Late June 2020
After my time at the Haynes Lease Ecological Reserve, I drove a short ways south on Black Sage Road, stopping to take in the views of oxbow lakes in the river valley below, and rows of grape vines curving gracefully over the hillside to the east.
Then I returned to Highway 97 and turned south towards Osoyoos in order to connect with Highway 3 west. My intention was to visit the South Okanagan Grasslands Protected Area but I missed the turnoff to Kruger Mountain Road and decided instead to take the road up to Mt. Kobau which was also on my list of places to visit. Mount Kobau Road leaves Highway 3 shortly after reaching the top of the steep hill out of Osoyoos.
Recommended for 4×4 vehicles, the road was loaded with potholes but otherwise very good. It switch-backed over and over, up the southeastern slope of the mountain, with excellent views down into the South Okanagan Valley.
Some areas of Mount Kobau have suffered through forest fires in recent years,
including this section of forest which was ghostly grey.
I climbed up, higher and higher, stopping often to capture the views.
And then, as the road narrowed and steepened with perhaps only another kilometer or two left to arrive at the top, I just stopped.
At the end of the road there is a trail to a lookout at the top of the mountain, the site of an old fire watch tower, and another trail that leads to a small lake. It had been my intention to walk those trails but I was beginning to feel a little tired and a little fearful way up here alone. My rule is to “follow my gut” and err on the side of caution so I found a good turn-around spot and then started back down the mountain. Darn! The whole way down I was tempted to turn around again and go back up. Now, at some point in the future, I have to drive all the way up there again to do those trails!
Continuing west, I stopped in Keremeos, had a snack and a brief rest in a lovely riverfront municipal park, and then spent a bit of time walking alongside the Similkameen River.
Next, I carried on to Manning Park, hoping to get a campsite at the Lightning Lakes campground. There was much confusion at the check-in hut as their computer system was down but they gave me a large double site, available to just one party because of Covid. What a lot of room for little ‘ol me, but in the end it wasn’t to be!
The hike around the Lightning Lakes has always been one of my favourites – it is so incredibly beautiful.
Tired, relaxed, and happy from my hike around the first lake, I walked back to my campsite only to find that a rather large family had set up their encampment of several tents and vehicles beside me! They had previously reserved the site, despite what I had been told at the registration hut, and so of course I left them to it. There were no more sites available by this time late in the day (grrrr), so I carried on west the short distance to Manning Park’s Coldstream campground. Here, a few sites were available, but all of them were close to the highway so I decided to just drive all the way home that evening. I took time in one of the empty sites to make a quick meal and brew up a large coffee for the drive ahead. What a long day heading home on Highway 3, but it was a very good day as well, travelling and walking through beautiful countryside in beautiful British Columbia.