Kootenays Lookout Tour

[sector]

Moving this topic to it's own thread, now that we have our very own Kooteneys forum!!

The idea would be to ride a bunch of lookout mountains, or something like that, one after the other, or do it over multiple weekends to see how many and where. Mix it with a little bike-n-hiking, too...

So far there is,

Lookout Mtns
Idaho Peak - near New Denver
Buchanan - near Kaslo
Lavina (not sure how far up the road goes) - near Meadow Creek
Selkirk Peak (lookout?) - where?

Mtn rides (no lookout)
Meadow Mtn - near Meadow Creek
kock creek (slocan valley) to fauquier

Any more ideas?

[sector]

I found an old thread that shows the kock creek route. Looks interesting. It's got a nice map included. I would love to find out how to make those...

http://www.dualsportbc.com/forums/forum14/773.html

[hightoweratwork]

Hey Sound good.

Where is the map in the link ?

Please help me.

shane

[sector]

hightoweratwork wrote:
Hey Sound good.

Where is the map in the link ?

Please help me.

shane
Hmmm, you don't see it? It is the second post in that thread. The URL for the map itself is http://standup.smugmug.com/photos/58746927-M.jpg . Does that help?

[sector]

I'm suffering from not having my backroads maps with me. But I did find these online maps at http://aardvark.gov.bc.ca/apps/recst/html/recsites_base_map.htm .

Here is the road to Idaho Peak. While looking at this, I found that Selkirk Peak is nearby, maybe a hike away....

I think the best way to do these would be one per weekend. Make a loop either in a day or better yet, camp at the tops of these for 2 dayers....

[sector]

Here's Mt. Buchanan...

[sector]

And Lavina. Hard to tell if that last 1/2 is a hike or a ride.

[sector]

And then there is Meadow mtn. I haven't been up there in a very long time, but I recall spectacular views of Davis Mtn and Goat Range.

[sector]

Oh, and here's another. It really belongs in the non-existent bike-a-hike section.. Salisbury road then hike up to Willet from there.

[koots_roots]

not sure what software that map was made in...looks pretty basic.

yes, selkirk peak is accessed from the same parking lot as idaho peak is...its a little longer of a hike thats all and i suspect the view isnt much different (only been up idaho).

prob could do a few of these a day if we were keen as there isnt much hiking on some of these.maybe camp near kaslo as that is probably the most centric and the hot springs are close too.

of course there are alot of other lookout tour options but some of these require hiking:

- mt kelly is popular one out beaver valley way which you can ride right to the top.

- mt faith (gladstone park) is a bit longer trail up (peter creek) basin which the trailhead starts on the KVR (columbia nd western railway) towards christina lake.

- old glory (rossland range)

- copper mtn (bonnington range) - can ride right to the top but its pretty gnarly the last bit and be careful it cliffs out and you dont see it coming so go slow near the summit. a few kids died up there when 4X4 at night a couple years ago.

good online mapping link you sent sector. i will add to this thread an online map i have developed at some point soon hopefully. trying to get a few bugs worked out first.

chris

[sector]

Chris,
I look forward to checking out your mapping link once you post it. These maps that I posted were generated from the pdf files that you can print from the link I posted. Yes, pretty basic maps, but I was looking for any digital maps. And with my Backcountry BC atlas sitting at my house in Rossland, this is all I have to go on right now. I look forward to finding your suggestions. I love that and I love maps! I know about Old Glory, the rest I am not familiar with.

Suzanne

[GetFuzzy]

Does anybody have any day rides that involve hot springs? I was just looking through a little travel brochure that had a bunch of hot springs, some commercial some undeveloped that are located throughout the Kootenays. Cold beverages and hot water spells camp out.:hb:

[koots_roots]

info below prob belongs in a seperate thread...

as for undev. hot springs:

halfway hotsprings (north of nakusp) are prob. the nicest undev. hot springs. its 11km up the easy going halway river FSR on the left there is a spur and parking. steep hike down to the river bank rewards you with some nice springs. leave no trace if you visit.

havent been to upper halfway (another spring further up the halfway river FSR) but heard its not very warm.

the road up to st. leon springs has been deactivated/blocked last i heard....someone bought the land title up there i think. there is hike in though its about 3/4kms up the river and parking is right where the river goes under the highway.

octopus creek is supposed to be a knarly hike in and dissapointing. it is south of fauquier.

dewar creek is another one in the southern purcells but its a fairly long hike too and not that great but i heard its gotten better. might make a mission out to this one this year.

lussier hot springs in the east koots....its crowded usually because of its accessibility. not that warm last time i was there...though it was may and alot of runoff could of cooled it considerably.

[swandog]

there are 2 more in the area . buil creek hotsprings [ near lussier hot springs] and skookumchuk hotsprings west of canal flats

[sector]

I completely forgot about this thread! I went riding for a couple of weeks this past summer and got up a few of the lookouts on my list and a few of the bike-a-hikes. Here are some pics from the lookouts...

Idaho Peak
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5898sm.jpg

Mt Buchanan
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5923sm.jpg

Mt Lavina
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5717sm.jpg

[sector]

Here are some bike-a-hikes...

Horseshoe Glacier
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5758sm.jpg

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5770sm.jpg

Monica Meadows
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5844sm.jpg

Alps Alturas
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5949sm.jpg

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5964sm.jpg

Kootenay Joe
http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMG_0465sm.jpg

[Dr650 dreadnought]

Hey my Avatar is on Buchanan.. I forgot what it was called. Idaho is fun too. Great high spots all. Good shots.

[sector]

Dr650 dreadnought wrote:
Hey my Avatar is on Buchanan.. I forgot what it was called. Idaho is fun too. Great high spots all. Good shots.

Glad I helped you remember where your avatar was taken!! You should not forget that!;) While on Mt Buchanan we met this guy who remembers my Dad. He has been big into 4 wheelers and knows every road in the area. We got out our maps, of course....

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5928sm.jpg

[Fjr eh]

Great pictures!!

[koots_roots]

great pics and thanks for the stoke! i am so looking forward to getting to those spots.

which was your favorite lookout and hike-a-bike?

a few couple questions for the ones on the list still:

re: horseshoe glacier - how far a hike is it to the glacier from where you get ditch the bikes? been up jumbo but i want a closer look at this glacier. there looks like some opportunity to scramble around or on the glacier.

kootenay joe looks like an interesting spot. is it rough ride up say for a klr? looks steepish with lots of switchbacks. any deadfall or windfall or signs of either. on the map there is a road that goes down the other side of the plateau there towards carney creek, did you check this out?

lavina looks like a nice vantage point....is there a fire lookout up there?

thanks!:dr:

[250ccforme]

A co-worker told me about Lavina. You can ride right up to where the lookout used to be. The "Tour o Tops" sounds like a must do.

Koots Roots, you mentioned a KLR. Have you got a new steed?

[koots_roots]

250ccforme wrote:
Koots Roots, you mentioned a KLR. Have you got a new steed?

no way jose, id only get a KLR if i had a lighter bike to compliment it in the quiver, something like yours. for now, the DRZ is a great one bike option for me my 300 mile diet. gonna keep it local next summer and explore the backyard more. likely a few people i will be touring around with will be on KLR's, hence the question.

at this rate, we will be alpine riding in june! :ss:

[sector]

Fjr eh wrote:
Great pictures!!

Thanks Mark! I hope your winter is going well. It was great you popped in to visit our camp while we were doing these rides! images/emoticons/action-smiley-033.gif

[sector]

koots_roots wrote:
great pics and thanks for the stoke! i am so looking forward to getting to those spots.

which was your favorite lookout and hike-a-bike?

a few couple questions for the ones on the list still:

re: horseshoe glacier - how far a hike is it to the glacier from where you get ditch the bikes? been up jumbo but i want a closer look at this glacier. there looks like some opportunity to scramble around or on the glacier.

kootenay joe looks like an interesting spot. is it rough ride up say for a klr? looks steepish with lots of switchbacks. any deadfall or windfall or signs of either. on the map there is a road that goes down the other side of the plateau there towards carney creek, did you check this out?

lavina looks like a nice vantage point....is there a fire lookout up there?

thanks!:dr:


Wow, tough questions, because every day was awesome! For LO's I'm thinking Lavina. Bike-a-hikes... even tougher... all worth doing!! Kootenay Joe was the roughest ride up. I'm not too great at that stuff but my buddies loved it just fine. Someone is keeping it open. The road continues down into carney creek as you guessed. It appears to be used by 4 wheelers but where we stopped is the designated wilderness boundary and no mechanized vehicles are supposed to go beyond, I think. Anyway, it looked very enticing to say the least!

As for horseshoe glacier, techically we may have done an un-named (or unknown named) glacier to it's south, but they are in the same spot and my maps did not tell me what was what... but you ride to the end of the road, park, and you're on the trail to the glacier. It took 1 1/2 hrs to hike to where we turned back.

Yes, Lavina lookout is still there, but no longer occupied. My Dad was the LO guy there for many years when I was very small. We hiked up in the summers to visit as there was no road then. Then there was a fire and a fire bomber missed and took out the lookout. This current lookout is the one that was re-built.

http://i336.photobucket.com/albums/n357/suzanneector/GlacierCreek08/IMGP5724sm.jpg

[bubba zanetti]

Lovely photos Sector !!

A wee tour like this is on my agenda and as I ride a big pig of a KLR your info is interesting.

I would hope to go on days with clear blue skies like you had. What a view.

There was a website out there with info on the old lookouts. Danged if I can find it now, but it gave a bit of history and photos from the old days.

I have the bike pretty well sorted out and my riding improved quickly. Hoping to get to Moab in mid march for an epic ride and carry that early experience throughout the summer.

Koots I will give you a shout as the weather look rideable.

Been hosting a summer ride called the Borscht Burn for a few years now. Mostly sport touring bikes but we are thinking of including a dual sport ride again this year and perhaps the ride to Lavina could be it. Will keep you posted when dates are announced. It is alot of fun with some great people and terrific food.

[sector]

bubba zanetti wrote:
Lovely photos Sector !!

A wee tour like this is on my agenda and as I ride a big pig of a KLR your info is interesting.

I would hope to go on days with clear blue skies like you had. What a view.

There was a website out there with info on the old lookouts. Danged if I can find it now, but it gave a bit of history and photos from the old days.

I have the bike pretty well sorted out and my riding improved quickly. Hoping to get to Moab in mid march for an epic ride and carry that early experience throughout the summer.

Koots I will give you a shout as the weather look rideable.

Been hosting a summer ride called the Borscht Burn for a few years now. Mostly sport touring bikes but we are thinking of including a dual sport ride again this year and perhaps the ride to Lavina could be it. Will keep you posted when dates are announced. It is alot of fun with some great people and terrific food.


Hey, you should post here before your party so we can come crash it! I wouldn't want to take a big bike up Lavina, that's for sure. Just 4 weelers are going up there now. But Buchanan would be perfect.

Is this the website you were thinking of? http://www.bcfirelookouts.com/lemon/anecdotes.html There are a few LO's on there I would like to check out.

[koots_roots]

thx again for the info....good to know for trip planning.

yes bubba, looking forward to a tour with you and let us know re: the burn.

it would be nice if we could get a group to go riding with one day a week after work in the spring

[bubba zanetti]

sector wrote:
bubba zanetti wrote:
Lovely photos Sector !!



Hey, you should post here before your party so we can come crash it! I wouldn't want to take a big bike up Lavina, that's for sure. Just 4 weelers are going up there now. But Buchanan would be perfect.

Is this the website you were thinking of? http://www.bcfirelookouts.com/lemon/anecdotes.html (http://www.bcfirelookouts.com/lemon/anecdotes.html%C2%A0) There are a few LO's on there I would like to check out.


I will let folks know about the Borscht Burn, it is usually the third weekend in July cuz we likes it hot and have a great place and beach to BBQ up near Cayuse Creek.

I had to shorten the link Sector but that is the one ... thanks.

http://www.bcfirelookouts.com/


Koots, a ride after work would be awesome as I am off fairly early at 3:30.

[shoobear]

Hey,

U are in my backyard!

Kootenay Joe does go down into Carney Creek. We put the cable crossing in years ago at the bottom. Last year the road was not cleared.....loads of windfall. The road is steep and rough.....PERFECT!!!!

Lavina is steep!

There are a bunch of other rides also.......London ridge. Between Kaslo and New Denver. Leaves at the two lakes. Not a long ride but good views.

The Bismark is one of my favorites....Gotta ride with me to find that one.

[bubba zanetti]

Bump for a great thread and tour idea.

More on Fire Lookouts of BC

http://www.firelookout.org/towers/ca-bc/ca-bc.htm

[sector]

bubba Z, that list of LO's looks like a lot of fun. I've only been to a few and there are a few more in my area and more yet to go check out!!