[Hiker Boy]

Part 1 I have been going stir crazy most of the winter with not being able to get out. When I finally got some free time for a trip, I found that my choices of destinations were severely limited by the current snow levels. Since I had done the low level river trails around here a million times before and they were likely to be filled with yahoo's with similar cases of cabin fever, I headed for BC's Okanogan. I met up with a friend, Dannie who's plan it was to follow an old route described in a 20 year article of Outdoor Canada magazine. It would involve climbing up and over several sets of mountains, travelling cross country through the most densly rattlesnake infested region in Canada, crossing two ecological preserves, and hiking for long distances between potable water sources. We got a late start on the trail because we had a hard time finding a place to safely park my car and we had to make a couple of calls to obtain special permission to cross the Preserve and wildlife refuge land. The first part of the trip involved following an old decomissioned rail line along the Okanogan River, and Vaseaux Lake to the Oxbow lakes. This was the only place we actually encountered a rattler and we really didn't see it until we were almost on top of it. It hissed, rattled and slid away really quickly! http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d1.jpg Me on the old railway. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d2.jpg The second Oxbow Lake After two hours of fast hiking, we loaded up with 6L of water each at the second Oxbow and prepared to climb up the first benchline and set up camp below McIntyre bluff. The next day we would climb over the bluff and head cross country to Rattlesnake Lake, our supposed next water source my hiking partner said. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d3.jpg Heading up the benchline http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d4.jpg Our first camp http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d5.jpg My choice of footwear for this trip was approach shoes..my first time using them on a backpacking trip. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d6.jpg Our kitchen on a conveniently placed rock. We tried our best to find places which lowered the chances of accidental fire to the dry countryside. The next morning we got up really early to beat the heat of the day for our climb. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d7.jpg My hiking partner checking the map on top of the bluff. the route finding to our next water source was not too hard. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d8.jpg You really had to watch your footing in this country! http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d9.jpg Doesn't look like the water in Rattlesnake Lake is potable to me!

[Hiker Boy]

Part 2 After an hour or two, a slight navigational error brought us out of the backcountry near the little village of Willowbrook which left us an hour of hiking up paved road north to the Mahoney Lake Ecological Reserve. We met up with a couple of biologists at the lake and they gave us ideas of the lay of the land ahead. After lunch we headed into the reserve. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d10.jpg The very alkali water of Mahoney Lake. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d11.jpg Undisturbed vegitaion in the reserve. The Balsam Flowers were incredible! The land beween Mahoney Lake and the White Lake Protected Grasslands was filled with a maze of foothills and canyons. We navigated up and over this land using old cow trails and settler tracks. Although the hillsides were dry, the meadows were perfuse with flowers. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d12.jpg Here I am halfway through the foothills. We were warned to stay out of the canyons. With our water growing short, we started to get concerned. every creekbed and pond we had passed was dried up. Finally we came down out of the foot hills and found a small stream flowing out of a bog. We loaded up with water once again after filtering and treating the water with Pristine/Aqua Mira). http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d13.jpg Dannie at our last water source.

[Quark]

Do I see a Hilleberg Akto tent in one o' those pho-toes? Nice TR. Funny, Canada doesn't look like a foreign place. It looks like here.

[Hiker Boy]

Part 3 After we loaded up with our water we came out of the foothills at the White Lake Astrophysical Observatory. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d14.jpg We found some lush green meadows above the observatory and decided to camp in one for the night. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d15.jpg A very comfortable camp! http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d16.jpg My feet weren't doing well in those approach shoes! I appreciated how light they were but perhaps I need to find some that fit better and have a stiffer sole? We were experiencing some stove problems on this trip, Dannie brought the wrong kind of alcohol fuel for his stove(isopropyl???) and I had a cannister failure which meant that I had to carry the stove with the cannister screwed on. Somehow we had enough fuel to make it for the whole trip. It got cold during the night and there was dew on the tents in the morning. Once again we packed up early in the morning and headed back into the foothills, our destination was back up and over the mountains and into the Okanogan Valley. We followed an old cart path until it ended at the slopes of Helipad Hill. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d17.jpg Climbing the crumbly slopes of Hellipad Hill with the Observatory down in the valley. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d18.jpg Looking down into the Okanogan Valley at Skaha Lake http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d19.jpg On the summit of Hellipad Hill The climb up was easy but the climb down looked like it was going to be tough. http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d20.jpg No way am I going down that way! With some conservative route finding we followed some ridgelines, gulleys and dear paths down safely http://members.shaw.ca/tssharp/d21.jpg We arrived safely back down to the bottom where we walked on a paved road for half an hour back to my car. It was a great season opener trip and it was truly nice to do something a little different. I'm now planning a few more off the beaten track trips for this year. I hope you enjoyed reading our adventure as much I enjoyed hiking it.

[Hiker Boy]

[Spotly]

[dusty boots]

Nice little TR HB. Did you stop in at Tickleberry's for an ice cream cone?(OK Falls) Best in the Valley. Yup, make sure of your water sources and gotta watch for the rattlers and the prickly pear here. db: