Okanagan Rail Trail leads to adventure
The Okanagan Rail Trail between Kelowna and Coldstream is still closed, officially, but the Sheriff and Constant Companion Carmen continue to find ways to check it out.
On Tuesday, for example, our new weekday kayaking group decided to launch at Kekuli Bay Provincial Park on the west shore of Kalamalka Lake. We paddled straight across (or most of us did) to the east shore, headed north for lunch at Cosens Bay in Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, followed its shoreline to Rattlesnake Point, then headed straight across to the west shore of the Lake of Many Colours. From there, you can paddle beside the rail trail all the way back to Kekuli Bay, ignoring all of the cyclists and pedestrians who weren’t officially there.
Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful part of the trail with its colourful cliffs, a tall thin waterfall and steep slopes filled with arrowleaf balsamroot, now in full bloom with Okanagan sunflowers. However, torrential rain at Kekuli meant we only camped there one night and didn’t unofficially cycle the trail on Wednesday.
It was an incredible week for outdoor activities, a testament to how many hundreds, indeed thousands of Okanagan residents and visitors, are involved.
The best news of all is a $1.7-million donation to the Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative by an Okanagan family estate.
“Within the next month or two, a complete story will be told of the local family who was inspired by the community campaign and the potential for the rail trail to support multigenerational healthy families,î said Laurie Postill, North Okanagan trail ambassador.
The campaign to raise $7.8 million to build the trail is going “phenomenally well,” Brad Clements told the Sheriff in an interview. The Vernon resident has led the initiative since 2013 when CN announced the process for abandonment of the route.
In April, the volunteer group reported 70per-cent progress towards the fundraising goal. Then, on April 12, the federal government announced a pledge of $1.3 million to match donations ($.50 for every $1 donated). Between the federal grant, and the pledge from this generous family, the target is easily within reach - only $150,000 remains to be raised.
Donations can be made by credit card, Paypal or debit online at: https://okanaganrailtrail.ca/donate. Donations by cheque can be sent to: Central Okanagan Foundation, Landmark 1, 306-1726 Dolphin Ave., Kelowna V1Y 9R9 (250-861-6160) and Community Foundation of North Okanagan, #304 — 3402 — 27th Ave., Vernon V1T 1S1 (250-542-8677).
A gift of securities (stocks or bonds) can also be arranged with the foundations. All donations greater than $25 will receive a tax receipt.
The fundraising group, Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative, hopes to raise the funds before July 1, and will disband shortly after.
“It’s pretty exciting actually. This family has been so incredible,” said Clements.
“They’re not trail people at all. What got them excited was reading about it in the (news)paper, articles that you wrote, talking to friends. Just everyone being so excited about the trail is what made them decide as they wrap up a family foundation. They’re so excited to provide something to the community that everyone can enjoy,” he said.
“We’re going to carve part of that out — probably $400,000 — because part of the trail plan that isn’t in this phase is interpretive signage which is super, super important. They want that to be kind of a legacy of this phase of the trail which is fantastic because that was going to be left with municipalities. No offence, but I mean to get the municipalities organized and get this done, who knows when that would happen? It’s just going to put the icing on the cake.”
Clements doubts that the initiative will be able to spend the entire federal grant, applied for a year ago, simply because it took so long to get it through the bureaucratic process and because it matches future donations.
“We’ve been arguing and we’ve tried every avenue (to get previous donations included) but rules are rules. The good news is the municipalities will be able to utilize any remaining funds. For instance, Kelowna is planning on paving theirs and they may be able to use part of the funds to help paving. Coldstream wants to build a parking lot at this end,” said Clements.
Many want the entire trail paved but that could cost an additional $3 million and would delay opening the trail.
“Our involvement was just the base trail. We did a lot of research and what everyone said is: just get a base trail built so people get on it, get your trail counters in — I think there is 12 trail counters — and figure out how people are using it. Then, put in your washrooms and paving and lighting based off of usage,” he said.
“I’ve heard people in the north saying they don’t want it paved. It’s pretty phenomenal as is. It will hold up. A lot of people are still complaining: how could you spend so much money building a trail? The engineering that has gone into this thing (is noteworthy). They actually had to flip it, put the ballast on the bottom and build it in layers with water. It was compacted like eight times.
“It was a very amazing and thorough process. All the compaction tests that we’ve done anywhere along the trail are above the standard that we were even hoping for. Thanks to some very creative contractors and some good engineering, we’ve basically created a new way to build a trail based off of using a railway,” he said.
“Yah, it was bloody expensive but that was the other piece that we found from everyone else we talked to: spend the money up front and build a trail that will last a lifetime.”
It was obvious to engineers a month ago that the public couldn’t wait for an official opening, said Clements. “They’re in their truck; they’ve got a light on their truck; they’ve got their (safety) vests on, and they said they ran into 80 people. They said to everyone they stopped that the trail is closed. The response was: ‘Yah,yah, we know. Thank you so much. This trail is awesome.’ They (engineers) were like: ‘We can’t get mad at people (like that).’”
——— The 22 millimetres of rain (one-half a month’s worth) overnight Tuesday means that a section of Mission Creek Greenway in Kelowna is now closed due to the rapid rise in the water level and flow of Mission Creek.
"The complete phase two section of the Greenway corridor is closed from the Hollywood Road south entrance of Scenic Canyon Regional Park to the end of the trail off Field Road until conditions return to a safe level and it’s safe for our staff to assess trail conditions,” said regional district communications officer Bruce Smith.
The Greenway section north of the creek along phase one, from Lakeshore Road through Mission Creek Regional Park, and the Greenway section south of the creek between Lakeshore and Casorso roads are still open.
However, “we’re urging people to use extreme caution and keep away from the banks due to slippery conditions, possible erosion, and the potential for a rapid rise in water levels and increased flow resulting from the overnight and forecast rainfall,î he said.
The Greenway underpass at the Casorso Road bridge remains closed. Pedestrians and cyclists should use caution and only cross Casorso Road when it is safe. Motorists should watch for Greenway users crossing the road.
In West Kelowna, the southern portion of Glen Canyon Regional Park is closed due to flooding and high water flows along Powers Creek. The trail leading from the parking area off Gellatly Road to the first set of stairs is closed until further notice as the footbridge over the creek has been removed.
Signs advising of the closure and caution tape are in place at the Gellatly Road parking area and above the lower staircase. For their safety, residents are asked to stay out of this closed area. No other areas of Glen Canyon Regional Park are affected.
For more information, contact parks services at 250-469-6232 or email parks@cord.bc.ca.
——— Today (May 12), you can celebrate Mother’s Day with a Wildflower Walk & Tea from 2 to 3 p.m. at Mission Creek Regional Park in Kelowna. Meet a regional parks services guide outside the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan
(EECO) and enjoy a leisurely guided walk to discover a variety of wildflowers and blooming shrubs in the park. After the walk, there will be complimentary tea and cookies in the EECO and you can view the new Nature Smarts exhibit.
All ages are welcome but be advised the walk will include two long flights of stairs. This is a free event but you should register by phoning 250-469-6140 or emailing eeco@cord.bc.ca. some of the very best hikes and walks in West Kelowna and Peachland.
Registration is at 8:30 a.m., coffee and Timbits 8:30-9:30 a.m. and three hikes depart at 9:30 a.m. from Gellatley Nut Farm Regional Park, 2375 Whitworth Rd.
The easy hike is the 1.7-kilometre, one-hour Mt. Boucherie Dacite Trail from Eain Lamont Park. The intermediate hike is five kilometres and two hours to Tabletop Mountain, up Trepanier Creek Trail from the IGA parking lot in Peachland. The harder four-hour hike is the steep McDougall Rim Trail from the end of Bartley Road. Bring a water bottle, snack and good hiking boots.
All contributions over $10 received a taxdeductible receipt. Those who want to contribute can email: westsidetrails@hotmail.ca. The society, a not-for-profit volunteer group established as an independent organization by the Westbank Rotary Club in 1986, is also looking for volunteers to help with trail and park construction or related projects.
Many of the heavily-used trails and parks in West Kelowna exist by virtue of its efforts. For example, the Gellatly Bay foreshore trail was constructed by the society and the Rotary Club in 1994. Several other West Kelowna landmarks have also benefitted, including Powers Creek Trail in Glen Canyon Regional Park, the Boucherie/Pritchard road trails, and recent upgrades between the Cove and the Powers Creek Bridge.
A very important trail linking the Westbank Town Center with the foreshore has been completed and is in active use. The trail runs from the south end of Old Okanagan Highway down to Cindy Road, and from there to Angus Drive and on to the foreshore.
The long-term vision is to establish Trail 2000 from the Bennett Bridge to Peachland. Sections of this are complete and well used. Other sections are in the planning phase, and require further funding and work. In addition, various sections pass through private property so discussions must be held with landowners to ensure their rights and wishes are respected.
J.P. Squire, aka the Hiking, Biking, Kayaking and Horseback Riding Sheriff, is a retired Okanagan Weekend reporter and an avid outdoors enthusiast. His column appears every Saturday. Email: jp.squire@telus.net.