Bailing Wire and Twine : Hydraulic Lk through Myra Canyon

The Hydraulic Lake Recreation Site is at 1,260 m elevation and as a result the temperature dropped well below freezing last night.  It was a cold night, and a very chilly morning as I waited for the ice to melt in order make our morning coffee.  The water finally reached a reasonable degree of warmth to make the oatmeal, but when I went to do the washing up, ice formed in the cups, pots, and around my fingers before I could even finish rinsing the dishes off.  Brrr.

Slowly we packed up, shaking as much of the ice off the tent as possible and taking frequent breaks to warm up in the small patches of sunshine that were beginning to shine through the tall conifers around the campsite.  Thankfully, it was another gorgeous, clear October morning, the lake lying still and perfectly reflecting the strong blue of the cloudless sky above.  With rain and possibly snow in the forecast for the weekend, we appreciate the unseasonably warm and dry weather we've been enjoying even more.

Eventually we set out, following the sandy bed of the Kettle Valley Rail Rail segment of the Trans Canada Trail out of the campground and along the edge of the lake.  Across the water we could see dark green forested slopes rising up, the golden crown of a single trembling aspen standing out as an individual accent on the far shore.

The trail passed between a large lake and a small pond, and we were pleased to spot a small flock of Killdeer foraging along the rocky shores of the smaller waterbody.  A group of Ring-necked Ducks paddled slowly along in the smooth waters as well, leaving behind a gentle wake.

As we left Hydraulic Lake behind the trail levelled off, finally bringing the 50 km long climb up from Beaverdell, begun yesterday, to an end.  We also passed out of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary and into the Regional District of Okanagan-Similakeem.  By the early afternoon the shift into a new eco-region was evident, but from the end of Hydraulic Lake we continued down our forested tunnel trees, as yet unaware of the magnificent sights that awaited us farther along.

Although the trail was posted as being for non-motorized users only, it was clear that ATV usage in this section was heavy.  The trail bed was quite sandy, and in a few sections it had been deeply churned up by vehicle traffic.  There were even the remains of an old, burnt out and shot up car on the side of the trail.  However, despite the evident signs of motorized usage, we were left undisturbed as we made our way through the quiet, sunny morning.

Slightly after noon the views beside us began to open up, and suddenly we could see the outskirts of Kelowna and the waters of Okanagan Lake in the smoke filled valley below us. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word kiʔláwnaʔ which refers to the male grizzly bear.  The Okanagan Valley was first inhabited by the Syilx Peoples around 9,000 years ago.  David Stuart was the first documented European to arrive in the area in 1811, but it wasn't until 1859 that the Roman Catholic Oblate missionary, Father Pandosy, became the first European to settle there. Kelowna is now the province's third largest metropolitan area (after Vancouver and Victoria).

Kelowna is located on the shores of Okanagan Lake, a fjord lake that was carved out by repeated glaciations to be 135 km long and 4 - 5 km wide.  During the early days of settlement, the lack of roads in the region made the lake a natural corridor for passenger travel and freight.  The Canadian Pacific Lake and River Service was the main carrier on the lakes, providing connections between Penticton, on the Kettle Valley Railway, Okanagan Lake Landing (Vernon), on the CPR Mainline at Sicamous, as well as small communities around the lake.

As we walked we could see the towers of downtown Kelowna rising up on the shores of the lake far below us, the graceful arches of a long white bridge that spanned the lake, connecting Kelowna to Kelowna West, and a cluster of white sailboats out on the lake's deep blue waters.  Even from a distance we could see the valley was a grassy, desert environment, dominated by brown and reddish hills, blond grasses, and fragrant sage brush.  What we could see of the valley through the smoke was incredibly beautiful, and unlike anything we'd seen yet in British Columbia.

Just after noon we emerged into one of the parking lots for Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park and the Myra Canyon Trestles.  It was a gorgeous, sunny, warm Sunday afternoon, and we were somewhat dismayed to see that the overflow parking was jam packed.  Indeed, there were over 100 cars in the parking lot, and more pouring in as we made our way across to the trailhead at the far end.

The historic Myra Canyon section of the Kettle Valley Railway is considered to be the crown jewel of the Trans Canada Trail in British Columbia, and possibly in the entire country.  Prior to the forest fires of 2003, around 50,000 people from all over the world hiked and cycled through the picturesque, horse-shoe shaped Myra Canyon annually on the KVR.

Under the direction of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Chief Engineer Andrew McCulloch, the railway line was laid out along the steep-walled rocky canyon in the early 1900's. In the end, the chosen route required construction of 18 trestles and two tunnels in the 12 km stretch of railway around Myra Canyon.  Construction of this engineering marvel was completed in 1914, and CPR operated a passenger service through there between 1915 and 1964, and brought freight through from 1915 to 1973. 

After the railway was abandoned the steel rails were removed in 1980.  However, the 16 wooden and two steel trestles that spanned the creeks and cuts in the impressive canyon were left behind as a legacy to the visionaries who created the one-of-a-kind transportation route.  Although it was unsafe to do so at the time, people still came to cycle, hike, and visit the unmaintained trestles. 

In 1990 the province purchased the rail corridor from the CPR, and in 1993, after the death and personal injury of multiple people falling off the trestles, the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society was formed.  They were instrumental in upgrading the trestles, installing 1.2 m high hand rails, and a 1 m wide board walkway across each of them to prevent people falling off.  Over two years, the society collected donations of thousands of meters of lumber, around 80,000 nails, and organized over 10,000 hours of volunteer labour.  From families to corporations, the community came together to restore and create a safe walking and cycling corridor 1,250 m above Kelowna.

In 2004 the Myra Canyon section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail was designated as a National Historic Site.  It is considered that the trestles of Myra Canyon provide an excellent example of an outstanding Canadian engineering achievement.  Engineers used conventional technologies in ingenious ways to construct the railway through rugged, mountainous terrain, creating a vital all-Canadian link between the West Coast and the Interior of British Columbia thereby completing one of the central promises of national confederation.  

Crossing off the trail and into a large parking lot we trekked into a massive crowd of other people, full of anticipation for the coming attractions.  We passed a large map of the canyon at the gate, and soon came to a stone post with the 1 km marker on it.  The fancy distance signage continued to mark our progress for the next 12 km, when we reached Ruth Station.  We also began passing frequent benches, all of which provided fantastic views out over the canyon.

As with many popular and well-travelled sections of the Trans Canada Trail, the crushed stone dust pathway was wide and level, and we were pleased to see that it was actually wheelchair accessible.  The stone sides of the canyon rose up on one side of us, and a steep drop with no protective fencing fell away on the other.  Needless to say that while many cyclists and children played along and posed for photographs on the edges of these steep descents Sean took refuge closer to the firm rock wall opposite striving to avoid looking downward.  We could see down the canyon to Kelowna and West Kelowna around 900 m below us, just visible in the hazy distance.  Closer around us, the forested slopes of the canyon, which were beautifully accented with the yellows, golds, and oranges of fall plunged steeply down into the ravine below us.

As we made our way along, evidence of past forest fires became increasingly evident in the tall, charred trunks that still adorned the rocky hillsides, and in the new, vigorous, regenerating saplings that were beginning to blanket the slopes.  A short distance in, we came to a large roofed kiosk which explained some of the history of the region and provided some very impressive photos.

In 2003, a bolt of lightning struck a tree near Squally Point in Okanagan Mountain Park.  An extremely dry summer combined with high winds caused the resulting fire to spread into Kelowna, destroying over 230 homes.  It then spread up the mountainside to the Myra Canyon area, where despite heroic efforts by firefighters and water bombers, it destroyed 12 of the wooden trestles and both of the steel ones.  It took until 2008 for the extensive damage to be repaired with funding from the provincial and federal governments, as well as very impressive fundraising and volunteer efforts from the local communities.

The first trestle we crossed (#18) was relatively short, at only 55 m in length.  However, there was a gravel bypass around it on the cliff side which provided a nice side view of how it was constructed.  The next trestle was also relatively short, but as we began to weave our way around the side of the canyon we started to see the trestles hugging the valley wall and spanning the canyon ahead of us.

With views of Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley on one side, and forested canyon walls and river valleys on the other, the scenery was certainly spectacular.  In the first 2.5 km we crossed seven trestles, which was quite mind boggling.  Even as we marveled at the engineering, we couldn't help but wonder how this could possibly have been the best, most cost effective solution for the railway to arrive in Penticton to the south.

Just after this point we arrived at the first of the two tunnels.  Unlike in previous tunnels we’ve crossed, the hoots and spooky wooo's of excited children accompanied us through its dark depths, and both ends seemed to be popular spots for taking selfies.

The tunnel wasn't long enough to require a headlamp, but we were very grateful for its cool, shaded interior.  Even though it is now mid October, the sun was still heating up the side of the canyon where we were walking, and it was very exposed.  With our heavy backpacks and slow pace in the weekend crowds walking in slow groups across the trail we spent much of our time in this section standing in the unseasonable warmth of the day.   In the summertime the tunnels must be a welcome and perhaps necessary respite from the unrelenting heat.

On the far side of the 132 m long tunnel we came to a small, red, wooden storm shelter thoughtfully erected by volunteers from the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society.  It was filled with art and information, as well as a sign indicating the distance to the nearest pit toilet.  What luxury on the Trans Canada Trail!

Another interesting section of trail followed, where we found ourselves venturing through a long, deep, rock cut.  Cool stone walls rose up on both sides of us, towering high above our heads.  This was followed shortly by the second tunnel, which curved around the side of the canyon.  At only 84 m long, we could see sunlight filtering in around the bend at the far end.

Several more bridges followed in rapid succession, these ones feeling longer and higher up than many of the ones that came before.  On some of them it took a while to cross, as cyclists and hikers heading in opposite directions tended to alternate, taking turns making the crossing rather than stepping off the solid decking onto the open supports on either side.  This didn't always work when more impatient people jumped the cue or decided not to wait.  Stepping onto the edges of the trestles, where you could look straight down and see the valley floor far below, or walking out onto the lookouts that were located in the middle of some of the trestles was quite unnerving/exciting.

In this stretch we had fantastic views back over the canyon.  We could see many of the trestles we'd just crossed stretched out along the rocky canyon walls. We could also see the rocky hills rising up above, still naked after the forest fires that ravaged them almost twenty years ago.

Trestle #7 was a highlight on the far side of the canyon.  Unlike the previous trestles, this one was s-shaped.  Apparently it is the only one in Canada that has this shape. Unsatisfyingly, I never found an explanation for the graceful curves built into this unique bridge.  Somehow I can’t imagine CP Rail funding a trestle built for aesthetic rather than practical reasons yet the shape and resulting shadows along this structure were more stunning than the valley which it spanned.

This was followed by trestle #6, which was the longest and highest bridge in Myra Canyon, extending 220 m across and 55 m above the Pooley Creek Gorge.  It was so long that there was more than one viewing platform extending out from its decks.  It was originally constructed from 13 decks of wooden trestles, but in 1931 it was replaced by the current steel structure.  It was very exciting to make the crossing!

A forested section of trail followed, which provided some much appreciated shade.  We passed through another deep rock cut, and then came to a tall, talus slope.  At the bottom was a sign indicating that this huge pile of boulders was home to pikas!  The photo showed a small, plump, rodent with long whiskers and large ears that was quite adorable.  We spent a few minutes scanning the talus for any sign of the small furry critters but sadly we had no luck.

On the far side of the canyon the trail tracked inwards slightly, away from the edge of the ravine.  This brief section felt like other parts of the trail, as we passed between another deep rock cut, and walked a tunnel of green. 

The final trestle we would venture today over crossed yet another deep, forested ravine again enjoying the fantastic views over the Okanagan Valley 910 m below.  For at least one of us the panoramic view was truly spectacular!  For the other of us the firmness of the ground around him on the far side of trestle was perhaps the best part of the day.

After the last short trestle we passed another kiosk featuring the same historical information as the one we passed earlier.  We passed through another gate, and from there the trail became a wide, hard-packed road that took us to another parking lot.  We had been hoping to find a spot to camp somewhere near this parking lot, but there was no water in the dry, desert-like landscape. 

We were sitting at the trail head, trying to decide whether to risk walking on, hoping to find a source of water somewhere ahead, or whether to walk down towards Kelowna.  The road down was about 22 km, and involved an extremely steep descent with a loss of over 1000 m.  As we were debating, two cyclists came up, asked about our hike, chatted about what we were doing, and ended up offering us a ride down into the town.   They were geography teachers at a local school, and were very interested in our message.  The drive down on the steep, wash boarded gravel road was pretty unnerving, but the kindness and generosity of local residents turned out to be a wonderful end to a stunningly beautiful day.

Tonight we will set off into Kelowna to try to replace Sean's utterly worn out shoes, find new Klymit inflatable camping mattresses to replace those which we have had for the past 4 years as ours have both sprung leaks and to find sleeping bag liners to increase our warmth at night.  After more than 525 days on the TCT the simple reality is that much of our gear is now failing and it feels as though we are holding things together with "bailing wire and twine" as we continue forward across British Columbia toward the Pacific Ocean.

See you on the trail!

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