Wheeler Pond - Hanging Valley

Wheeler Pond – Hanging Valley

Doug Smith  December 24, 2021 at 8:35 am

From Lac du Bois we hiked south along the Upper Grasslands Track past rolling hills and ponds to the (unsigned) Wheeler Mountain Road, along the double track for about 2 km, then onto a side track bearing north to the fenceline, down the fenceline corridor to Hanging Valley, then back up the double track to Lac du Bois, an 8.8 km hike on the snow.  

The double track along the east side of Lac du Bois and beyond is gated now, a good decision by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and BC Parks.    The track continues south past a large scenic pond. 

There are a series of aspen groves by the grasslands track.   After hiking south for 2 km, the turn onto the lower slopes of Wheeler Mountain is an obvious choice. 

For 1.8 km the trail climbs onto the forested flanks of Wheeler Mountain, then along the side of Wheeler Pond, a scenic spot under the low winter sun. 

A less obvious turn (about N50 47.565 W120 28.200) to the right along an older double track leads to a new fenceline.   We then turned left at the fenceline, following a known route down to Hanging Valley. 

From Hanging Valley a double track works its way uphill to the west end of Lac du Bois. 

The final section of the loop route is along the shores of Lac du Bois to the parking area.  

We have done this loop in several seasons, but it is best suited to shoulder seasons when the hikes to higher locations are more of a challenge. 

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Doug Smith

Doug writes for Kamloops Trails, a not-for-profit (and ad free) website, offering information on trails, waterways, routes, featured spots, viewpoints, and explorations in the outdoors in the Kamloops area (and beyond).

Doug started exploring this area in 1976 and continues to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, he chose to share this information.

The Kamloops Trails website has a massive number of interesting posts and would be of interest to anyone in Kamloops who enjoys the outdoors. Visit the Kamloops Trails website at: http://www.kamloopstrails.ca/

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