Along the Ribs of a God : Cranbrook to Kimberley

Even though Cranbrook boasts that it has more hours of sunshine than any other city in British Columbia, when we woke up this morning it was cold and raining.  It made us appreciate the good weather we've been having all the more, but we had a pretty late start, hoping we could wait out the rain. As it turned out, for the third time in a row, the 30% chance of rain indicated by the Weather Network translated into a solid day of rain.  It isn't the first time statistics have let me down!

We left Cranbrook on the North Star Rails 2 Trails section of the Trans Canada Trail, which is a 28 km long paved cycling path that connects Cranbrook to Kimberley.  This highly developed trail is open year around for hiking, biking, roller blading, skate boarding, Nordic skiing, and snowshoeing.  It offers frequent and detailed maps and signage, washrooms, benches, bicycle repair stations, wooden benches with fantastic views, and even a covered picnic area!  Although we are never quite sure if kilometre markers are a blessing or a curse, distances are marked along the entire length every 1/4 kilometre.  Now that is dedication to accuracy!

The rail bed that this trail follows was still frequented by trains as recently as 2003.  For more than 100 years it had been used to bring supplies from the main rail hub in Cranbrook to Kimberley, and to transport lead and zinc from the North Star and Sullivan mines in Kimberley back to Cranbrook, which had rail connections to Golden, Trail, the US, and the Pacific Coast.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was routed to Cranbrook in 1898, and people flooded in to the growing community to work on the railways, staff the mines, and start new businesses.  In 1903 the provincial government offices moved from Fort Steele to Cranbrook, causing Fort Steele to fade into history.  As demand for lumber grew, many new sawmills sprung up in the surrounding communities.  The line remained busy until the 1920's when lumber shortages began to cause mills to close, and by the late 1960's improved regional roads brought an end to the passenger rail service as well.  In 2001 the Sullivan Mine closed, and by 2006 the CPR began decommissioning the railway line. In 2010 the North Star Rail Trail opened for public use taking another section of the TCT off regional roadways.

Setting out this morning we began by following the paved Rotary Trail through Cranbrook, traversing neighbourhoods, crossing the main highway, and then skirting around Home Depot and an area of construction.  From there we followed the paved cycling route along a treed slope that ran alongside an active railway line and behind a row of car part, tool supply, and other businesses that typically occur on the outskirts of towns.  From there we wound our way around the Wildstone Golf Course and came to the first trailhead for the North Star Rail Trail, complete with a map, a washroom, garbage can, and bicycle repair station.

We set off down the treed corridor in a light rain.  As we trekked along, walking parallel to a paved highway, we passed the first of several handmade wooden kilometre markers that line the path.  This one showed kilometre 24.5, and had a carved American red squirrel perched on top.  Later on we passed a marker with a grouse sitting on top, and another one with an owl.  The Six Mile Crossing featured a painted turtle.  We really enjoyed the creative vibe these hand carved signs added to the trail!

It was raining quite hard as we made our way down the forested corridor, walking around the Shadow Mountain Golf Course and eventually coming to a lovely wooden bench with a view out over the St. Mary's River valley.  We could see a small development of homes below, clustered around a small pond. A long, straight, highway bridge was visible above the conifers in the valley, and a backdrop of layered, misty blue mountains completed the beautiful scenery.  Several benches were placed to enjoy the view, and they were accompanied by interpretive sings explaining the complicated and fascinating geology of the Cranbrook area.

Just after kilometre 19 we came to another lookout point which to our delight featured a covered picnic table that had been constructed by the 2020 carpentry class at the College of the Rockies.  We jumped at the chance to take a break and get out of the rain for a few minutes!

At this rest area there was an interpretive panel outlining the creation story of the Ktunaxa People.  Part of this legend indicates that the ribs of the monster that was killed prior to the creation of the human races became the hoodoos that are located throughout the Rocky Mountain Trench.  From this lookout point we could see some of the clay cliffs that are located along the river valley, and the hoodoos that have formed along them. 

We could also see the Little Cliffs Buttes that are located just above Wycliffe.  These twin clay buttes were used by Ktunaxa hunters who drove game into the valley between them, making it easier to overcome.

Not too long after leaving the covered picnic table and the viewpoint the paved cycling path descended to a footbridge over the St. Mary's River, right at the edge of Wycliffe.  This wide, shallow, fast-moving river originates in the Purcell Mountains, on the eastern border of the Trench, and joins the larger Kootenay River near Fort Steele.

According to the interpretive panels at the edge of Wycliffe, the community was founded in 1902 by Otis Staples.  He bought a 295 acre homestead and opened what would become one of the best equipped sawmills in British Columbia.  It included a machine shop, engine house, boiler room, a planer building, and a mill house.  By 1910 the mill was producing 40 million feet of lumber annually, and by 1914 over 300 men were employed there and over 1000 people lived in the area.

Sadly, Otis Staples died eight short years later of meningitis, contracted as the result of accidentally getting a fish hook caught in his eye. His son took over the mill, but the economic downtown of the Great Depression, lumber shortages, and a fire in the mill caused the operation to close down by 1930.  For a while during Prohibition Otis' son, Elmore smuggled liquor inside hay shipments coming from the US to make ends meet, but ultimately Wycliffe never recovered from the loss of the mill.  As we walked past it today, little was left apart from a small group of homes and small farms scattered throughout the picturesque valley.

After Wycliffe the rail trail began to climb steeply enough for us to feel it.  Soon we had pulled up high enough to enjoy gorgeous views down to Wycliffe Flats below us.  A small group of Turkey Vultures was circling above the forested river valley, and the rough calls of a Common Raven echoed across it. A Great Blue Heron took flight from the rocky shoals of the river meandering along below us, and we spotted a group of nine elk grazing on the edge of the river.  There was one male with quite an impressive set of antlers, while the rest were females or youngsters.

In this stretch it wasn't only the wildlife that caught our attention.  A very talented artist had left colourful and creative rock art at the benches and a few other strategic locations along the trail, which we very much enjoyed finding.

The paved cycling trail continued to climb, curving around the valley and offering beautiful views of the forested slopes of the Purcell Mountains. Eventually we found ourselves in the Wycliffe Prairie, walking along beside the highway once more.  The tall, golden grasses of the prairie stood out against the dark stands of ponderosa pines, and the soft blues of the mountains beyond.  They also brought warmth to the overcast day.

We were delighted to see that many of the fence posts along the trail supported bluebird homes, placed there by the Rocky Mountain Naturalists.  In that stretch we also spotted two Western Meadowlarks posed along the wire fences in the fields.  We haven't seen these brightly coloured grassland birds since leaving the prairies, so this was quite exciting.

Another point of interest as we crossed the Wycliffe Prairie was a long interpretive sign that identified the peaks we could see in the Hughes Range of the Canadian Rockies across the open landscape.  I always enjoy learning more about what we're seeing.

After this the trail took us back into a long forested corridor.  By this point the rain had let up a little, and we were soon passed by several groups of cyclists.  This was the first indication that we were approaching the community of Marysville.  This was an exciting waypoint for us, because there were two cafés located on the trail in the town, where we were hoping to stop for refreshments.  However, both cafés closed at 3 pm, and with our late start and then the continued rain, we weren't sure we would arrive before closing.

We sped down the paved cycling trail, through the rain soaked coniferous forest, finally reaching the Bootleg Gap Golf Course at the edge of Marysville.  Happily, we were in time, and we took a much appreciated break at the Koffee Kan.  The café was warm, cozy, and smelled of baked products, all of which looked delicious.  We finally settled on coffees, cookies, and grilled cheese sandwiches, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Feeling much encouraged by our delicious meal, we followed the trail through town to the Marysville Ecopark.  This small urban green space featured several wooden picnic tables surrounded by a school of large, bronze, westslope cutthroat trout.  The art exhibit was called 'Coming Home' and was created by the Dragon's Rest Working Studios and Gallery.

At Marysville the Trans Canada Trail offered two options for reaching Kimberley.  We could have stayed on the North Star Rails to Trails path, which diverted above and around the town without coming into it.  Alternatively, we could divert into the town for refreshments and then walk the final 7 km to Kimberley on the Mark Creek Trail.  Obviously, we chose the latter option.

The Mark Creek Trail began at the ecopark, wove through an interesting neighbourhood of small, unique, homes and gardens, and then wound along beside Mark Creek.  Yellow signs along the wide, crushed stone dust trail indicated that it was provided courtesy of TeckCominco, the owner of the mines in Kimberley, and the company my father spent 35 years working for.  Today our trek really was made possible by Cominco, in more ways than one!

We followed the forested river valley, walking under a canopy of very tall, mature conifers and deciduous trees.  The clear, fast-flowing waters of Mark Creek bubbled and sang beside us, following a bed of colourful, rounded stones.  Periodically we passed benches along the shore with lovely views of the stream.

The Mark Creek Trail was very pleasant, and a wonderful place to quietly connect with nature.  However, by this point we were pretty wiped out, and really just wanted to reach Kimberley and get out of our wet shoes.  We have walked just over 4,000 km since last spring, and the mileage is starting to take its toll, especially carrying heavier packs with enough food to last 4-5 days between resupply points, and covering more challenging mountain terrain.  We still have about 1,400 km to cover this season, but it is definitely becoming more difficult now, as we get increasingly worn out.

We climbed steadily towards Kimberley, eventually passing a mountain bike area, and a skate board park, before emerging into the neighbourhoods at the edge of the town.  The community of Kimberley has a population of nearly 7,500 people, and it is a tourist destination that offers world-class skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, fishing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, biking, and hiking, as well as golfing on several championship golf courses.  It is also home to the Kimberley Nature Park, which is the largest urban park in Canada. 

Although it branded itself as the Bavarian City of the Rockies to attract tourists, Kimberley had its origins in mining. In 1896 it was named after the Kimberley Mine in South Africa.  From 1917 to 2001 it was home to the Sullivan Mine, which was the largest lead-zinc mine in the world.  The underground mine produced primarily lead, zinc, silver, and tin from a mineral deposit that was formed 1470 million years ago during the late Precambrian period.  The deposit was discovered in 1892 and acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway owned Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (later Cominco Ltd and Teck Cominco).  Ore extraction techniques developed at the Sullivan Mine in 1916 was eventually used worldwide for extracting different ore bodies, and over its 92 year lifetime the Sullivan Mine produced over 160 million tons of ore.

When we arrived in the downtown core of Kimberley we found a charming main street lined with many boutique stores, art galleries, outdoor and sporting goods stores, cheese shops, and restaurants.  Many of the businesses had Austrian styled facades, and a large cuckoo clock overlooked the main street, which was a brick thoroughfare that was closed to cars.  Art exhibits, wooden benches, flower boxes, and even a fountain lined the quiet street.

We anticipate that our next few days on the trail will be challenging ones as we follow a logging road over the Gray Creek Pass in the Purcell Mountains.  This is the highest point on the Trans Canada Trail in BC, and we will need to carry 4-5 days of supplies.  In anticipation of this challenge, we decided to book a hotel room in order to rest up, clean off, catch up, and resupply. 

When we finally arrived at the Larix Hotel, we had a huge surprise.  It is located in a heritage building, and as we approached we saw 'Cominco' written on the front.  The building used to be the head office of the mine, and when my father worked for Comino he frequently used had his office here.  Inside the chic, boutique hotel there are historical black and white photos of the mine, the town, and the hotel and a library with more historical information. 

After enjoying a delicious meal of salad and pizza that at no point in its history had ever been frozen, we are looking forward to a warm, dry, relaxing night.  Although I've heard stories of the mines at Kimberley and Trail all my life, I never dreamed I would be staying in their old offices.  It really is a small world sometimes!

 

See you on the trail!

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