Trail of the Okanagans Society hosts Tea at the Top
The Trail of the Okanagans Society recently held another successful Tea at the Top celebration and is already looking ahead to 2018. It was held at the Fur Brigade Lookout located between Peachland and Summerland, and 400 metres above Okanagan Lake with panoramic views from Penticton to Kelowna.
“We had about 35 people walk up from Peachland and a dozen or so bike in from Summerland,” says Dianne Hayley, one of the organizers. “A highlight of the day was to have Gordon Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards give us the history of the Greata Ranch at the point where the old flumes cross the Fur Brigade Trail.
“Then David Gregory described the history of the trail at the top as we sat under the trees eating our cookies and drinking our tea. Over $250 was raised towards maintaining and upgrading this historic trail. We hope to celebrate the Trail of the Okanagans connections in 2018 in some fashion. Stay tuned.”
There are two ways to hike/bike the historic trail through the Garnett Valley.
You can park at Hardy Falls Regional Park if you have a large group, then carpool one kilometre to the trailhead on Log Chute Road. A 3.5-kilo-metre hike on rough trail surface with a 300-metre elevation gain will take you to the lookout.
Or you can bicycle in from Priest Camp at Garnett Lake (just past the dam). Take Garnett Valley Road north out of Summerland and continue past the end of the paved surface. A four-kilometre ride on rough road surface with an 80-metre elevation gain will get you to the lookout from the south end.
The society’s vision is to connect Osoyoos with Sicamous through a network of trails. You can find out more about the society at: facebook.com/OKTrail.
Tea at the Top was a designated Chain of Events and a Canada 150 event. It was sponsored by the Summerland Rotary Club and Peachland Historical Society, the Summerland heritage advisory committee, the Okanagan Historical Society - Summerland branch, and the Summerland Museum and Archive Society.
******** The Sheriff wrote about the Interior Savings Across the Lake Swim Rattlesnake Island in last weekend’s column, so, not unexpectedly, he was asked about the Interior Savings Across the Lake Swim Kelowna.
It turns out both are looking for watercraft owners to escort swimmers across Okanagan Lake but in two different locations.
Organizers of the Rattlesnake edition on Aug. 5 are looking for volunteers with power boats, rowboats, kayaks and paddleboarders who can be extra eyes on the water to ensure the safety of swimmers between Peachland and Rattlesnake Island. It is two races in one, with 3.1-kilometre and seven-kilometre swim options, said spokesman Jonathan Arkle (jonarkle@gmail.com).
The incentive: safety boats will be provided with food/drinks and a gas allowance, and may be assigned lifeguards. Plus, a pancake breakfast will be provided by the Peachland Lions Club following the race.
Volunteers will gather at Swim Bay in Peachland (beside the Peachland Yacht Club) at 6 a.m. on Saturday (or on the water in front of Swim Bay for those travelling down the lake from Kelowna. The swim begins at 7 a.m. and historically concludes at 10:30 a.m., with any remaining swimmers collected from the water.
“Yes, we are looking for volunteers with boats to help out with our (Kelowna) event this year. The date of our swim is July 15th. If anyone is interested in helping out, they can contact us at safetydirector@theacrossthelakeswim.com for more information,” safety director John Denney said in an email this week.
Kelowna’s annual Interior Savings Across The Lake Swim is the largest and longest continuously running open water swim event in the nation.
Swimmers complete a 2.1-kilometre swim from the Old Ferry Docks in West Kelowna to Hot Sands Beach in Kelowna's City Park.
The 2017 swim will have 10 waves (each with colourcoded caps), separating swimmers by their abilities to enhance safety and minimize congestion on the lake. The 120 swimmers with the fastest estimated times will be put into the first wave at 8 a.m. Waves will be separated by several minutes.
******** It turns out it isn’t easy to find Christie Falls, which is located on the west side of Okanagan Lake between Kelowna and Vernon. The Sheriff wrote about it recently, noting one of the direction signs had been removed. So ‘Big Al’ Stewart wrote in this week saying it is approximately 30 kilometres from the 0 kilometre mark of Bear Creek Forest Service Road.
“We recently did Christie Falls and I found that there wasn’t a decent description of how to get there online. We had to backtrack at least once. So we carefully wrote one up that you may wish to post. Many well-intentioned people have documented a route but each was lacking in its own way,” he told the Sheriff.
“Start by turning off Westside Road onto Bear Creek Forest Service Road (FSR). Turn right at the Kilometre 13 road marker onto Esperon FSR. Turn right onto Christie FSR at the Kilometre 24 road marker. Drive 2.9 kilometres on your odometer (1/2 kilometre past the Kilometre 27 road marker), then turn left. Stay on this road to the end - 2.1 kilometres on your odometer.
“The trail is in front of you. Hike through the ‘burn’ until you reach a clifftop, approximately 1/2 kilometre. If you walk a further 30 metres (100 feet), you will see the falls from the top. The trail turns straight down the cliff where you will rappel via ropes that are in place. Not for the weak or faint of heart! Be careful and enjoy!
“P.S. Some of the rappel rope sheaths are worn through and need to be replaced, but don’t bring ‘dollar-store’ rope. I re-tied one which was down to its last cord. Also hiking boots are a must; it is dangerous in running shoes or flipflops.”
Brian Sutch of Vernon, who wrote the Sheriff about who would be responsible for removing 35 dead/ burnt trees across the trail to Christie Falls, says:
“The instructions for driving to Christie Falls are on page 121 of Paul S. Phillips’ guidebook, Hiking in the Okanagan and the Southern Monashees. It is included in the Terrace Mountain description. Basically, when you reach the large reservoir on Esperon, you turn off Esperon onto Christie Main on the right at kilometre 23.1. At kilometre 27, there is a turn on the left that forks right and left almost immediately. Do not take that one. The turn to the Christie Falls trailhead is the next turn to the left. There used to be a small sign on his junction but it has been removed.”
******** You can delve into a bit of local history at the Gibson Heritage House in Kopje Regional Park on Carrs Landing Road in Lake Country.
Gibson House is open for tours from noon to 4 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday starting June 24 and continuing each weekend through August. Regional parks staff and volunteers will guide you through this 1912 heritage house which has been restored and refurnished through community donations.
For more information, go to: regionaldistrict.com/ parks, check out Your Guide to Regional Parks or contact the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan (EECO) at 250-469-6140.
******** There are more than 4,000 alien species in BC and each year that number grows. Many plant and animal species have moved to the Okanagan and a few have had negative impacts on the native species that are a part of our valley’s sensitive ecosystem.
Alien Invaders — Nasty or Nice? is on display until July 22 at the EECO in Mission Creek Regional Park, Springfield and Durnin roads. The EECO is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday.
J.P. Squire, aka the Hiking, Biking, Kayaking and Horseback Riding Sheriff, is an Okanagan Weekend reporter and an avid outdoors enthusiast. Email: jp.squire@telus.net.