Some trails still open, use at your own risk
The situation with the coronavirus is changing so fast that it’s difficult to write a column for The Okanagan Weekend.
At 9 a.m. March 20 Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre announced it was closing at the end of the day. And last Saturday, Baldy Mountain Resort announced it would close for the season on Sunday.
So here we go again, as of Thursday. . .
The Recreation Sites and Trails BC ordered all cross-country ski facilities to close on Tuesday. So Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club is now officially closed.
In a strange move, the province said that the trails may not be groomed or maintained but people could still use them.
So the good news is that trails are still open for skiing and snowshoeing. However, there won’t be any grooming, cabins are closed, carparks will not be maintained, the conditions page on the website will not be updated daily and all use is at your own risk.
“Conditions are still good right now but we notice the classic tracks are disappearing. Skaters and snowshoers will do better. Those who use Kallis (Creek forest service road parking lot) should walk up a bit as the first bit may be icy. Dogs may go anywhere,” said president Ryland Garton mid-week.
“The Summit parking lot entrance gate will be locked to prevent theft by those who may know we won’t be around. The Kallis and main cabin entrances will be accessible but not plowed if there is new snow. We had a record 519 members this year which is up approximately 28%.”
Sovereign Lake was planning to stay open with reduced lodge hours, less seating, no tables and credit/debit cards only, but “too many non-locals were coming to our facility because of promotions from outside sources,” said GM Troy Hudson.
“We had over 500 people each day Tuesday through Friday. This, unfortunately, led to too many people congregating in the parking lots and adjacent to the lodge, not heeding government-mandated restrictions and not staying in their own communities.”
Sovereign typically sees more injuries in the spring due to changing weather conditions and spring freeze-melt. Then add larger-thannormal crowds.
“We did not want to put our firstaid teams at risk, nor did we wish to add to the soon-to-be-overburdened hospitals and health care system. We had a mild head injury incident March 20 that placed our staff and that individual at risk by sending him to emerg. Those are just a few of the reasons we made the decision to close our doors. It was not easy,” said Hudson.
Telemark Nordic Centre in West Kelowna is now closed. “We are no longer grooming but there is still lots of snow, and skiing and snowshoeing is still good,” said general manager Mike Edwards on Wednesday. “Best time to ski is in the late morning to mid-afternoon when the trails have softened.”
Nickel Plate Nordic Centre in the South Okanagan closed at the end of the day on Sunday.
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The Regional District of North Okanagan has now closed all of its playgrounds, and the parking lot and washrooms at the Greater Vernon Athletic Park (the track remains open).
The Okanagan Rail Trail remains open after 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends, but active construction is still occurring at the north end between KM 2.5 to KM 12 during the day on weekdays.
The Kickwillie Loop parking lot has been closed by the District of Coldstream to encourage social distancing and RDNO has removed the porta-potties since they cannot be disinfected between each use. That step was taken after BC Parks closed the washrooms at Kekuli Bay Provincial Park.
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The Regional District of Central Okanagan has suspended access to all play structures in its regional and community parks. However, the RDCO continues to provide regular maintenance and operations for its 30 regional and 20 community parks. Information is available anytime online at: rdco.com/pickapark.
While regional parks remain open with visitors encouraged to physically distance themselves as they connect with nature, anyone with an interest in the outdoors is welcome to apply to join the RDCO Volunteers in Parks program, said Bruce Smith, RDCO communications officer.
“In light of public health directives to keep everyone safe, Parks VIPs are not actively engaging in parks. However, applications are still being accepted from those who would like to participate in the future. Training for successful applicants will be scheduled once the public health challenges are past.”
You can learn more about the Volunteers in Parks program at: rdco.com/parksVIP. Last year, Parks VIPs contributed more than 2,100 hours of service to enhance the experience of visitors in the 30 regional parks in the Central Okanagan.
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The Central Okanagan Outdoors Club has also cancelled all of its hiking, biking and other activities. “The reality is that our age bracket is at a higher risk and none of us would feel good about spreading this to others,” said member Devon Brooks.
“We will send out a notice at the beginning of every month when the club would have met about our status because, in these times, reaching out, if only electronically, is a good thing.”
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Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club has cancelled its April 14 monthly meeting and popular pool sessions at the Johnson-Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre. Members are reminded to renew their annual membership at kckc.ca by Tuesday to get the $25 early-bird rate and continue to receive email updates. The next scheduled meeting is May 12, subject to change.
The KCKC calendar still has Fintry Provincial Park campout No. 1 on June 19-22 and Fintry campout No. 2 on Aug. 14-17 with more info to follow in the weeks ahead.
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Although mountain buttercups are out in the Okanagan, Brian Sutch of Vernon Outdoors Club has yet to see any ticks in the North Okanagan. “I have only seen one tick since moving from Penticton in 2013. Compared to Penticton where they were an almost regular occurance on hikes, not to mention certain areas where you knew beforehand you would definitely get ticks, Vernon is almost devoid of ticks,” he said this week.
However, Anthoney Chiew in Penticton, told Sutch that hikers have already seen ticks around the Penticton area. “Anthoney is in the Penticton SAR (Search and Rescue) and is an old hiking/canoeing buddy. We did the Bowron (Lakes Chain) a couple of times together, once with our sons,” said Sutch.
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Brad Wright will serve another term as president after Friends of the South Slopes elected a 2020 board of directors at its recent annual general meeting.
Daphne Richard is vice-president, Isabel Pritchard is temporary secretary, Pete Spencer is treasurer, and Teresa MacKenzie, Gord Detta, Jane Blamire, Milt Stevenson, Cam Kourany and Alan Milnes are directors. New members Kourany and Milnes are active South Slopes’ recreational users.
The board recognized outgoing members, Jennifer Molgat and Stan Valnicek, for their many contributions and involvement.
At the AGM, Wright reviewed activities undertaken during the past year and reported on the creation of a “trail maintenance coordinator’s” position and the work already undertaken in this regard.
He also emphasized the continuing efforts being made to fulfill the vision of having a continuous trail system from the Mission Creek Greenway/KLO Creek Regional Park all the way to Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.