Hiking the Spines in the Silt Cliffs
Above the Valleyview area and below Juniper Ridge is a benchland area that was once submerged under a glacial lake. It has since been carved by erosion into ridges and gullies. Some of the ridges are now narrow “spines” and there are some informal trails and routes up, along, and down the spines. Some of the best ones are accessed from Orchard’s Walk. All of these require a bit of scrambling.
Some of the silt cliffs appear as clay-silt towers slowly being eroded down.
Between the ridges are gullies which often have informal trails too.
On this day, I hiked three of the spines and left three others for another time. There are also numerous sink holes, wells, and even some arches to explore.
A few clips of video and drone footage are combined into a video here:
Another hike is planned soon to do some more of the spines in the Valleyview Silt Cliffs.
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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