Wells Gray Hiking
100 Clearwater Valley Road Clearwater, BC, Canada

McDiarmid Falls (Wells Gray Park) in the winter

Dewdrop Scramble There is a frozen waterfall that can be seen clearly from Fredrick Road. To access it we started (crossed the fence) at the southwest corner of the Tranquille Environmental Reserve. Once past the fence we crossed the grasslands and then climbed up through open forest to the falls. I suspect this is just a trickle during the summer, but the drainage from the hills froze to create an interesting view. From the falls, we continued following the east edge of t...he canyon up for about another 500m. Here we found a good bench to view the falls from above. We then turned away from the east wall and headed directly north up the steep slopes. After much scrambling on good rock, we made our way up to a bump separated from the Red Plateau by a deep crevasse. Once we had enjoyed the views from the bump, we found a route down the crevasse and continued our way up to the plateau. Near the top we encountered snow that was about 500mm deep which made for a slow go without snowshoes. Eventually we joined the Dewdrop Trail briefly. Once on the Dewdrop Trail, we headed west and then down the first available gully. This gully was steep and slippery (often 3/8" mud over ice) but it got us down off the hill with few problems. There is an easier gully further west that is not quite as steep but would have required post holing through the snow for an additional kilometre. A very good route with some easy but interesting scrambling. Not a good route for dogs as we had to reroute in a couple of areas to allow the dogs to achieve down climbs. Directions: - From the Kamloops airport, continue east on Tranquille Road for 5.5 km - At the junction, stay right and cross the railway tracks onto Criss Creek Road - At the next junction, continue straight onto Fredrick Road - Continue on Frederick Road for 2 km and stay right at the junction (Upper Dewdrop Road) - Pull into a pullout and park Distance: 8.6 km return Elevation Gain: 790m Time: 6.5 hours return

Mara Canyon - Scramble The trail starts at the parking area on Ord Road. From the parking area, we followed the trail to the first gully and started following the dry creek bed. This is the gully east of Mara Canyon. After a steep hike up the dry creek bed, we turned and climbed a ridge to our north west. From here an adventurous outing would include a down climb from the ridge and then up to the top of Mara via either gulley to the west or east. We chose to turn around a...t this point and follow an alternate route down to our vehicles. A good shoulder season hike with dry ground, a good elevation gain and a quick scramble. Directions: - From the Kamloops airport, continue east on Tranquille Road - Just past the Golf Course look for Ord Road on your right - Turn onto Ord Road, cross the railway tracks and turn left onto a gravel road - Continue to the end of this road and park - An unmarked trail heads north from the parking area Distance: 3.4 km return Elevation Gain: 445m Time: 2.5 hours return

Opax Hill - Winter Opax Hill is located in the Lac Du Bois area near McQueen Lake. The actual summit id forested and of little interest, however, there are a number of bluffs on the south and western edges that provide good viewpoints. The route described here is the easiest route to get to the viewpoint. It involves mostly hiking on a road with compact snow conditions. There was a bit of breaking trail on the spur road and easy bushwacking to gain the bluffs.... Directions: - From Highway 5 in Kamloops turn west onto the Halston Connecter - Once over the North Thompson, turn right onto Batchelor Drive - Continue along Batchelor Drive through the subdivision - The road will turn into a gravel road (Lac de Bois Road) - Continue another 10km to the signed trailhead for McQueen Lake - Continue past the parking area for another 500m and look for a road to your left - Park at the bottom of this unplowed road Route: - Start up the unplowed road - After about 1 km, you come to a junction with a kiosk - Continue straight through and descend a bit - Continue along the road as it climbs up the hill - After about 3.5 km the road begins to level out and a cattle guard (one of many) is passed - In approximately 500m from the cattle guard, look for a road to the left (N50 49.007 W120 28.852) - Take this road until it starts to descend (about 500m) - Turn left and find a route up the hill in the open forested area - Continue in this direction until you find the viewpoint (N50 48.649 W120 29.368) Distance: 10 km return Elevation Gain: 328 m Time: 3 hours return

Stake Lake Snowshoe In Late January we snow shoed the Bushwacker Trail in the Stake Lake area south of Kamloops. This area has both Cross-country ski trails ($15.00/day) as well as snowshoe trails ($5.00/day). For this route we choose a long loop route that included the viewpoints from the Bushwacker Trail as well as a walk along the bottom of the Basalt Bluffs (a highlight of the day). Directions:... - From Kamloops, get on the south side of the highway and get onto Frontage Road (Costco) - Continue east onto Lac Le Jeune Road - Continue along Lac Le Jeune Road for 25 km - Turn left into the Stake Lake Nordic Centre Trail: - From the parking area, head south on the Lake Trail - Once around the north edge of the lake, turn left onto the Basalt Bluffs Trail - This trail ends at a ski trail, from turn right and walk a few meters to the Bushwacker Trail - After climbing a steep hill we turned left and visited the viewpoint - After returning to the junction, we turned left and then right onto a trail to the shelter - After a quick rest at the shelter we continued the looped Bushwacker Trail - Once back off McConnel Hill. we turned right to continue the Basalt Bluffs Trail - Once past the bluffs, we joined the Marsh Trail and then the Giant Fir Trail back to our vehicles Distance: 10 km return Elevation: 280m Time: 3.5 hours return

Long Lake Snowshoe Long Lake is located in the Lac de Bois Grasslands area. During the summer, there are a number of trails in the area. In the winter, the grasslands allow us to make our own routes. For this quick outing, we left the parking area and headed north east crossing small lakes and ponds. We then climbed to the top of the Grasslands Esker and followed it east down to Long Lake. Once we had crossed Long Lake, we climbed up the surrounding hills and made our wa...y back to our vehicles to complete a short loop. Directions: - From Highway 5 in Kamloops turn west onto the Halston Connecter - Once over the North Thompson, turn right onto Batchelor Drive - Continue along Batchelor Drive through the subdivision - The road will turn into a gravel road (Lac de Bois Road) - Continue another 9.5 km and look for a parking area on your left right Distance: 6.2 km return Elevation Gain: 100m Time: 2.5 hours return

Goose Lake Hills In late December we snowshoed an area north of Goose Lake Road in the Lac Le Juene area. This area has a few old spur roads but for most of the route we walked through a reasonably open forest and to the top of several grassed hills. Along the way we past (or crossed) a number of small lakes. The hill tops offered good views north to Kamloops and west to Kamloops Lake.... There are a variety of routes available in the area. Best just to go out and explore and see where you wind up. Directions: - From Kamloops, get on the south side of the highway and get onto Frontage Road (Costco) - Continue east onto Lac Le Jeune Road - Continue along Lac Le Jeune Road for approximately 20 km and turn left onto Goose Lake FSR road. - Park past the cattle guard Distance: 6.5 km return Elevation Accumulation: 250m Time: 3.0 hours return