Exhaustion Sets In : Coryell to Christina Lake

Last night wasn't as peaceful as our stay at Tunnel Mountain, both because we could hear the roar of the highway across the valley all night, and because there were multiple large animals foraging in the trees behind the tent and walking down the gravel road beside us throughout the night.  Despite these nocturnal interruptions we realized how fortunate our camping site was after discovering that so much dew had settled in the night that water was dripping off the roof of the shelter.  Yet, our tent and the picnic table underneath were both gloriously dry, making us greatly appreciate the shelter and our choice of camping spot!

We headed out back onto the Trans Canada Trail slightly before 8:00 am, just as the sun was rising above the valley walls and turning the tip of Gladstone Mountain to gold. The gravel road skirted around the edge of the valley, far above the highway that snaked along below.  Ahead of us the valley opened up, layers of hills disappearing into the hazy distance.

About an hour after setting out on the C&W section of the Great Trail we crossed over the Snowslide Trestle bridge.  It was a very short bridge with a solid wood bed covered by a metal frame.  Despite being rather common place for a rail bridge, it nonetheless presented a bit of a mystery, at least to this particular city dweller.  There was a sign saying 'Use tires when crossing with tracked equipment' and at each end of the bridge there was a relatively large pile of mismatched, used tires.  I assume the tires were intended to protect the wooden bed of the bridge, which appeared to be completely unscathed by metal tracks.  However, I couldn't work out how the tires were to be used?

Not too long after crossing the trestle bridge we came to Lafferty.  Yesterday afternoon we debated whether or not to continue on to this spot to camp, but uncertainty about water availability made us decide against it.  There was a pit toilet, three picnic tables tucked into the trees, and several fire pits, which unfortunately were rather full of garbage.  There didn't seem to be any access to water, which made us glad we decided to stay put at Coryell.  In addition, the rest area was located right beside a logging road, and the area adjacent to it had been cleared, with large piles of slash left behind.

There was an information station at Lafferty, but it was empty.  However, as we continued on we spotted several sets of old stone foundations tucked into the treed slope, as well as several galvanized steel chutes that looked like they could have been used during the gold rush.  Perhaps they were.  We've really enjoying learning about the local history along this trail, and in the areas where it is missing, or yet to be provided, we feel like we've missed out.  It really made us appreciate all the hard work that is being done along the C&W to share the recent history of this area.

We continued to follow the gravel road along the side of the forested valley though the clear, warm, sunny morning.  Treed slopes rose steeply on one side, and there was a huge drop on the other.  In some places we passed rock slides, and at one point we passed a large boulder sitting smack in the centre of the road.  This trail is so well maintained that we figured it must have fallen very recently.  Sure enough, about 30 seconds after we passed it, we heard and felt a rock shift somewhere on the slope above us.  It was a very unnerving sound, leaving us with the urgent thought 'we must walk quicker!'

We were walking beside a shear wall of rock that was covered in a thick layer of moss.  As we nervously looked up, wondering if anything else was going to come plummeting down the slope, we realized that while humans use wire mesh to keep rocks from falling on roads, nature uses moss to hold loose rocks in place.  It seems like such a soft and pliable material, and yet it provides a base for plants and trees to grow up, ultimately strengthening and holding very steep slopes in place.

After our conversation with the president of the C&W yesterday, we had been thinking a lot about the maintenance challenges involved in keeping this trail open.  We were kind of startled to see a sign saying 'Caution, highway below, do not push rock or debris over the edge for the next 150 m.'  Although this seemed kind of obvious, on another level it represented the very real challenges inherent in keeping this trail open.  It made us pause and say a silent 'thank you' to all the people who dedicate their time to making this trek possible through their trail building efforts.

Not too long after this we got our first views of the deep blue waters of Christina Lake stretching out below us.  This lake was named after a Métis woman named Christina McDonald, who was the daughter of the Hudson's Bay Company chief, Angus McDonald of Fort Colvile (1852-1871).  The lake is about 18 km long, and because the region experiences very hot, dry summers the water temperatures reach about 23°C during July and August.  As a result, it is known as the warmest tree-lined lake in British Columbia.

Around noon we came to an information plaque stating we were at the place where Baker Station used to be located.  It was originally a water stop for passing trains, but it was soon relocated 2.5 km west to Fife, which had a more reliable water source during the dry season.  We didn't find any available water there as we passed either.

As the railway was being constructed along the hillside east of Christina Lake a very promising seam of ore was discovered. A mining boom followed, and the seam was so rich that claims were staked from the mouth of Baker Creek at Christina Lake right up to the headwaters atop Shamrock Mountain.  Small scale operations continued for several years, but ultimately no large-scale mining operations were started in the Baker Creek watershed.

According to the information plaque, another unsolved murder occurred near that spot. The body of an Italian railway worker, Donato Cassato, was found in the snow at the side of the road.  Apparently he had announced that he was headed back to Italy, and he had been killed for the money he had on him for the passage home.  It seems his murder went unsolved.

As we progressed along the shore of Christina Lake far below we could see that it was lined with cottages and homes. It has been a popular recreational spot for vacationing, fishing, swimming, and other activities since the 1890's, when the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway resulted in a number of town sites being established around the lake. During Prohibition it became a favourite destination of American tourists from northeast Washington, who travelled north to enjoy the saloons and dance halls.

In addition to its prohibition era legacy, during WWII approximately 100 Japanese people were held in an internment facility in Christina Lake.  They were interned at what is now the Alpine Inn at English Point.  After the war when restrictions were lifted, many Japanese families apparently chose to settle in the area.

From English Point to Fife we walked along the shore of the lake, still high above the water but steadily descending as we went.  We enjoyed stunning views of the lake and the surrounding mountains, which were sun soaked and layered.  As we progressed, we began to notice a change in the landscape.  The soil felt more sandy, the hills were covered in pine, and the cool dampness of the forested slopes on either side of the trail was replaced with a hot, dryness that smelled of late summer.

A particular highlight in this stretch was coming across a North American Racer.  This smooth, 1.5 ft long snake was stretched out across the trail in the sun.  It looked almost iridescent, appearing to be a soft blue-green where it folded outwards, and a tan brown where it's folds bent inwards.  This species of racer is nonvenomous, fast moving, and feeds mostly on rodents, frogs, toads, and lizards, and other snakes.  We were intrigued to see that it had a black tongue, prompting us to wonder whether tongue colour has any purpose for snakes.  A quick bit of Googling produced no concrete answer to this question, so for now we have no scientific explanation to this intriguing question.

As the morning progressed we approached the spot where Fife was marked on our maps. The trail maps on the kiosks had suggested that Fife was located at km 76.8, but this distance had looked too short to us.  Sure enough, when we reached the spot where it was supposed to be, we found only the Lafferty Link 1 3/4, which looked like a logging road that crossed the pathway.  It wasn't until km 82 that we came to the trail head at Fife.  There was a picnic table, a pit toilet, a small, red, wooden station building, and an information plaque. This rest stop was also located right where Fife Rd crossed the trail, just beside a small hobby farm with a few horses and a small orchard.

The community of Fife, which was originally known as Sutherland Siding, is located just east of Christina Lake.  It was a regular water stop for steam locomotives and passenger services, and it had a 17-car storage siding.  The town included a post office, a general store, a school, a pole yard, and a lime quarry. One of the most debated pieces of history surrounding Fife is where it got its name from.  One possibility is the Duke of Fife, Alexander Duff, who married Princess Louise, daughter of King Edward VII.  Another is William H. Fife, who had mining interests in the area around Rossland.  Finally, some speculate it was named after the Fife family from Scotland, who designed and built yachts, some of which were used in the American Cup races. As with so much history – even recent history – the precise account of names and events has become obscured with the passage of time.

 

 

After taking a short break in the shade at the Fife rest stop we crossed the road and continued on towards Christina Lake. The final kilometres of trail into town took on a different feel - more like a municipal trail.  Motorized vehicle use was prohibited, and the trail became a narrower pathway.  At first it was a flat, crushed stone dust trail bordered by a tunnel of pines, but soon it became rockier, with a section of railway ballast that was more difficult to walk on.  Despite this, we met quite a few other trail users in this section, hiking, cycling, walking their dogs, and pausing at the viewpoints to admire the sparkling waters of Christina Lake down below.

This area is part of a region inhabited by the Sinixt First Nation, known as the Arrow Lakes People, who are an Interior Salish People.  Their territory stretched roughly from the Monashee Mountains to Kootenay Lake, and from Revelstoke to northeast Washington.  Age-old pictographs from this First Nation can be found along the northeast shore of Christina Lake, but sadly they can only be accessed by boat.

The C&W Rail Trail unfortunately doesn't actually go into the town of Christina Lake, but rather continues around it to Cascade.  However, when we got to Santa Rosa Rd we diverted off the trail and into town, picking up the Christina Lake Trail about half way down the road.  Although we are now racing the colder, wetter weather of winter, and unnecessary stops are a luxury we can ill afford, we are spending tomorrow in Christina Lake.

For one thing, we just realized that this coming Monday is Thanksgiving.  We have a re-supply package waiting for us in Midway, which we are now scheduled to walk into on Saturday evening.  Of course, the post office there won't be open until Tuesday morning.  We debated whether to simply walk past it, and continue on.  However, Sean has been trying without any luck to replace his shoes since before Kimberley, and he has now walked right through the bottoms of them. Duct tape and Goop are no longer enough to keep them together, and we have not located any replacements in the next 200-300 km.  As a result we must now “waste” three days to ensure that we can continue on at all.

For another thing, as I write this, our laptop has just given up as a result of the latest Microsoft update.  It took with it all the photo editing work Sean has done this year - hundreds of hours of work.  Sean's broken finger and dinged up elbow have yet to completely heal, and he is still struggling with a camera lens (which is only 4 months old) whose auto focus has ceased.  In addition to which given that this hike has taken two years longer than expected, and with the cost of travel having nearly doubled since Covid restrictions were lifted this past spring, we no longer have the financial ability to replace any of the broken equipment we are relying on.  To top it off, our outreach efforts have recently taken a hit when we were placed under review and suspended for up to 3 months from posting on Facebook.  Apparently there have been complaints that our posts are spam and that they misrepresent the trail system we are walking on.  Sharing what we've learned about the amazing places and wildlife that exist in this country in order to inspire people to explore, experience, and engage with nature themselves continues to be a large part of our motivation for this hike.  Being actively prevented from pursuing this goal so close to the end of our east-west journey makes us question whether this goal may simply be unsuited to these times.

Sometimes it seems that nothing goes right and that the twists of fate have turned against you.  Today feels as though we have hit a wall and it has taken much of the wind from our sails.

After completing today’s venture, we have now walked more than 12,500 km from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, and it feels like we have nothing left with which to complete the final 30 days, 600 km, and four mountain ranges that lie between us and the Pacific Ocean.  We can only hope that a couple days off waiting for the post office to re-open after the holiday will help restore a little energy and a more positive mindset, if nothing else.

See you on the trail!

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