Category Archives: Nature Hikes

Wildflowers, flowering shrubs, and interesting plants observed and photographed while hiking, kayaking, and exploring.

In the Fall Forests

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In the fall, there is still much to observe in the forests on the Interior Plateau.   Fall color often flanks the trails on our hiking routes and we make a few stops along the way to observe the ferns, lichen, fungi, shrubs and herbs off the sides of the trails.   Open, dry glades have less abundance than damp, sheltered spots.    Fungi can be spotted in the Douglas fir and mixed forests as we hike at higher altitudes than our valleys.

In this week of hiking some photos were taken of a variety of flora, shared here in a Google Photos album.    Identifications are provided in most cases, but we can see captions on any or all of the photos by clicking the link in the top corner.

Nature hikes are ongoing right up to the time when snows cover the landscape and more observations will be shared through the fall.  

Mid-September Nature Hikes

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Mild weather means lots of continued hiking and paddling on trails and routes in the Interior.    Habitats vary from dry lower elevations to high forest areas.   With such widespread drought, many flowering plants turned more quickly to seeding/fruiting and some later-blooming species seemed less robust.    A few plants continued their flowering cycle as usual, weathering the heat and … Continue reading →

Trailside, in Early September

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As the summer heat and smoke dissipated at the end of August, drought conditions carried on, with dry vegetation, shrinking lakes, dried-up wet zones, and wildflowers going to seed.    A few late-flowering species could still be spotted (curlycup gumweed, white prairie aster, sweet clover, and others), but the usual summer annual weeds also seemed to take over disturbed areas.  … Continue reading →

Trailside in the Forests in Mid-August

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In the middle part of August, each day was an outing in a kayak or on a trail, and quite often both.     Shared here are a few images taken while hiking at Clearwater Lake (cedar hemlock forest), at Stake Lake (Douglas fir, pine, and spruce forests), and mid-elevation mixed forests near McQueen and Isobel Lakes – oak fern, western … Continue reading →

Trailside, on Hot and Smoky Days in Early August

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Early August had smoky, hot, and dry conditions in the southern Interior of BC.   Forest fire smoke blanketed large areas and I used smoke forecast services to go where the smoke was less hazardous.    Often the hikes were shorter, planned for times and areas of tolerable conditions.    The grasslands and forests were very dry and seemed susceptible to … Continue reading →

Little McGillivray Lake Nature Hike

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On a hot and smoky day I drove the backroad from Sun Peaks to McGillivray Lake.     I first paddled around the lake, then secured the boat before starting a loop route on cross-country/mountain biking trails to Little McGillivray Lake.     That whole area is wet year-round, and is often plagued by mosquitoes and flies in summer.     It kept … Continue reading →

Trailside, in the Grasslands

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There are many hiking routes in the area.    We can hike through the forest on the Interior Plateau.    We can hike up local hills from the valleys and we can hike through grasslands at lower elevations.   Many of the lower elevation hikes go through open forests and open sagebrush grasslands and may climb into ponderosa pine, then Douglas … Continue reading →

Trophy Mountain Nature Hike

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For the fiftieth consecutive year, I hiked up the Trophy Mountain, enjoying the many faces of the route to the high alpine cirque.    It was a sunny and hot day for this 12.5 km hike. Along the trail through the forest, subalpine glades, seep zones, alpine ridges, and alpine heath there were many plants.    Many photos were taken … Continue reading →

Mount Thynne Nature Hike

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Near the end of June, on a sunny day, I hiked over the top of Mt. Thynne to enjoy the wildflower display. The mountain is located south of Brookmere and requires driving up a forest service road for 16 km. The track climbs the ridge and continues south through subalpine meadows for 4 km, finishing at communication towers on the … Continue reading →

Sullivan Hills Nature Hike

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Every year I go up to kayak on Sullivan Lake by going up the Knouff Lake Road.   I paddle the lake, then on the way back, I turn down the Sullivan Valley Road, which is a good gravel road all the way down to Highway 5N.   The upper area is mixed forests with some wet areas, some plantations, and some … Continue reading →