Outer Inks Hike

On a windy and grey day on June, I returned to hike the Outer Inks Trails. The main trailhead is off the Inks Lakes turnoff on the Coquihalla. There are several parking areas a short distance down the bumpy gravel road that bears west. There are numerous trails and tracks, some of the them signed for ATV or dirt bike. There are a few backroads too. All can be hiked, but there is a maze of trails so carrying a mapping app is a good idea (I use Maps.me). I have hiked all of the trails over the years. I try to avoid prime times when the motorized crowd may be on the trails. On this weekday morning, there were some people camping near the start, but there was no one on the trails for the duration of the hike (just under 2 hours).

The area is a gently sloped north-facing slope with open douglas fir forest with pinegrass and a few scattered shrubs. I started by following a single track across the forested slopes.

The slope is steeper as we bear south. I worked my way to the shores of Dam Lake. It is indeed dammed, a reservoir that may be drawn down for irrigation in summer.

This had been the spot of a medical emergency on my last outing. A helicopter landed at lake’s edge to transport the patient to an ambulance. On this return visit, there were no medical events. 😄

I returned on quiet trails, back to the start. I will be back again in the fall to hike different trails, going to the west.

A few images are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view.