it up again all the equipment was still there and in good condition…so it has all been restored…I think they had to rebuild the water wheel….but it is back in operation grinding grain again…we were not able to purchase any cos we were right at the end of the season.

( Another amazing detail he pointed out at the water wheel…is ….if you watch closely as the wheel turns…the water drops actually fall upwards…….its hypnotic..!!😃 )

The guy himself was an architect by trade ….with a specialty in museum display…..and an obvious love for the mechanical beauty of this little gem.

Another amazing story he shared was about the red fife wheat. Apparently this heritage grain which has gained much popularity in recent years, had all but disappeared. They found a half pound of grain at the Grist Mill, and from the small amount they were able to re-establish the variety. If you have ever bought Red Fife….it originated from the Grist Mill in Keremeos.

Wandering through the orchard , the upper part of the garden and back along the creek….this place is entirely dedicated to heirloom species of fruit, vegetable and grain……and its lovely.

Lots of heritage apples……and a little patch of Scott’s fave…..the cacti…!!

Its a great little place….for anyone that finds themselves in this area……its a must stop and see.

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Another Alltrails trail that seemed like a good excuse to go back up to the Ashnola valley, and promised a ruined cabin at the end of it. Driving back up to Ashnola…..the scenery was a bit different again as we are a little further on in the fall season and there is a bit more colour….The reds of the Ontario maples are obvious by their absence….golden and green landscape with little splashes of red from the sumac.

It was a crisp cool fall day…..and the discussion on route often involves bears…..we have not (yet!) seen any on an actual hike in BC or Alberta….but the possibility is something we are always aware of….Its interesting how often one sees a black shape through the trees…….(flinch..!!) oh its a burnt stump….or a cow…..or a shadow…!!!

It was another straight up trail with lots of switchbacks.( I know…I know…its a mountain thing 😂 )….one impressive thing on Alltrails for this one was that there are a couple of reviews from peops who have done it as a trail run….I’ll tell you walking was enough for me…!!!

The ‘beautiful meadow’ described in the app was clearly in the wrong season…presumably the spring and summer sees it full of wildflowers. In the fall in late October…..its mostly dead grass….!!! But the views were still quite spectacular…!!!

Hargreaves cabin…the goal for the day…….( I could not find any more information on it ie how old it is…who built it and why). It is a turf roofed wooden cabin halfway up Crater Mountain….(resident= 1 cow..!!!)

There were lots of cows…..beef cows ( beef cows are notorious for their unfriendly demeanor !!) and they started making a bit of noise at us…so I insisted that the photographer finish up and we head back down……at least back across the Texas gate (cattle grid).

The sun came out on return trip. We stopped a little longer in the meadow…..

….and found some interesting artifacts…..!!!…there has to be a story here…!!!

There were many breathtaking views, as seems to have become the ‘normal’…..an advantage of having to stop to look (so you don’t trip over something and fall down a cliff face…!!!)…..is that you can also sneak in those rest stops to catch your breath…!!!

Back down to the river again….

Another very satisfying day…..after the always impressive drive back down along the Ashnola river back to Keremeos…we unraveled another little minor mystery….the historic Grist Mill……..which will be the next post…….

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Burn Perimeter trail.

This was the second trip out with Scotts new toy…….a digital Nikon camera…….so lets see how the pictures work out uploading them. I am already finding that I have to sacrifice some of the clarity of the pictures just to be able to upload them …….feedback welcome if anyone has any opinions….!!

The drive to the park was another one of those BC mountain phenomenal roller coaster rides….the road on the GPS looks like a childs squiggly drawing……with lots of loops and switchbacks……we passed through Apex Mountain Resort and headed up a logging road that no one in their right mind would drive in even vaguely inclement weather or compromised lighting…… ( Aside…..we drove this road a week later in a foot of snow……absolutely terrifying…!!)

The trail itself was a cross country skiing trail…..I have to admit I was not aware one could cross country ski on such grades……not the steepest hike we have done……but there was still a significant climb.

The trail itself has been ignored a bit with COVID….so there were sections where it was difficult to follow the trail through the new growth pine and marshland…..who knew it could be so boggy up so high (just shy of 2000m of elevation)…..fortunately this elevation in October turned out to be mostly frozen…..so crunchy marsh…!!!

I keep saying it….but it is amazing how much terrains can differ……even with the proximity of this trail to Brent mountain……its kind of the next mountain over…..the terrain is quite distinctly different

Part way round, actually about halfway…we decided to deviate from the route and skip the walk up the valley on the grounds that we were already in snow and with no ice grips for our boots going higher might be foolish..(!)….and we would trade it for following another trail down to the lake side…..I think it wa a good decision…..the lake was stunning…..

….and one of the perks of the new camera came with these little buddies who flew right at us and then sat for a photo op. No way I could get them with my phone, even as close as they were….

We made it back to the truck right on time as the light was fading. Something we have had to become very conscious of, not just for the hike but for the drive home too.

Another great day out…highly recommend the trail……might be worth trying it again in snow shoes in a few weeks…!!!

Next stop is Crater Mountain hike up to Hargreaves Cabin….a return to Ashnola..!!!

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Fooled me again…this was supposed to be a moderate 5km walk in the park close to home ( its a mere 10 minutes from where home is currently parked…..we can see it from our windows.)

It was a loop walk, which looked fairly easy on the map with an advertised 268 m elevation gain. Should let us stretch our legs we thought………we missed the significance of the ‘bluffs’ bit….

( It was also the first hike with Scotts new camera……so most of the images are now taken with a camera rather than just a phone……we will see how that turns out…!!! )

It starts with winding, snaking single track road up to the parking lot in Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park.

This was a Sunday, we usually avoid weekends, and the parking lot was jammed full so it was going to be busy…ah well…we were there so lets get on…

Easy well cut trail at start….and starts to climb……first bluff Scott wanted to veer off onto another trail….( cos it looked interesting….!!! Editor 🤷‍♂️)….so we headed around the rock face and on up the trail….we spied some climbers in action with all the gear and ropes.

Turns out ( my pre-hike research skills are apparently lacking..😂) that Skaha Bluffs is one of the premiere rock climbing parks in Canada…!!! (https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105946462/skaha )

I know…I’m saying it again….but this trail turned in to an unexpected beauty…yet another very different and quite spectacular landscape……..

I called it quits at the 50 m mark on the ledge along the rock face…..I’m quite sure it was do-able for some one braver than me…!!…..but more than I was prepared to do…back we went to find another way around.

There were lots of little 2 to 5 m climbs…not an easy path……

But the rewards…(the views )…delivered as they always seem to manage to do….!!!

The way back down was a bit challenging also. The reverse of the little rock climbs up…were, of course, little rock climbs (or little muddy butt slides…!!!) down.

Weaving our way down it was laugh out loud crazy at times as we faced the rock filled gully….it was like Turtle Mountain meets Grotto Canyon……!!!

Towards the bottom of the rockiest bits we met up with some climbers that were done for the day. They seemed to know the way so we followed them down for a bit. It was exciting…!!!!😮

Many of the paths ended in cliff faces. With hindsight……..because it’s a rock climbers paradise…..!!!

It was a bit of a relief to get back on more level ground….but it was a thoroughly enjoyable day (for a recovery walk…!!!😂)

The next adventure……and workout for the new camera…was Nickel Plate park up in the clouds past Apex mountain.

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