Ski season ending, hiking season underway
With Okanagan skihills and cross-country ski areas closing this weekend and next, the transition to spring activities is truly underway.
Constant Companion Carmen (and the Sheriff) led a Central Okanagan Outdoors Club hike in Knox Mountain Park last Saturday, participated in a COOC hike on phase two of the Mission Creek Greenway last Sunday and did our first bike outing in Okanagan Mission on Wednesday.
Saturday's hike in Kelowna’s largest wilderness park started at the trailhead on Royal View Drive off Mountain Avenue.
The flat trail crosses Knox Mountain Drive and the Apex Trail, and curls around the city's reservoir and associated works, and ends partway along Paul’s Tomb Trail. Since there are no signs, we nicknamed it the Reservoir Trail.
“We refer to the water reservoir access road and trail as the Lower Apex Trail Access,” says Andrew Hunsberger, the city's urban forestry supervisor. “The Reservoir Trail would work too. You aren’t permitted to bike the lower section of the Apex Trail (from the base of the mountain to the first lookout parking lot) so we constructed a new mountain bike trail that is gentle enough to ride up. The main trail was too steep. This is the only MTB trail that gets you up to the upper Apex Trail (first lookout parking lot to the summit) so we wanted it to link bikers to the trail.”
Once we reached Paul’s Tomb Trail, we headed north on a gentle downhill toward the beautiful bay and then onto the up-and-down Lochview Trail.
For those familiar with Paul’s Tomb Trail, it has been relocated east to a gentler slope and the former trail de-constructed or naturalized so it will again look like a typical grassy Okanagan hillside.
“The changes to Paul’s Tomb Trail were overdue. We have been planning this one for years. Most of the work is complete. I think we are down to some signage and seeding the reclaimed areas with native grasses,” said Hunsberger.
As we walked toward Paul’s Tomb, we noticed yellow warning tape blocking access to closed Ogopogo Trail was back up.
“Work on the Ogopogo Trail has begun,” said Hunsberger. “We were delayed due to the weather, but the contractor is moving forward.”
The popular Ogopogo Trail, which is expected to be closed until May, is a steep uphill climb which veers east off Paul’s Tomb Trail and leads to the Magic Estates neighbourhood and the Pavilion Trail.
Improvements will include removal and re-installation of existing concrete steps to provide a more comfortable climb, trail re-alignment, signage and benches.
The Sheriff and CCC had checked out Mission Creek Greenway on March 23 in advance of our planned hike there on Saturday. When we found numerous ice-and-snow patches, we switched the Saturday hike to Knox.
Last Sunday's hike to phase two, led by Devon, found much the same conditions but we brought ice/snow grippers this time. That ice and snow is melting quickly and there were lots of visitors.
As our group headed back to the Hollywood Road South parking lot on Sunday, the Sheriff found a B.C. birth certificate in a plastic sleeve lying in the middle of the trail. On the way back to the parking lot, he asked everyone he saw if they lost it. Nada.
So he checked the phone book, Googled the name and finally checked canada411.ca and found four B.C. families with the same last name. After three voicemail messages, the fourth call was to the aunt and uncle in Victoria of the birth certificate owner, who provided his number in Revelstoke. Phase two of the Mission Creek Greenway (main trailhead at Hollywood Road South off Springfield Road) is the more challenging section of this popular recreation trail in Kelowna. It was especially challenging last Sunday as there were still ice- and snow-covered sections.
It turns out a female friend lives in Kelowna and works downtown so the Sheriff dropped it off.
With a laugh, she said she has warned him about keeping his birth certificate in his jacket pocket. It apparently fell out when he took his jacket off.
The Sheriff and CCC also found a set of vehicle keys there on March 23, but left them clearly visible in the middle of the trail and asked everyone if they had lost their keys. A young mother accompanied by a young son were discovered searching the trail and were told where the keys had been left.
However, if you find items on phase two, Brad Ackerman, manager of park services and resource operations for the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, advises turning them in to the RCMP.
***** As the Sheriff and CCC checked out all of the above Okanagan trails, it was impossible not to see of the bright yellow mountain buttercups. And the Sheriff forgot what that meant until he received an email from Brian Sutch of Vernon, formerly with the Penticton Outdoors Club.
“Time for the annual heads-up for tick season as I was hiking above Bella Vista in Vernon and mountain buttercups are out, and that means so are the ticks. The balsam root are also just breaking through so we will have our annual displays soon.”
When mentioning that to other COOC members this week, it turns out two members were hiking Lochview Trail the day before we were there and came back with a tick. And hiking/kayaking buddy Morag picked up a tick on a in notorious tick territory in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park earlier in March. ***** There’s lots of news from the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society, including an annual general meeting celebrating its 25th anniversary and a 2018 fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $200,000.
The AGM will be held at 7 p.m. on April 11 in the EECO Centre in Mission Creek Regional Park on Springfield Road in Kelowna. The highlight will be a presentation honouring the 25 years of service by its founders, volunteers, directors and the Kelowna community-atlarge in protecting and preserving spectacular Myra Canyon.
Attendees will also hear about projects undertaken in 2017 and 2018 plans, including opening the original Morrissey construction work camp for public viewing and the 2018 fundraising campaign.
The society is seeking volunteers to assist in its construction and other activities, and to serve on the board of directors. The public is welcome to attend, however, only members in good standing can vote. An annual membership is $10 and can be purchased just prior to the meeting or from the website (myratrestles.com).
The Sheriff had an indepth interview with director Ray Sobol this week and it will lead off next weekend's column.
***** Angling licences for the 2018-19 season are now available online, from fishing licence vendors and any Service BC office.
For more information on renewal and regulation updates, go to: env.gov.bc.ca/fw/ds/letters/2018/a nglers.html.
The 2017-18 Freshwater Fishing Licence expires today.
All licence sales — one-day, eightday, annual basic licences, conservation surcharge stamps and classified waters licences — are final so double-check your licence selections prior to completing your purchase.
Note: The Freshwater Fishing Licence does not include fishing in British Columbia’s coastal tidal waters (saltwater). You have to go to the website for the National Recreational Licensing System to renew your Tidal “Salt Water” Fishing Licence.
The 2017-19 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is available online at: env.gov.bc.ca/fw/ fish/regulations/ or you can obtain a hard copy from a licence vendor or Service BC Centre when you buy your licence.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Resource Operations holds a photo contest for the cover of the Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis (env.gov.bc.ca/fw/photo.html). Even if your photo doesn’t make it on the cover, it may still find a place within the publication.
Members of the public are invited to review and provide feedback on proposed Angling, Hunting and Trapping regulatory or policy proposals through the Fish and Wildlife Branch’s Angling, Hunting and Trapping Public Engagement Website. It is anticipated angling regulation proposals for 2019-21 will be posed in the fall/winter of 2018 with a one-month window for public review, comment or feedback.
***** SnowPak, a skiing and snowboarding travel website, has rated The Best Five Ski Resorts Near Kelowna.
The story is posted at: snowpak.com/advice/the-5-bestski-resorts-near-kelowna.
Written by April Thompson, the rating says: “Kelowna is a gem of a city in Canada for skiers and boarders alike — out of the way from the hustle and bustle of Vancouver and easy access to a number of amazing ski resorts in British Columbia.
“During the winter months, it's no surprise that visitors and locals flock to the snowfields! Having lived here most of my life, I’ve skied them all and put together a list of top resorts near Kelowna based on travel time from the city.
“No. 1: Big White Ski Resort: Everything about Big White is big. It is a big resort boasting 1,119 hectares of patrolled mountain terrain with big air, reaching summit elevation of 2,319 metres and a big ski-in ski-out village. Averaging a respectable 762 centimetres of annual snowfall, locals know it as one of the best spots for powder skiing with a variety of terrain for skiers of all levels. The Good: largest night skiing area in Western Canada; closest ski resort to Kelowna; toddlers five-and-under ski for free; $10 US ($13 CAD) Friday Night Skiing; good university student discounts. The Bad: often low visibility; often crowded.
“No. 2: Silver Star Mountain Resort is home to Canada’s largest area of cross-country terrain and the third largest ski area in British Columbia behind Whistler Blackcomb and Sun Peaks. We’re talking 97 kilometres of cross-country terrain which stretches to the nearby Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre in bright blue-bird skies. If you’re up for the journey, make sure you buy the Dual Mountain Pass and off you go! The majority of terrain is perfect for intermediate skiers and advanced skiers though there aren’t too many runs for beginners. The Good: Putnam Creek Lift (huge vertical and great snow!); toddlers five-and-under ski for free; largest groomed cross-country area in Canada. The Bad: slightly less annual snowfall than Big White.
“No. 3: Apex Mountain Resort is the perfect mountain for skiers who want a challenge, not to mention the cheapest! It’s a smaller resort with 450 hectares of skiable terrain supported by two chairlifts and a T-Bar but the mountain is set out well and to navigate. The resort is frequented by advanced local skiers who want the hit the mountain and hit it hard — doing laps of Quickdraw chairlift which takes you to the peak. There are a fair number of beginner runs from midmountain to the base but are outnumbered by the black diamond trails through trees and chutes! The Good: cheapest season’s pass rate; cheapest day pass rate; children seven-and-under ski for free; no crowds! The Bad: mainly advanced terrain; about 100 centimetres less snow than Big White and Silver Star; much smaller than Silver Star and Big White.”
Thompson ranks Revelstoke Mountain Resort at No. 4 and Sun Peakes at No. 5.
SnowPak teams up with mountain experts from across the globe to create guides full of insider knowledge for the world’s best ski resorts.
The Sheriff disagrees with some of the above but that’s another column by itself.
J.P. Squire, aka the Ski Sheriff, is a retired Okanagan Weekend reporter and an avid outdoors enthusiast. His column appears every Saturday. Contact him at jp.squire@telus.net.