Boundary Country : Christina Lake to Grand Forks

We began our day with a delicious breakfast at the Pony Espresso Café in the Welcome Centre at Christina Lake.  Even at 7:00 am, the place was already busy with retired folks, tourists, and people heading out to work, many of them seemingly participating in the planned maintenance shutdown of the smelter at Trail.

Fortified by coffee and excellent breakfast sandwiches, we headed back up Santa Rosa Rd to pick up the C&W Rail Trail where he had left off.  Another clear, sunny, morning was already beginning to warm up as we headed back down the treed trail.  Right where we picked up the pathway again we came across a sign indicating that we were passing a Habitat Restoration Site managed by the Turtle Island Earth Stewards (TIES).  This non-profit organization was started in early 1970s as a youth hostel, and has since grown into a land trust and stewardship organization based on a specific model of land ownership.

A few hundred meters later on we came to another point of interest.  It was the 0 km marker for the historic Dewdney Trail, which stood at the entrance to a slightly overgrown pathway leading off into the trees.  Built between 1860 and 1865, this 720 km long trail was critical to the development and growth of the Colony of British Columbia.  It connected what is now Hope, BC to Fort Steele in the Rocky Mountains, tying together mining and logging camps, small towns, and settlements that sprung up as a result of the gold rush that was occurring just prior to the colony joining Canada in 1871. Many gold finds were made just north of the Canada-US border in places that were more easily accessible from the Washington Territory than from British Columbia. The Dewdney Trail made access from within the colony possible, and until 1920 it remained the main transportation corridor through southern BC.  Today, about 80% of it has been incorporated into the Crowsnest Highway.

The 37.5 km portion of the Dewdney Trail that connects Christina Lake to Rossland offers hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders an opportunity to experience some of the adventures, challenges, and landscapes that pioneers experienced in the early 19th century.  Along the way visitors can see relics from the past, including the remains of homesteads, fireplaces from campsites used by highway workers in the 1920s, and a wooden trestle bridge that was constructed before the West Kootenay Power and Light Company put their line in around 1905.  This historically rich trail used to be part of theTrans Canada Trail in the early 2000s, but it has since been rerouted along the C&W Rail Trail instead.

As we continued on down our path, it steadily descended until we were almost at river level. To our left the forested slopes of the foothills still rose up.  To our right, we could see the wide, shallow waters of the Kettle River snaking along a wide, flat valley that was occupied by small farms.  The grassy fields in the floodplain were a bleached golden colour, and our trail was bordered with fiery red sumac and cottonwoods whose leaves were turning yellow.  With a backdrop of hills that appeared blue in the morning haze, it was a stunningly colourful and beautiful landscape.

As we followed the river around a large meander, we passed the former site of the City of Cascade.  Located just 3 km south of present-day Christina Lake, it was once an important border stop for trade with Spokane, Washington and other American towns.  In the late 1890's it had a population of around 1000 people, and it was the site of a dam that generated power for Phoenix, Greenwood, Grand Forks, and various mines and smelters in the region.  Things seemed to be looking up when the Columbia and Western Railway came to town in 1899, securing a Canadian transportation route for the gold, silver, and copper coming from the mines in the area.  However, when the CPR decided to locate its new smelter in Trail instead of Cascade the town began to fade, and when two fires devastated the town in 1899 and 1901 it was ultimately unable to rebound.

As we made our way down the valley we could see a picturesque trestle bridge spanning the Kettle River ahead, and soon we found ourselves crossing the wide, shallow, river.  The Kettle River is a 281 km long tributary of the Columbia River, which begins at the outlet of Holmes Lake in the Monashee Mountains, flows south to Midway, BC and then meanders down into Washington State.  The Indigenous name for the river in the Okanagan language is nxʷyaʔłpítkʷ (Ne-hoi-al-pit-kwu).  Although British officials originally used this name, Kettle River was widely adopted by 1860, likely originating from Kettle Falls, which early explorers referred to as 'the boiler' because of its effervescent waters.

On the far side of the wooden trestle bridge a Trans Canada Trail sign indicated that the 157 m long Kettle River Bridge had been restored for recreational use by the British Royal Engineers of the 21st Engineer Regiment (Osnabruck, Germany), who were assisted by the 44th Field Engineer Squadron (Trail, BC) in 2003. The restoration effort included structural repairs, decking, and railing work.  These repairs were done as part of the "Bridges of Canada" initiative in 2000, when to commemorate a century of service the Canadian Military Engineers embarked on a three year program of assisting communities along the Trans Canada Trail, in every province and territory, with bridge replacement and restoration.  We have very gratefully benefited from the work of this project in many places on our walk across Canada, including on many trestle bridges along the T'Railway Trail in Newfoundland.

We followed the crushed stone dust trail around the Christina Lake Golf Course, then across a grassy landscape dominated by pine trees, before coming to Billings.  This rest stop offered a pit toilet and a couple of picnic tables, and it was located at the edge of Cascade Falls.  This small, picturesque waterfall flowed down a rocky channel with steep sides.  It felt like we were crossing a small canyon.

At the far end of the Cascade Trestle we came to a trailhead with a map for the Kettle River Heritage Trail.  This 19 km section of rail trail connects Cascade to Grand Forks, running between the Kettle River and Highway 3.  We passed several people out walking their dogs as we set off, almost immediately realizing that the landscape had definitely shifted.  One of our first clues was spotting a Western Black Widow spider hastily making its way across the trail.  A bite from these venomous spiders can cause pain, nausea, goosebumps, and localized sweating, but not death.  In Canada these creepy crawlies are mostly found near the US border in British Columbia and some parts of the prairies. This particular individual didn't do much to help me develop a love of arachnids and watching Sean crawl beside it trying to get a photograph was more than a little unnerving.

As we continued on, being careful of where we stepped, the trail was bordered by tall, bleached blond grasses reminiscent of those we saw in the Rocky Mountain Trench.  The landscape had a dryness and toughness to it. Spiky, dark green ponderosa pines and other conifers sprung up among the grasses.  Dried leaves from cottonwoods and trembling aspens crunched under our feet on the dusty, gravel trail.

To our right, soft hills rose up, the sharp, craggy shapes of dark grey rocks poking up through a covering of blond grasses.  A thin layer of conifers clung to parts of the slopes, and in some areas it looked like forest fires had passed through.  Almost immediately we began scanning the hillsides for any signs of bighorn sheep.

Shortly, we found ourselves walking beside Gilpin Grasslands Provincial Park.  The park is named after Ranulph Robert Gilpin, who served as Customs Officer along the Dewdney Trail beginning in 1888.  His home and ranch, which were located near where Gilpin Creek crosses Highway 3, doubled as the Customs House.

Gilpin Grasslands Provincial Park was designated in 2007 to protect a distinctive grassland ecosystem that provides essential habitat for a variety of species, including the California Bighorn Sheep, tiger salamander, Western Screech Owl, Lewis' Woodpecker, American badger, Western rattlesnake, great basin spadefoot, and Western skink among other intriguing animals.  In addition to wildlife preservation, it is also open for cycling, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, swimming, and canoeing in the Kettle River.

As we made our way along, following the trail through a flat, open, grassy area between the river and the hills we kept a sharp lookout for any of the 'new' species that frequent this unique and interesting landscape.  Sadly, for most of the morning the only animals we spotted in the hills were grazing cows.

Around noon we came to Boothman's Oxbow Provincial Park.  This 42 hectare park is tucked in among the meanders of Kettle Creek, and supports important ponderosa pine, marsh, grassland, and riparian habitats.  It had long rocky beaches as well, which offer opportunities for swimming, picnicking, canoeing, kayaking, and rafting.  This small park is also well known for birding. 

Unfortunately the trail didn't go down into Boothman's Oxbow Provincial Park, but a conveniently located bench was placed in the shade of a trembling aspen above it.  We took the opportunity to take a break and enjoy the croissants we'd brought with us from the bakery in Christina Lake.

After passing the provincial park we began to see farmland in the flood plains around the Kettle River.  At the edge of the park, where there was an interpretive sign outlining some of the special snakes, lizards, and toads found in the lush habitat of the Oxbow, there was a tree farm with black cottonwoods.  Beyond this, small farms with hay and corn crops, something we haven't seen much of since Ontario, began to appear.  Picturesque barns were scattered among the fields, and along the banks of the river.  In some areas we began to see evidence of flooding, where buildings had sunk into the ground, or the banks of the river had partially washed out from under the foundations.

As the morning wore on, I had been getting increasingly disappointed by the lack of bighorn sheep anywhere in view.  However, as we came to a curve in the trail we suddenly spotted a group of five sheep grazing on the hill just beyond the highway!  This really brightened up the day, and I think I may have startled a passing cyclist with my enthusiasm.

Although this section of the trail was listed as non-motorized, we were passed by an ATV going extremely fast along the trail, then soon after by two motorbikes (not dirt bikes), prior to watching as a very lost lady in a truck drove along the river’s edge on the pathway towards us!   As we got closer to Grand Forks we began to see more cyclists, and we passed a family with two small children out cycling.  They were taking a snack break when we first passed them, but when they passed us again they stopped to ask about the hike.  The two young girls were counting the European Mantises, commonly known as Praying Mantis, that were all over the trail, and their count must have been in the hundreds.  Some of the mantises were light green while others were light brown.  We even stopped to watch one that was in the process of consuming a grasshopper.

A few kilometres outside of Grand Forks we crossed a road and the trail became a paved cycling path.  There was quite a bit more traffic on the trail after this point.  At the edge of town we crossed a trestle bridge and then wove our way around the Rockwool plant.  It was a large facility, featuring a tall smokestack and large bins of various chemical compounds outside.

There was a strong chemical smell on the air, but the tall privacy hedges that surrounded the complex provided some welcome shade on the trail.  Apparently rockwool is a kind of insulation used in the construction of buildings that is composed at least partially from stone.

When we reached the town we had to divert around bridge construction.  What followed was an eerie sight.  The neighbourhoods around the river had been abandoned, many of the homes were boarded up, some had been burnt, and others were vandalized.  The lawns were unmowed, and there was a strange smell in the air.  Apparently this devastation was caused in 2018, when flooding destroyed a large part of Grand Forks.  That winter the region had received 136% more snow than normal, then high temperatures had caused rapid snow melt, and this was followed by 50 mm of rain in a 24 hour period in early May.  More than 400 homes, 300 businesses, and 2,800 residents in Grand Forks and Osoyoos were displaced, and the damage was still clearly visible at the edge of town.   It is so easy to assume that these disasters are taken care of in short order, quickly compensated by insurance companies, or restored by the government – but, as happens so often, when the media leaves, wide spread public support and pressure declines and communities are left to patch their lives back together for years to come.

When we reached the downtown we found a tree lined street bordered with small shops, cafés, restaurants, and art galleries.  There were quite a few people out and about, enjoying the warm, sunny afternoon.  We stopped for a strawberry smoothie at one of the cafés to cool off and take a break.  As we explored a little more we found a nice mix of artistic, creative, and outdoorsy vibes in the town.  There was artwork and murals adorning many of the buildings throughout the downtown, and we particularly enjoyed the colourful murals of the changing seasons on the elementary school.

To celebrate completing 12,500 km of trail, and to give ourselves a boost, we decided to have dinner at the Grand Forks Station Pub, which was located in the old Canadian Pacific Railway Station at the edge of town. To our delight, the inside still very much resembled a train station, and it was decorated with vintage railway posters.  There was even a Trans Canada Trail sign inside the station!

When the bartender saw us taking a photo of the trail sign, and learned we were walking the TCT, he let us take a look upstairs, which was a dining area filled with old photos and memorabilia from the CPR towns along the railway.  It was really cool to see!  When we went to thank him, the bartender had a lot of questions for us about doing the hike and mentioned that he is planning to walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. What a small world!

Looking at the CPR maps of Canada, we can see how closely we've been following the iron rails that built this country.  We've visited many of the towns along the CPR lines, and seen first hand how the fortunes of towns were made and broken by decisions about where the lines went, and where the stations were built.  In some ways, it seems that little changed.

See you on the trail!

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