Groups explore idea of cross-border trail

A cross-border hiking trail linking B.C. and Washington state is proposed by a group of recreation enthusiasts. Members of the Trail of the Okanagans Society hope to see the hiking and cycling trail connecting Osoyoos, B.C., and Oroville, Wash. While trail networks are expanding on both sides of the border, there’s no current connection between the two countries. There isn’t even much awareness on either side of trail developments in the other country. “The people in the Okanogan (U.S. spelling), and the people in the Okanagan are doing the same work, but they don’t even know each other,” said Arnie Marchand of Oroville. “I want to set up a face-to-face meeting to bring people together so we can start communicating,” said Marchand, an Indigenous leader in Oroville. The idea of a cross-border path came up at a recent meeting of the International Indigenous Tourism Conference in Kelowna. An international trail network could be developed along abandoned railway lines around Oroville, providing access to ghost towns like the former mining settlement of Molson, says Don Gemmell, president of the Trail of the Okanagans Society. Of course, the trail would have to connect to the existing border crossing on Highway 97 so users could legally travel between the countries, Gemmell notes. In related hiking news, efforts to promote better public access along the old Fur Brigade Trail between Summerland and Peachland are stalled because the relevant provincial authorities have yet to give their permission for the project, Gemmell says. “At the very least, we’d like to put in seven wayÀnding signs, every 500 metres or so, so people don’t get lost when using the trail, but we can’t even get approval for that,” he said. Several years ago, the Central Okanagan regional district indicated a willingness to spend $100,000 on improving the rough-hewn trail, created several thousand years ago by Indigenous people. But the regional district hasn’t yet acquired a licence of occupation that would enable the project to move forward, Gemmell said.