Category: Travel posts

This was an ambitious project for sure. To get to the interior part of Cathedral park, there is no road access….well there is…there is one private road where ( in season ) you can get a shuttle…a jeep ride up (for a fee)….but we were beyond the end of the season so if we were going to get to the core it was a walk in. The shortest route in is the Lakeview trail …and its 16km in ( and yes ….16km back out )…..We thought..(!!!)….if we started early ( sunrise for the day was 7.19 am…..and set at 6.33pm ) 4 hours in 4 hours out…..we might manage it….!!!

It was cold….fall is most definitely in the air…!! 🍁🍂

The trail is daunting…in the first 6km you gain 1200 m in elevation….unrelenting up is the description.!!!……….its not rough…its just up…and up…and up……

If you are thinking that the look on my face is a bit tortured….you are quite correct…!!! It was torture…..many rest stops…( and a bit of whingeing…!!😣)

It was cold enough on the way up that when we disturbed a couple of pheasants…they ambled…lethargically across the path…!!

Eventually we did get to the spot where we could see the mountain range….not close enough to get photographs with a phone camera….but enough to appreciate what we were aiming for……breathtaking views of those mountains (with snow on top…!!)

The path levelled of for a bit giving our very weary legs a bit of a break…..but we were up into the snow line…so it was cold and crisp….

…….and quite unexpectedly some fungi in the snow…!!! (my guys…!!!😁)

…at 3 hours in and just shy of 9km……it became clear that we were not going to make it….and the road down was not going to be easy……so before any more climbing (and expending more energy going in………) we should admit defeat and head back down……..we could not afford to lose light either on the walk….or the drive back down Ashnola.

There are a couple of burned spots…it’s the same weird pattern where there are burned trees…..and thick ash……but then all the trees around are completely intact…

In the valleys…the sun goes down at 6.33…..but you lose light before that…cos you are in the shadow of the mountain….the horizon is not at ground level…!!!

There were a couple of stops on the drive back down the valley for more photo ops….it is just so beautiful ………oh…and the trail that we actually walked…!!!

Next stop was an astonishing trip to Skaha Bluffs…….

Extra Pix

Scott had found some really promising hiking trails in Cathedral park…an hours drive from here……So off we trucked….following the Alltrails directions to get to the trailhead.

Unfortunately …one of the limitations of Alltrails here….was the failure to mention that most of Cathedral park is not accessible by road. In fact…there is a private company that do a jeep shuttle service on the only track in to the core several times a day…but that service halts for the season Sept 30th (and costs $130 per person ) https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/cathedral/

or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Provincial_Park_and_Protected_Area

Admittedly we should have done a bit more research before we drove up there….but we really had no idea just the scale of this park ’til we got there…..

The drive up through Keremeos (which is spectacular in its own right ) still could not have prepared us for the unparalleled natural beauty of the Ashnola river…..with our ‘Wow’ muscles overworking big time…we actually stopped the truck in the middle of the road quite a few times to get out an stare…turn around and stare some more…..if any of you out there ever get the opportunity to come here…take it…..its like a whole different magnificence….!!! I have pictures to show……so Ill try to share.

The trailhead…is actually the basecamp for the company that runs the shuttle service up the mountain……so that was the end of our plan for the day….we did, however, carry on up the valley …still in awe of our surroundings…..

…and we took a couple of opportunities to park and work our way down to the river….

We did find another track off the main (only) road up the valley…and with our hike plan dead in the water….took a peek down it…and found that there is actually a parking lot and a park map…..this is a spot where one of the few hiking trails in to the park start. We hiked it for a couple of kms and decided we should probably know a bit more….and start earlier in the day…….and bring sammiches….!!!

There are many small (unserviced) campsites of this road up the Ashnola valley….for any of you out there who fancy it…….there can be few spots anywhere to camp more spectacular than these (and they are $10 per adult per night through BC parks…) Not a road you would want to pull a 30 ft trailer up…….but maybe a smaller trailer or motorhome would be just the ticket… (the road is not bad but its narrow…often close to the edge of a cliff and has many winding corners…..)

Down this little side road…we managed to get right to the river…and although we did not see any beavers we did find these very skillfully carved trees.

We still did get a few kms in for the day…and a plan for where we might go next…!! Bonus…

The drive home through Keremeos we had to stop at a fruit stand….its like some kind of Utopian fantasy…fresh local fruit. veg and samosas…..they even have a slushie machine set up with mango lassi…….gotta love this place…..😁😁😁

So…the next adventure will be a return to Cathedral park……

Extra pix gallery

We needed to find a walk for a bit of exercise……there were few interesting looking ones but a bit of a drive to get there so we opted for something a little closer and plumped for Peach Cliff Trail.

The trailhead is just above Okanagan Falls which is at the other end of Skaha Lake from where we are. Its always a beautiful drive around here……

We have been quite fascinated by the range of different varieties of pine cones we see…from little ones with barbs on them to HUGE ones from the Ponderosa Pines…….begging to be used for ……..something…….if anyone has a great idea then message me…cos these things are amazing……

(Ponderosa Pines.. https://www.coniferousforest.com/ponderosa-pine.htm#:~:text=Ponderosa%20pine%20is%20a%20species%20of%20lean%20and,resilient%20timber%20as%20well%20as%20for%20recreational%20use. )

Peach Cliff has signs on the routes asking peeps to stay on the trails…and not make new trails…….its an area that has lots….and lots of these little cacti……and a bit like the fungi……you don’t really see them ’til you are almost on them….(which can be hazardous if you are the guy that likes to lie down to get close up pictures….!!!!)

I dropped my sunglasses halfway up the hill…..and got the extra bit of exercise trucking back down to fetch them……it always amazes me how much steeper the hills seem on the way down…..

We had some views of the higher scorched areas from this trail…..and the swathes of reddish brown from the flame retardants they drop during the wildfire management. At first it was hard to tell if we were seeing the iron ore in the rocks….but when you look at the burn patterns it becomes more obvious……its hard to get pictures with the phone camera because of the scale of the hills and the forests

At the highest elevation of this hike we had some impressive views of Skaha Lake..not the most challenging hike we have done…but a lovely walk on a lovely day…..

We were rewarded on the way home with an encounter with some mountain sheep grazing by the roadside.

Overall a very satisfying hike……might well be an interesting one in snowy weather (if we get any…!!😁)

The 7th…we took a trip back up to Abandoned Rail brewing to meet with Peter (head brewer ) and get the tour……..waiting now for him to open…hopefully in the next few weeks…

The next post is our first encounter with the Ashnola River valley…….

Gallery of extra pix.

Keremeos is another little fruit paradise with many many orchards and vineyards. The town sits in the junction between three valleys…….superb, head on a swivel views driving up to the trailhead.

Another change in landscape…the terrain in this valley is more sparsely treed….

It was a tough walk…not technically difficult….but it was one of those straight consistent ever upward grade……with parts of the road being quite rocky, and a lot of the steeper parts were loose gravel.

As we walked up the switchbacks the views down into the valley just got to be more and more impressive. The cliffs up ahead of us on the trail, that we thought were the columns, turned out not to be as the trail led us off in the opposite direction.

Back into the tree line (yes we always have the bear spray with us now..) and then all of a sudden what is in front of you is the columns……

Its an amazing geological phenomenon….its hard to imagine that its a natural formation……..wow….

Totally worth the climb.

The hike back down through the sage…a lot of those bushes are old and gnarly…..and the smell in the air is sage sage and sage…..mmmmm.

Another beautiful day….and another very impressive hike for the archives…I hope you enjoy it even half as much as we did……

Next stop is the Peach Cliff loop…..

……and I’m going to add an extra little gallery underneath of some of the pix I did not include in the blog…….just in case anyone is interested…!!!😁

Big excitment for the day was meeting up with friends John and Marsha who were out in Kelowna for the week.

We started out at the farmers market in Kelowna…good market….We’ll be going back to this one for sure.

Scored some tiny fingerling potatoes …mmmmMMMmmm…. some roasting in their future.

The day turned in to an expedition around Kelownas neighbourhood of craft brew pubs. The good the not so good and the plain bad and ugly…!!!

The very first place (we can’t remember the name of..!!) but it was very uninviting …cold place with cold service…so we left again without even trying the beer…

Next stop was BNA brewing ( https://www.bnabrewing.com/ )…..a lovely little place…and not a bad start with the beer flights…….I think our favourite was their purple rain sour……and I cant believe I don’t have pictures…..so I downloaded a couple that were representative……we must have been having too much fun…!!! (and the steamed buns were yummy…!!!)

The next stop was the cider place….( BC fruit packers cooperative ) it had some very interesting things in the flights…we were excited………they were all……..awful…..!!!!

So……without ingesting more than we had to…….we exited to find the next pick…..Red Bird brewery

…interesting graphics…..very busy place……we did not like any of the beers…..(our flights included all their offerings)…..the best thing about this place was the washrooms….the walls were finished with 1950s local newspapers…….very interesting……obviously no pictures were taken….!!!)

Onward to Kettle River brewery…..

We all agreed…their marketing, branding and graphics were great….the food was ……decent…….the beer…….bleuch…!!!!

So, to the last place for the day, Vice and Virtue brewing ……. (https://viceandvirtuebrewing.ca/home ) given our experiences for the day…we were not hopeful……..actually we were more hopeful that we might find some decent food to finish the day with……

By this point in the day…I was no longer taking pictures…so these are downloaded images………hence the interior picture of the place crowded and unmasked…..

The beer was quite excellent …and their food was definitely cutting the mustard…..a good end to the day….( we even bought some cans for later consumption….!!!)

Such a great day and a true gift to spend time with some good friends…thanks guys….love you and miss you….

Next adventure is at Keremeos columns……

Brent mountain is up towards Apex Mountain Resort which is a popular skiing area. I’m told you can windsurf here at Skaha Lake, drive the hour up the mountain and ski later the same day.

It was a 20 minute drive to the trail head…….so off we trotted.

The road off the main road was a logging road. It was almost more entertaining than the hike. The road had many sections where the truck was reading the grade at 12 13 and 14% at times. With a sheer drop off the passenger side. ( It was a bit stressful for the passenger..) We got to a spot where the road was wide enough to turn the truck around without dying…so we decided that since the temperature of the transmission had reached 102 C ( and you could smell it starting to heat up a bit toooo much..!!) discretion being the better part of valour we should probably walk the last bit to the trailhead.

Turned out it was another 5km to the trailhead….but…we were there…so time to give it a go. We were actually pretty relieved to have left the truck where we did cos the road did not get any gentler…(potholes ditches and grades..!!)

The trailhead started at the tree line…..and got even steeper for a bit…!!!

The views were intermittent this was a much more densely forested spot than we have been in previously in BC….about a kilometer from the end we were starting to get just a little uneasy about bear signs on the trail…so again discretion won and we headed back down. We were high enough that there was a little bit of snow dusting as we walked back down.

……..and of course, I have to include my fungi finds for the day…….!!!

One of the glories I am finding about the damp forest environments….

We got back to the road and the big score for the day was up ahead of us on the trail….was it a bear was it a beaver….nope it was a big honking porcupine……(no he wasn’t honking..!!)

We tried to catch up to him a little to try to get some pictures…..but then…how dangerous are porcupines…..? We did not have enough internet connection to check….so we stayed back…….those things are big and jaggy…!!!

The transmission had cooled sufficiently when we got back….so we made our way back down the logging road…….and made it back to civilisation all in one piece…!!!

A quick stop on the road home to get (for Scott to get …!!!) some artsy shots of a little falling down cabin by the side of the road..!!!

Another great walk…and fine day out……….

Next up is a day at the Kelowna farmers market…catching up with friends , John and Marsha, and a celebratory pub crawl …..!!!!

We have been so fortunate on this trip. I’m not going to say that we have not seen any rain, but we have definitely not seen much of it…….we have managed to be in the right place to miss the worst of the hot and humid weather also.

So…with another very beautiful day in the forecast…the trail pick for the day was Campbell mountain.

The road up to the trailhead , ironically, took us up to beside the Penticton municipal dump…yeah…sounds like a great hike doesn’t it…!!!

These BC pines are quite different. The landscape is another variation of quite lovely…!!! We followed the edge of a canyon…with some pretty scary bits skirting around some of the gorges. The scariest part (for me anyway…) was the tire marks from mountain bikes….yup….this is a mountain biking trail…….I was challenged enough walking the path around some of those gorges…..no way could I do it on a bike……!!!

There were a couple of spots on the trail that had some fire damage. Its so interesting seeing the patterns of the fire….little pockets of burned trees in the middle of others that look to be completely untouched.

Spectacular view looking down in to Penticton……and we could see the trail we biked out to the brewery…….its a landscape that could be a painting with the perfect blue sky and shimmery lakes.

The trouble with climbing mountains appears to be….its a long way up….and a long way down….!!!

Kettle Valley Railtrail

After Campbell mountain down day seemed like a good idea………so the trail for the day was the Kettle Valley Rail trail …since it runs right through Wrights Beach (where we are currently camped ). Many bikes on this trail meant walking mostly single file on a trail that was wide enough to walk together for a change.

Next mountain on the list is Brent Mountain………

It has been many days of no real activity ( of the exercise variety) with the long haul across some of the mountains. One night stops leave little time for much other than driving, hitching and unhitching…… so….our first trip was a bike ride up to Abandoned Rail brewery. ( https://www.facebook.com/Abandoned-Rail-Brew-Co-103319455245059/ ) 30km round trip….seemed like a plan.

Its a new brewery on the north east side of Penticton with connections to the Paris brew. …..( the head brewer Peter Schultz, is a protégé of head brewer Christian Von Der Heide at Paris brew. We met Peter helping out at the Paris Brewery stall at the farmers market in Lions Head…a lifetime ago )….it seemed like a plan to bike to somewhere we might be able to get a beer….!!!!

From the campground at Wrights beach we can jump right on to the KVR (Kettle Valley Railtrail )….so we were able to follow the beach line around the south shore of Lake Okanagan…and then the trail continues up through the vineyards to where Abandoned Rail brewery is right on the trail.

The trail wends its way through a Japanese garden, historical ships and many sculptures along the way.

….and then up through the vineyards and apple orchards on the north east side of Penticton.

Turned out the brewery is still under construction….ah well….we may have to bike back up there another day…!!! Beautiful trail…!!!

We followed the bike path down through the town of Penticton and were rewarded with another find…………Tin Whistle brewery…….not to be cheated out of our beer. They have a patio but don’t serve food…instead they encourage you to bring your own. The owner directed us to the Thai restaurant (the Joy..) where we picked up very delicious take out to go with the beer. It was a good find…….and good beer…!!! Turns out the owners are from Ontario….so may be visiting the Paris brew on their next trip to family…!!!

Next hike Campbell Mountain trail…….

Next bit of the road….again…long haul up….then unbelievable steep switchbacks down in to Osoyoos……its impressive…..my legs were totally cramped up from braking all the way down…and I was not even driving….!!!

This might become the subject of a future post……the symptoms this cramp created and the solutions I found were…..enlightening…!!!

The road winds ever downwards into Osoyoos and is both spectacular with the views of the valley and the lake….and terrifying….. a steep winding road with impossible seeming switchbacks and hairpins….the pictures just cannot do this road justice.

Osoyoos is a little Shangri-La in the valley between the mountains. It’s definitely more temperate…and orchards and vineyards as far as the eye can see.

We had not managed to secure a campsite in Osoyoos so we were headed another 20 minutes north up the valley to Oliver and Gallagher Lakes campground. A very beautiful campsite….but one of the tightest spots we have had to squeeeeeze into so far…man they pack them in. Looking around at many of the other RV parks in the area….for such a vast landscape….the campgrounds sure rack ’em and stack ’em.

But another tick in the positive box was that we were in a site right next to a cute little Airstream Bambi.

Oliver continues the theme of BC we have seen so far….fruit and produce in abundance. The road is quite literally lined with grapes and apples. Wineries every hundred yards it seems.

The late summer weather is starting to fade a little and fall is quite definitely in the air. The US border is still not open and so it looks most likely that we will try and winter here in Southern BC and head back to Ontario in the spring if we can drop down in to the US to swing back around……and so the hunt is on for a spot…many of the campgrounds are fully booked…with the border still closed many regular US bound snowbirds have snagged all the spots in Osoyoos….

We might have found one on the southern end of lake Osoyoos from the beginning of December…

In the meantime we will head up to Penticton. Like many of the roads we have travelled…this one is tough to drive…..cos the driver has trouble NOT staring at the scenery instead of the road…LOL..

A winding road up the side of Lake Skaha to Wrights Beach campground. I was not hopeful for this one….but the site they put us on was just spectacular…..

We decided to stay for a bit and have a bit of a home base here. Penticton is a good sized town with everything we need and 4 craft breweries, what’s not to like ? There are also a ton of great trails and walks close by….great spot to be…

Its windy here ..but its a south wind and warm…..Lake Skaha is beautiful….I cant stop staring at it as I walk to the laundry….I’m going to injure myself one of these days from not looking where I am going.

Pulling out along the valley was very pretty…..then……..we got to the Kootenay pass……1800 metres at the top of the pass…….its a long haul up……..and seems like an even longer haul down…..Oh Boy….its a road….. Kicking horse had one runaway truck lane…..Kootenay had at least 12….I stopped counting…….!!! The haziness is not smoke…its pouring rain…..!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kootenay_Pass

Just to make the point there are avalanche gates as you approach the top…… a breathtaking journey….both beautiful……and terrifying with signs that said 6% grades for 8km…….8% for 4 km….and it seems to be a never-ending down as you gaze down into the valley…and up ahead to more mountains.

I don’t think I had ever really appreciated the scale of these mountains…….not just the size of them but the scale of the landscape they cover.

We did a one night stop at Country Hideaway in Grand Forks…….lovely little spot…….would defo return in the summer…

The park is tucked in to one of the meanders of the river, far enough off the road to be really quiet….but close enough to still be convenient. Best showers so far….the owners were super nice …lovely park.

Mike…the owner said we still have some big hills before we get to Osoyoos……..my eyes are wide in apprehension of what’s next………the trip over even more mountains to Osoyoos.

We stopped for a sandwich break in Greenwood. There was a convenient spot to pull off the road and we were getting hungry. (As soon as we stopped…two other rigs pulled up beside us…….LOL…it was a good spot…!!!) It turned out to be a very fortuitous stop. Greenwood was a little gem.

Turns out….unbeknownst to us …Greenwood had a big role to play in the internment of Japanese Canadians in wartime as the first town to offer to take in those forcibly removed from the coast. The town imparts a real reverence for the relationship it developed with the Japanese families it homed in a mutually beneficial arrangement to repopulate the town. https://www.greenwoodnikkei.ca/page7.html

It had originally been a mining town….but its smelters were shut down and the town was dying…….the xenophobic actions of the Canadian Govt towards the Japanese living on the Pacific coast and their forced removal saved the town it would seem.

…..and the town has this fascinating ‘American west’ vibe…even in its currently run down state. I’m not sure how much of its recent disrepair is COVID related……but what a great little stop….

Next big score in Greenwood…..a trailer friendly gas station at the other end of town…..so quick gas fill up and then next stop will be Gallagher lakes in Oliver BC