Batchelor Hill

May 5, 2024

733m

Kamloops, BC

Batchelor Hill is the high point above Batchelor Heights and also one of the officially-named pimples in the vicinity of Kamloops. This hill does boast over 100 m prominence to qualify as a legit summit by the international peak-bagging standard. The area is low enough in the valley that the terrain and vegetation is mostly desert-like. Kate and I did not have much expectation from this short hike as this was simply a bonus add-on objective after completing Mt. Tod and Mt. Harper earlier in the day. I picked Batcherlor Hill simply because of its easiness but the views were actually quite good, especially given the amount of effort required to hike this hill.

Batchelor Hill via the SE Ridge trail. GPX DL

We opted to park at the most obvious parking lot and take the SE Ridge trail which seemed to be the most logical way. There are multiple trails to choose from for those interested in making a loop hike. We were tired and pressed on time so opted for the shortest possible way. The trail bed was kind of loose at places and the hike really felt like some of those that I did in the SW desert states.

Kate and I were off-route at the start but quickly realized the mistake

Kate back on the trail with the city of Kamloops behind

It appears there’s some factories on the south side of the river

Mt. Peter and Mt. Paul behind an unnamed bump

Kate with “Mitchell Hill” behind, the unofficially named bump

A closer look at Mt. Peter and Mt. Paul inside some Indian resorts.

Kate nearing the summit with some rolling terrain behind

This is the higher but forested Mt. Wheeler

A zoomed-in view looking down at Kamloops

Another view of the factory smokes on the other side of the river

“Mitchell Hill” is definitely lower than where we were standing at

Kate on the summit of Batchelor Hill with Kamloops behind

I had been contemplating about a loop return via “Mitchell Hill” but that one does not boast over 100 m prominence nor has an official name so I could not convince myself to claim that as a separate summit, so did not bother in the end. Without adding “Mitchell Hill” the shortest way to get back to the parking lot was to return via the same way, so we did that. I took a nap while Kate prepared for our dinner, and we eventually hit the road at around 7:30 pm. About 4 hours later we made back to White Rock and I had another half an hour’s drive to get back to my own home. It was pouring cats and dogs through the Fraser Valley so we definitely made the right decision to drive this far.