West Opax Mountain Ramble - Kamloops Trails

West Opax Mountain Ramble – Kamloops Trails

Doug Smith  July 1, 2021 at 9:00 am

The hike to the western rim of Opax Mountain is a longer hike (15km return), one we have done many times, but it is a uniquely-Kamloops area hike that we do almost every year.    The trail starts in the upper grasslands at Lac du Bois, then goes along the north shore of the lake into Hanging Valley.

A grown-over grassy track angles into the trees and starts to climb the slopes of Opax Mountain.   Lac du Bois could be seen below to the east. 

There are lava cliffs that surround the upper part of Opax Mountain on every side.  

At the end point of the route, we stopped for lunch at a spot overlooking Tranquille River Canyon. 

From the edge of the cliffs we could see up the river valley.    Watching Hill was about 5 km northwest,   Beyond was the Tranquille Highlands on the way to the source of the river on Porcupine Ridge. 

The route was an out-and-back route, but the hills are gradual, easy on the legs.    We could see our vehicles on the far shore of Lac du Bois, 3 km away. 

We returned to Hanging Valley, at its greenest. 

We hiked past Lac du Bois, at the end of a 4.5 hour hike.

  • My rating for this hike –

    4.0 out of 5.0 stars

  • This video shows the route out and back.

 

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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.net/

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