Hiking the McDougall Rim in Westbank, BC.
This past September when we visited my sons in Kelowna and Westbank, we hiked up the McDougall Rim trail where much of the forest fires had raged in late summer.
The trails are very rocky and dry and one could see how easily fire could have started in the tinder dry forests of the mountainsides.
The trail traverses over the McDougall Rim of the mountains surrounding the Okanagan Valley. In the picture above, my son Iain is standing on a cliff that looks out over the valley. 
The view from the top is incredible with the beautiful blue Lake Okanagan stretching out below and the new floating bridge which joins Westbank to Kelowna seems small in the distance.
The incredible beauty of Kelowna is very evident from the top of the trail with a sandy ribbon of beach following the coast of the city.
Remnants of the fire are clearly evident on one side of the trail where all that's left of the forest are blackened stumps rising from the dusty soil and rock.
We had a beautiful afternoon hiking and I'm looking forward to hiking the trail again next year.
©2009JoSmith
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Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Brekland Realty Group, Oakville, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.Oakville-BurlingtonHomes.com |
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Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Your Choice Realty , Mississauga, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.oakville-burlingtonhomes.com |
Easy easy...get that son away from the drop off..Great images and story. In Maine love to hike Mt Katahdin.
It must have been a wonderful trip Jo. Thanks for taking us along.
Beautiful shots Jo-anne, so relaxing to look at! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Jo - Active Rainers like yourself provide a wonderful window into the world around us ... thanks for sharing your trips and photos with us it's as if we travelled on your shoulder.
Jo - I love photographs. They tell the true story, don't they? Awesome! Thanks for the share.. ;-)
Jo-anne,
Nice shots. On a personal note. The third picture; just over the bridge, third apartment on the right, 4th floor. That's where my ex lives.
Andrew,
I tried to keep him away from the cliff, however he's a daredevil and not afraid of heights.
Beautiful photo! I'd love to visit Maine some day...
Janice,
It was.....I'd like to make it an annual tradition.
Jo
Hi Al and Peggy,
Thank you! I hope you both had a nice Christmas and the coming year is a very good one for you.,
Jo
Gary,
It was a truly amazing place....not the easiest hike, however once your lungs adjusted, it was great.
Jo
Kathy,
You and Barrie would love it there....have you been to Kelowna?
Jo
Teri,
I love photos too....they really do say more than words.
Jo
Terry,
Interesting commentary.....I take it you've lived in Kelowna?
Jo
Jo - BC is on our list of places yet to be discovered ... BC would like to go west this year but we will have to see what the year brings us