The Guardsmen Overlook, Panorama Point, and Moby Dick

The Guardsmen Overlook, Panorama Point, and Moby Dick

Doug Smith  March 30, 2020 at 4:48 pm

When the south-facing hills start to dry out, we look for scenic routes through the hills.   On this mid-March day we hiked up the Pruden Pass Road from the Mara Trail(head), then took side routes out to the Guardsmen Overlook, Panorama Point, and Moby Dick before returning to the double track back to the parking area.

We climbed up the old double track toward Pruden Pass for 3.2 km, but as it turned toward the gap, we followed a side track on our left that we sometimes take on our way to the Guardsmen.   As we followed the descending ridge toward Tranquille River, Wheeler Bluffs stood above the side valley on our north side.   We had hiked to the top of the bluffs last fall.

At the Guardsmen Overlook we could see the two “guardian” hoodoos below us and to the north we had a good view up the Tranquille River Canyon.

We retraced our steps up the ridge, then traversed off-trail over to Panorama Point.   This triangular-shaped hill juts out into the canyon for great views in every direction.   The most colorful bluffs of the canyon are just to the north.

To the south the canyon widens out toward the lower trails alongside Tranquille River.

From Panorama Point, we traversed slopes and gullies to ascend Moby Dick, a volcanic hill with fluted bluffs facing west.   It was named by Roland Neave in his book “Hiking the High Points.”

While scrambling along the Moby Dick bluffs we enjoyed seeing emerging mosses and wildflowers.   Click an image for a larger/close-up view.

We traversed back to the double track and finished our 9.4 km hike.   This is a good spring hike, but watch for ticks in the grasslands.

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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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