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.
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
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