East Lake and Lang Creek Loop

Today Bruce and Ron cleared the East Lake and Lang Creek Loop. A fairly large amount of blowdown was all along the trail, but it's good to go now.

BOMB Squad Trail Activities

The following postings were submitted by Bruce and Ron who together with Bob have done the majority of the BS trail clearing since the November 12 storm.

November 13 Gallagher Hill to Tony Point
November 20/21 Lost Lake
November 23 up Sweetwater from Alaska Pine to Edges Way
November 27 Holly and Far Side trails
November 29 Centre Pier repair on Edges Way Bridge
December 6/7 Green Road from Edges Way to Alaska Pine at Larsens Landing
December 10 Haywire Bay to Tony Point on Tony's Trail
December 11 finished Toqenatch Trail which had also been cleared by Syd earlier
December 15 Gallagher Hill all finished
December 17 Gilpin Road to Cochrane Bay all finished
December 27 Haywire Bay to Lost Lake finished

Appleton Canyon (SCT)

Light snowfall while we cleared the Appleton Canyon Trail, from the gravel pit/parking lot at KM 6 of Tomkinson (Wilde) Road, to the old growth rec site, all the way up to biffy and out to the old McManus access trail at about KM 8. Trail is now in good condition, all deadfall gone.

Peter and Eagle

Trinket Trail

We hiked the entire Trinket Trail and the SCT connector from Southview Road. The trail is totally clear except for one downfall that was too big for our saw, however, you can climb over it very easily.

Peter and Eagle

Atrevida Loop, Wilde Loop, Appleton

Within the last two weeks we've cleaned out Atrevida Loop, Wilde Creek Loop, and the upper access trail to the Appleton Canyon biffy above the campsite and creek crossing. The lower end of Appleton Canyon from the gravel pit parking lot at KM 6 of Wilde Road up to the campsite along the creek has not been cleared yet according to our most recent information, although some one had gone through there in early November.
Eagle, Peter, Syd

Walt Hill Trail (SCT)

View north from Walt Hill in the Smith Range at the Walt Hilton Emergency Shelter. Dodd Lake in the Horseshoe Valley in the mid-distance with the Rainbow Range and Eldred Valley beyond. Road approach extremely eroded conditions with bolders in the middle of the road in some places. Oilpan assassins. The trail up to Walt Hill is in good condition. Last weekend there was snow up above the 1000m level - up to a foot near the top. Trail to Pentstemmon Bluff is clear. No ill effects of the recent hurricane strength winds in this area. Trail is well marked as it was cleared by the crew last month. Hike recommended.

Granite Lake Trail

Today we parked at the Y at Burma/Larson /Alaska Pine Roads. We parallel parked. We hiked up Burma road just a little ways and went in on the trail. We came to Spaghetti Junction and took the right hand fork which takes you on the Black Water Trail. We hiked along this trail until we got to the Hinogo Trail where we turned there and hiked along until we came to Plantation Road which we followed along until we came to the Granite Lake sign. We turned up here and hiked along to Granite Lake. There is a little bit of road walking as the trail comes out onto Granite Lake Road and then it is just a short hike to the Lake. The trail was clear, there were no blow downs. We returned via Edges Way and the bridge(see above) was not safe to go on as the high waters had washed out half the support for the bridge and it was resting on one side on some gravel and the other side had no support at all. Taking this way out brings you back to the Spaghetti Junction on the Sweetwater Trail. The day was beautiful, blue sky and sun. 23 people participated in this hike.

As an aside, there is a bike trail on Edges Way on Blackwater side on the lower trail that takes out to Spaghetti Junction.

Message from Eagle

We have roughed in the Tees Kwat Trail from the Wildwood Switchback to provide public access to the beach. We thank Catalyst for the permission to do that. You will find orchids along the way next spring. Please don't remove or touch. They are rare.

East Tinhat Mountain trail is looking very good and we will have a grand opening next summer. We need about another month of work after the snow melts next spring to widen and improve the trail near the summit. Also marking and signage needs to be completed.

Logging is about to start on the March Lake section of the SCT. We could not convince Western Forest Products not to log on the trail, but we did arrive at a compromise that left half of the historic railroad grade untouched, the other half will be re-established as trail post-harvest. Alternate access has been provided through another access trail for the time being. We will make a map of it available upon receipt from Western some time next week. The road building crews have begun their work in the area already, and the beginning and middle of the March Lake Trail are not accessible at this time.

14th Annual Marathon Shuffle (29 km)

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Participants in the Fourteenth Annual Marathon Shuffle will meet at 8 am on Saturday, April 28, at the Shinglemill parking lot on Powell Lake. There they will carpool and ride to the trailhead at Malaspina Road. At 8:30 am they will hike from the trailhead, back 29 kilometers to the Shinglemill on the well marked and signed Sunshine Coast Trail via Thunder Ridge, Toquenatch, Marathon, Appleton, Sliammon Lakes and Scout Mountain trail sections.

An alternate start for a shorter 21-kilometer hike begins an hour later at 9:30 a.m. at the Southview Road trail intersection three kilometers up from the highway. Over the last couple of months members of PR PAWS, the BOMB Squad, the Trinket Crew and the Powell River Hiking Club have diligently reconditioned, groomed and marked the trail. Members of these organizations will also provide refreshments at the road intersections.

In the past trekkers have taken between six to ten hours to complete the course. Trail runners will finish the distance in a shorter time. The trail is well marked, but hikers participate at their own risk. They need to be in good physical condition, carry raingear, food and sufficient water as well as good, comfortable boots.

This year we will have a cut-off time at the Wilde Road trail crossing. For safety reasons we will ask hikers to take a ride out to the Shinglemill if they arrive at Wilde (Tomkinson) Road after 12:00 noon.

Upon completion of their trek, participants are requested to sign out at the Shinglemill where refreshments will be available.

For more information, and to pre-register (free) call Eagle Walz at 604-483-9565 or email him at walz@shaw.ca. Donations for helping to defray mounting trail-clearing costs will be gratefully accepted, and tax-deductible receipts will be issued.

Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society 1992 (PRPAWS), Box 345, Powell River, BC, V8A 5C2

Wilde Creek Loop Trail

The loop trail is in very good shape except for a couple of wind-falls which are easy to by-pass.

Trail Bulletin #5

Hello All,

Bruce Macdonald of the BOMB Squad, who has taken on the task of updating the squad's trail clearing activities, writes:

"The bombsquad finished clearing Tony's Trail from Mowat Bay to Haywire Bay and Toquenatch from Southview Road to Okeover Inlet."

and also:

"Edge's Way Bridge to Alaska Pine Road; Hydro X-misson line to Fairview Bay.

Regards,
Bruce"

We sincerely thank the BOMB Squad for their vigorous contribution to keeping trails accessible to the public. A few more areas reclaimed from the effects of this winter's storms.

Cheers,

Eagle

Trail Update #4, 2007

Hello All,

I had a call from the BOMB Squad and can relay to you they have cleared out just about the complete Suicide Creek Trail, and Far Side Trail. Another day of clearing in the coming weeks and it will be completely done. Also they've gone over the SCT stretch from Wilde Road to Gentle David, and the Trinket Crew has also cleared there and on to Gibraltar.

The Trinket Crew has also come up from Southview Road onto the Trinket Trail as far as the Fairy Ring. They will be looking at doing some clearing of Len's Loop off the Okeover Trail, as well as carrying on with the Sliammon Lakes Trail.

Happy trails,

Eagle

Trail Update #1, 2007

Hello Everybody,

Update on the trails cleared out since the storms: The Hurtado Point Loop is now all cleared out. A lovely place to visit with great views. Other trails reported earlier as cleared: Mud Lake/Yew Trail Loop, Appleton Canyon,

We are working to open as many trails as we can. It would be very helpful to get reports back from all trail users, either telling us what's been cleared already by volunteers, and also what needs clearing yet. That way we can pass on the information to you for what is open, and concentrate on opening more that are currently littered with windfall.

It would make our job considerably easier to be able to pinpoint what needs to be done. This would eliminate wasting our limited time going out taking the chainsaws for a hike and finding a particular trail is already cleared. There are probably close to 400 km of trails in the area, and we don't know yet the extent of the damage to the trails, whether we have another West Coast Trail or Stanley Park situation. So please, if you've been out recently, or will become aware in the coming weeks of work that needs doing, or for that matter - not doing, let us know. It would really be a huge help.

We will post the information on Newsbulletins and you'll be able to head out to trails that are already cleared, instead of finding yourself trapped by blowdowns somewhere along the way.

Thank you. Happy trails.

Cheers,

Eagle