Visitors this last week to one of the area’s most popular trails—the Murray Canyon Overlook—have been greeted by an unpleasant, but not unexpected surprise.
Last month, BC’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure put a gate at the start of the road into their Teepee Creek Gravel Pit, effectively blocking access to the trailhead.
Back in February, BC Sites and Trails had alerted the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society that the Ministry would probably be putting the gate in, but there was no timeline for when the gate would go in, nor was there any warning when it did go in.
The Murray Canyon Overlook trail was the first major trail building project for the WNMS 22 years ago, and remained one of the most popular trails in the area, even as new trails—to the Dinosaur tracks, to the Boulder Gardens, and many others—were also developed.
About ten years ago, the start of the trail—which followed a series of game trails through the forest to a ridge overlooking the Murray River Canyon—was logged by the Community Forest. While they left the trailbed mostly intact, a decision was made to move the trailhead to the Teepee Creek Gravel pit. A first attempt at re-routing the trail started in the gravel pit itself, but the trailhead was eventually moved to a smaller spur road off the access road to keep hikers and bikers out of the pit itself.
So, once again, WNMS was faced with a quandary: how to keep this popular hiking destination open while also navigating the needs of industry.
The club, says Charles Helm, who spearheaded the original trail building project, has always had a stellar relationship with industry. Indeed, most of the most spectacular destinations are only accessible because of industrial roads. One could even argue that the town itself is only here because of the coal mines.
Still, sometimes industrial activity impacts outdoor activities, and the club’s motto has always been to work with, not against, industry.
When the Trend mine opened, it meant that access to Quintette Peak was limited, and, later, when having private vehicles travelling along a mine haul road was deemed too dangerous, completely restricted. It also meant the Emperor’s Challenge had to be re-routed, and, a few years later, when the mine expanded, moved from Mount Roman to nearby Babcock Mountain, which is through Teck property, though access is still allowed while the mine is not operating.
Mining and forestry have caused trails to be shut down, but have also opened up access to new areas.
While the WNMS was investigating a few options that avoid the gravel pit, Helm says the best solution proved to be following the original route. “Enough boots trod that trail that a good trailbed remains, and a few hours of brush-cutter work was enough to re-open a workable route. Walking through a regenerating clearcut, after all, has its merits, especially if the destination is as spectacular as the Murray Canyon Overlook.”
He says the number of tourists visiting Tumbler Ridge nowadays and supporting the economy is testimony to the success of the volunteer-driven hiking trail network, which he calls one of the finest in Canada. “However, the reality of trying to create tourism opportunities involves accepting that in an industry-dominated environment other projects often seem to have a higher priority.”
The new old route passes through both a clearcut and a corner of the area that the Ministry of Transportation has allotted to the gravel pit. But members of the WNMS spoke to both the Community Forest and the Ministry to get permission to re-route the trail through this area.
While the trailhead signs are down for now, people can park at the pull-off just this side of the gravel pit road.
The signs will hopefully be moved to their new (and hopefully permanent) locations sometime in the next few months.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
