Canyon Falls Park hike- from Kuipers Crescent, Kelowna, BC

May 30, 2015

This was my favorite hike yet. Thank you Tom Bell, Patti Ahl and Greg Bell for joining me. Our hike was supposed to start at 10:00am, but my son Greg forgot that his truck insurance expired today, so he had to go to the broker's office which delayed our start to 11:00am!! Must be in the Bell gene pool!

We were amazed at the views from the residential neighborhood when we got to the trailhead, which was located at 800 Kuipers Crescent, in a Kelowna suburb. I know you will look at all of the photographs posted in this blog. I hope they do the views justice- truly amazing. Remember, click on any photo to enlarge it, so you can get a better image.

We checked our watches when we set out and it was 11:00am precisely, and we returned to our vehicles at 2:00 precisely, so a total hike of about 2.5 hours, when you take off time for lunch and stopping to enjoy the views, and talking to other hikers on the trail.

Our photographs follow:

1) The trailhead and my hiking buddies.

 

 

2) Leaving the trailhead and heading uphill to some amazing vistas. The rocks we are climbing up to reminded us of Phoenix and Palm Springs.

 

 

3) A view of Okanagan Lake from the trailhead.

4) Jim Smith Lake, located in the center of the infamous 2003 Kelowna wildfire. Note the burned out forest is now being replaced by new growth. We saw a deer here, walking down to Jim Smith lake for a drink of water. I was not quick enough on the camera to get a picture.

5) We found the creek that feeds the water falls after crossing over a bridge. This was a beautiful spot right by the bridge.

6) The next few photos are of the lower and upper Canyon Falls- it was a wonderful sunny day, and the water fall was very refreshing.

 

 

 

 

 



7) We stopped for lunch at the Lower Falls. As you can see from this photo of Tom & Patti that Tom is enjoying the waterfall!

8) Oh- I forgot to mention that - of course - Bruiser and Charlie Brown were with us, but even they needed some help on this hike!

 

 

9) The hike was fairly tame, until we got to the Canyon where the Falls are located. It was a very steep descent to the canyon floor where the Falls were accessible. There was a ladder that helped us down a sharp section, as well as ropes that needed to be used to get over a boulder, and also climb up a steep embankment. We were all very proud of Tom. I don't think he would mind me saying that he has a fear of heights, and although it was difficult for him, he did "getterdun"! One of the photos is of Tom cresting a boulder on the way up to the larger Falls, where you had to climb with the assistance of a rope.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

All of us marveled at the Waterfalls, and how something this majestic can be in the Kelowna City limits.

 

Total length of the hike was 12 kms. I would classify 75% of the hike to be easy to moderate, but the Falls section I would classify as difficult, and at times dangerous, so hiking boots are recommended. We were all glad we brought lots of water to drink.

 

The Falls were impressive, and the hiking blogs that I read recommended this hike in May, because of the maximum runoff over the Falls.

 

Tom said at one point: "can you believe that this water never stops running over these Falls?". I can add that these water falls have been here for hundreds, if not thousands or even millions of years. Mother Nature continues to amaze me!

 

Thank you Tom, Patti, Greg, Bruiser and Charlie Brown for making this hike so enjoyable!

 

Time to get to the trailhead:  25 minutes

Location: 800 Kuipers Crescent- in the Southridge area of Kelowna

Total time: 3 hours

Hiking time: 2.5 hours

Footwear: Hiking boots or running shoes- NO SANDALS

 

Bring your camera and lots of water, snacks and/or food



 

Carrot Mountain Bluffs hike, Westbank, BC

May 16, 2015

Hiking partners:  Greg Bell, Glenn Thompson, Bruiser, Charlie Brown & Tia

Weather: Warm & Sunny

What a great day for a hike! We started at 10:02 am and finished at 1:02pm. This is a VERY strenuous hike. It is straight uphill on the climb to the summit. I mean straight up. No one should attempt this hike if they have any ambulation issues!!

You must also have good hiking boots- no sandals, or running shoes with no tread. Seriously- there were very treacherous trail conditions. Going up was hard enough, but coming down is even worse. Thank goodness the trail was narrow, and there were lots of branches to hang onto- especially on the descent. Just ask Glenn, who took an unexpected slide down a path on his butt, when he lost his footing- and Glenn is in great shape and loves a challenging hike.

So- if you do this hike- you MUST be in good physical condition and be prepared for some tough slogging.

Having said that- what an amazing hike. We passed by a waterfall, which allowed us to get some very ice cold water to throw onto our faces, and have a much needed rest. The water wall is just over 1/2 up the climb to the summit.

And the summit!! It was well worth the effort. The views were amazing. Right below us was Shannon Lake, and Shannon Lake Golf course. In the distance we could see Two Eagles Golf course, and of course Okanagan Lake. In the distance to the right was Gorman's Mill. To the left was Mt. Boucherie. My photos follow (please remember to click on the photos to enlarge them!):

1) My hiking buddies as we prepared for our ascent!

 

2) Tia found a creek to lay down in and have a drink of cool water on the side of the path.

 

 

3) On the trail. Good hiking buddies. Lots of energy and lots of laughs.

 

 

4) The waterfall.

 

 

 

 

5) A view of Okanagan Lake and Mount Boucherie which was about 1/2 the way to the summit.

















6) Time for a rest on an old (and very large) fallen tree.

7) Me and my hiking buddy Tia in front of a grand old tree that we called "Grampa".

 

8) The Summit! The views were spectacular! Was very nice to see the Canadian flag. The hounds had a good feast, as did the hikers.

 

 

The hike down was treacherous. Thank God there were trees we could grab onto as we descended this very steep trail. As I alluded to earlier- Glenn- a very fit guy, wearing really good hiking boots, lost his footing and slid on his butt for a good while before he could get his footing back.

 

I told Glenn after we got done- "One and Done" for this hike!

 

Final points:

 

* you have park on a street at the end of Shannon Heights Place- and it is at the end of a cul-de-sac

 

* there is very little space to park, so if the trailhead is busy, you might have to park a long way from the trail head

 

Time: 3 hours- 1.5 to summit/30 minutes for lunch/1.0 back down

Rating: Difficult to very difficult- very steep sections- lots of loose rock/shale/tree roots/fallen trees

 

Not for the faint of heart, or people with ambulation issues/knee problems.

 

A good link to the trail:

 

http://www.hikingaddiction.ca/trails/viewtrail.php?trail_id=10

Spion Kop Hike, Lake Country, BC

Sunday, May 10, 2015 (Mother's Day!)

I invite you to read to the end of this blog, so you understand where the name "Spion Kop" originated. It was a very strange name to me, but when you read the historical record of "The Battle of Spion Kop", on a hilltop in South Africa, it will make sense as this hike is up a VERY STEEP hill (right Tom and Greg?).

The hikers that joined me today, were my brother Tom, my really old son- Greg (so close to the 40's!), and Greg and Carrie's dogs- Bruiser and Charlie Brown.

Our hike started at 10:23 precisely. By the time we were done hiking the very picturesque trails in this park, we had traveled 14 kilometers in just under 4 hours. I hope you enjoy the photos and that they do justice to the sights that we saw today! First of all, a map of the hiking trails (I think we did them all!!). Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them for more detail.

We started at Raven Ridge trailhead (top left of the map). We followed the orange trail, then took the yellow trail, then the blue trail, then the red trail and then the white and then---- oh crap--just ask Tom the next time you see him.

You will note the Summit (which we got to at about the 2.5 hour mark) is at 879 meters (or as us old farts prefer 2883 feet).

Here are some photos of our adventure:

1) My hiking buddies:





2) And Charlie Brown and Bruiser:

 

3) Trailhead- Okanagan Lake in the background. The Okanagan Lake floating bridge is just above Greg's head in the center of the photo.

 



 

4) Okanagan lake on the right of the photo and Duck Lake on the left. Duck Lake is just north of the Airport.



 

 

5) Hiking up a steep hillside, and took these photos of wild flowers. There were lots of varieties of flowers and they are in abundance, but I would think they will not be in bloom much longer as the weather heats up.

 6) We are at the North end terminus of the hiking trail. The flowering shrub in the photo is British Columbia's provincial flower- the dogwood. In the distance is Woods Lake, and the Oyama Isthmus. If Tami and Mike were here, instead of Mexico, we probably would have caught them paddle boarding on Woods Lake. Their home is in the center left of this photo. (Reminder- click on the photos to enlarge!).

 

 

7) The trails were well groomed and marked.

 

 

 

8) Our lunch spot. We had a long climb up from here so it was a good time to get some nourishment!

 

 



 

9) The summit! 3000 feet above sea level.

 

 

10) Greg on the descent to the trail head.

 

 

 

11) Some rough trail on the descent.

 

 

12) At the end of the hike. Nice picnic area. Greg's truck was just over the hill from this picnic spot.

 

 

Finally, on the drive back - a chance to honor two special mothers.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful day. Warm and sunny.

 

Notes:

 

Difficulty: Moderate to difficult (70% moderate/30% difficult- some steep hills)

Footwear: hiking boots or very good running shoes

Time: almost 4 hours

 

Finally- the meaning behind Spion Kop:

 

 

Battle of Spion Kop

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Battle of Spion Kop Part of Second Boer War Boers at Spion Kop, 1900.

The Battle of Spion Kop (Dutch: Slag bij Spionkop; Afrikaans: Slag van Spioenkop) was fought about 38 km (24 mi) west-south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop⁽¹⁾ along the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa from 23–24 January 1900. It was fought between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one hand and British forces during the Second Boer War during the campaign to relieve Ladysmith. It was a British defeat.y, May 10, 2015