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