Ironmask Hills Crunches - Kamloops Trails

Ironmask Hills Crunches – Kamloops Trails

Doug Smith  January 7, 2023 at 8:55 am

Foggy conditions in the valley meant starting a route higher on the Lac le Jeune Road.   The upper Ironmask Hills area can be snowshoed or hiked in winter, but the snow conditions were less than ideal.   Several freeze and thaw cycles had made the snowpack crusty.    Where snowshoers have stomped in a track, conditions were good, but where hikers had punched through the crust, there was a linear trail of irregular postholes.     That made it difficult for snowshoeing.    Off-track efforts found breakable crust conditions and even snowshoes punched through to mid-thigh.  

The arduous stomp was a loop route over the hills, roughly following mountain bike trails.   

Although conditions were challenging, the forest was beautiful.     We will return to hike the hills when conditions are better in late winter,  

A Kamloops Trails video shares some of the Ironmask Hills crunches:

 

About KamloopsTrails

I started exploring this area in 1976 and I continue 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, I chose to share this information. Getting out 12 months each year, I continue to explore trails, tracks, routes, and waterways of the Kamloops area and beyond.


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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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