Great Blue Heron Reserve : Chilliwack to Abbotsford

Yesterday over 50 mm of rain fell, and there were very high winds overnight.  When we set out this morning clouds were still hanging heavy in the sky, and ominous looking storms were racing over the fields behind us.  However, the sun was making a valiant attempt to shine its weak yellow light on the valley below, and for a short time we had beautiful views of the mountains that border the Fraser Valley.

We began our hike out of Chilliwack by following a paved cycling path alongside the train tracks.  A small brown rabbit scurried across the wet asphalt trail head of us, getting its long furry hind legs tangled in the mounds of drenched brambles that bordered the pathway.  The smell of baking bread wafted across the tracks from a nearby bakery, making us hungry.

From the centre of Chilliwack the Trans Canada Trail wove south through neighbourhoods towards Vedder Crossing on the Chilliwack River.  As we made our way down the rain soaked sidewalks the cool, damp, morning had a raw feel to it.  The roads and parking lots were covered in leaves, twigs, and small branches, and several large trees had fallen in last night's windstorms.  We soon realized that the power was out in the neighbourhoods and plazas we were crossing.  The lack of traffic lights made it difficult to cross the busy streets, but we realized we were very fortunate to have had power where were staying, and to have enjoyed a breakfast before heading out.

About an hour into our hike we came to a Starbucks and decided to stop for a chai tea to warm up before continuing on.  While we were waiting to place our order a man approached us and asked if we were the two from 'Come Walk With Us.' When we confirmed this was indeed the case, we enjoyed a long conversation Charles, who has been following along on our hike for several years, and had kindly offered us a place to stay when we were passing through Powerview, Manitoba.  What are the odds of a random meeting such as this?  We'd like to send out a HUGE thank you to Charles for treating us to warm drinks, for being part of our journey, and for the interesting conversation.

In some ways, today felt like it was all about connections.  At breakfast we met a man from one of the First Nations in Lytton BC.  He spoke of the forest fire that destroyed the community there last November, and of a Lytton Remembrance Day Powwow that is still being held this year.  Charles spoke about family connections in several places in Manitoba, Merritt, Osoyoos, Chilliwack, and Vancouver Island.  By doing this hike, one way or another, we've developed a relationship with so many people and places across Canada.  Now when we read the news, speak to someone, or even see a bird, we often have memories from across the country that help us put what we're hearing or seeing in context.  In so many ways, this hike has been about connections - people to nature, people to people, past to present, and coast to coast to coast.

When we set out again onto the trail we walked through All Sappers MemorialPark. A tall stone cenotaph adorned with a cross, a small concrete tent, and a monument were neatly arranged in a circle.  The park recognized the sacrifices of military engineers, known as sappers, in both peacetime and war. Sappers, or combat engineers, facilitate and support movement, defence, and survival of allied forces, and impede those of enemies.  They are trained to undertake a variety of duties, including breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing mine fields, preparing defences, and road and airfield construction and repair.

The All Sappers Memorial Park is associated with the nearby 'Camp Chilliwack', now known as Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack. Camp Chilliwack was established on February 15, 1942, two months after the Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour, which launched the Pacific Theatre of World War II.  Japanese operations in the Aleutian Islands, the submarine presence off the west coast of North America, and the fall of Hong Kong in 1941, caused a drastic increase in US and Canadian military activity in the Pacific Northwest, and Camp Chilliwack was established to aid in territorial defense.  When it became clear the Japanese threat was minimal, it was designated as a training and recruitment center.

We walked through the small memorial park, which was surrounded by modern condo buildings, and then followed the road around the military base.  Soon we came to Vedder Park on the shores of the Chilliwack/Vedder River, where we picked up the Rotary Loop Trail.  This river originates in Washington's North Cascade Park, and flows north across the border and into the Fraser Lowland.  At the Vedder Bridge near Vedder Crossing, where we met with it, the river changes its name to the Vedder River.  From there it flows north and east, eventually joining the Fraser River at the northeast end of Sumas Mountain.

We followed the wide, crushed stone dust trail along the shores of the large, deep, and very fast flowing river.  A cold wind was blowing, and very ominous dark clouds were scudding across the sky, threatening rain.  Even so, the path was full of people jogging, walking their dogs, and out for a Sunday stroll.  It was also full of fishermen carrying their rods out to their favourite spot on the shore.  Many people were already positioned along the rocky and sandy banks, trying their luck with their rods.  We soon discovered why.

As we made our way along the treed trail the river was on one side of us, and a series of small water channels, as well as the Peach Ponds, were on our other side.  Signs indicated that the ponds and channels were important for spawning and rearing coho salmon and steelhead trout. When we looked down into the shallow, clear waters of the channels beside the trail we were super excited to see that they were absolutely full of spawning coho salmon!  I have always wanted to see a river alive with these huge, colourful fish.  Throughout the day we stopped many times to watch them chase each other, swerving and diving with their fins above the surface, then lining up into the current and seeming to hover, facing up stream into the current.

The abundance of huge fish wasn't just attracting human fishers, there were also many Herring and Glaucous-winged Gulls and American Crows out on the rocky shoals in the river.  We also spotted Bald Eagles standing on the sandy shores in a few spots, waiting patiently to see what morsels they could score along the river. On our other side, a Great Blue Heron stood quietly on the bramble covered bank of the narrow, treed channel while a group of noisy, friendly sounding Mallards paddled in the middle of the overgrown waterway.

As we made our way along the treed trail, admiring the forested slopes of Vedder Mountain across the river, it began to rain, and then to hail.  The wind sprang up and blew the small ice pellets sideways, stinging our faces.  Hurriedly we dawned our rain gear and put up our sun umbrellas to shelter from the hail.  As always seems to be the case when it hails, the temperature dropped rapidly.  Thankfully the storm only lasted about half an hour or so.

A couple hours into our hike we came to a small jog in the trail, and suddenly the pathway became narrower.  Now paved, the trail wound along in a shiny, wet ribbon under a canopy of huge, tall trees.  Colourful leaf litter lined the trail, and someone had painted a friendly and colourful character on an old pipe.  Soon we ducked under the low Vedder River Railway Bridge, and then we were in for a treat!

A sign indicated we were passing the Great Blue Heron Reserve.  We knew today was going to be long, and that we might well run out of daylight before we reached our goal of Abbotsford.

However, we couldn't help detouring into the reserve to explore, rounding the central lake on one of the trails, and stopping by the Visitor's Centre.

The Great Blue Heron Reserve is a 325 acre wetland located on the Sumas Prairie outside of Chilliwack, on an un-dyked portion of the Vedder River.  This beautiful property hosts a huge colony of nesting Great Blue Herons from Mar-Jul (around 100 nests), a modern visitor's centre and gift shop with highly knowledgeable and friendly staff, 5 km of hiking trails, complete with benches, bird blinds, and lookouts.  Educational programs are offered daily, and the number of kids and young adults we saw out on the wetlands was a tribute to their ability to inspire.

As we made our way around the pond it was full of ducks.  We spotted large numbers of Mallards and American Wigeons, as well as Buffleheads, Ring-necked Ducks, and Canada Geese.  The colony of Great Blue Heron nests was also clearly visible from the trail, as was a large Bald Eagle nest.  When we went inside to speak to the staff they kindly played a recording for us of what the colony sounds like when the nestlings are present - it was loud and prehistoric sounding!

The property was wonderful, and we briefly explored a few of the fully accessible trails, taking them down to the ponds and channels to see the salmon.  Over 180 bird species have been reported in the reserve on eBird, and we would dearly have loved to spend more time there, but we still had about 20 km more to walk, and only about 4 hours of daylight left.

After the Heron Reserve we had a few more kilometres of narrow, winding pathway, tucked under a canopy of tall trees at the side of the free flowing river.  A highlight was spotting a tiny, fuzzy, grey deer mouse hopping across the trail.  It worked its way through the leaf litter, shuffling and scuffling as it walked along, mostly out of sight from above. When it noticed us, it took off down the trail at high speed, it's long, pink, hind legs extending fully with each leap.

Soon after this we climbed up onto Dyke Crest Road, which was an elevated, exposed, dirt road.  To our dismay a sign suggested it was closed for upgrading, that there were crews and heavy machinery at work.  Luckily, we saw no evidence of this.

Beside us the river had been tamed into a straight, narrow channel.  It ran between lush, emerald green fields and fields stipped with rows of brilliant red blueberry bushes.  In the distance the we could see rounded, forested hills rising up in front of beautiful, snow capped peaks.  It was a stunningly beautiful landscape, and it was made more dramatic as the sunlight played across it against a backdrop of incredibly dark storm clouds.

We crossed the Vedder River channel on the Keith Wilson Bridge, and continued along above the channel on the dyke on the far side.  We took a break at the entrance to a field, perched on a concrete barrier, sheltered from the wind by the base of Sumas Mountain.

In the late afternoon sunshine we turned and made our way south again, towards McDonald Park.  We still spotted fishermen along the channel, and several small motorboats chugged past, fighting the strong current.  We assumed we had already passed any possible trail closures, but when we went to circumnavigate the Barrowtown Pump Station we found our route barred by chain link fences.  The road around the station was under construction, and sported a large 'No Pedestrians' sign.  With the bridge out and the trail blocked we had no choice but to take the road.  We were grateful there was no traffic while we did so.

On the far side of the plant the road was still lined with huge piles of sand bags.  The 2 m high barricades stretched on for about a kilometre, and must have been left over from the floods of last November.  It was yet another shocking reminder that communities across BC have yet to recover, even a year after the floods.

After a short walk on the road we diverted back onto the dyke trail, passing yet another trail closure sign. We remained hopeful that the work was done in this stretch too, as we weren't alone on the trail.  We passed quite a few people out walking their dogs on the dyke, and when we reached the parking lot for the small park it was full of cars.  A couple picnic tables, a public washroom, and a small playground were nestled under the cedars at the water's edge in this popular day use area.

We continued on through the pastoral landscape, the late afternoon sunshine full in our faces.  Fields stretched out to our left, and forested slopes rose up close beside us on the right, just across the water.  We were amazed to see so many homes built on the river side of the dyke.  Suddenly we came to a barricade across the trail, a downed tree trunk, and the advertised construction.  Plastic sheeting was laying across the trail bed, a trench had been dug into it, and a large digging machine was parked in the middle, blocking the way forward.  Construction equipment and piles of materials rested beside the trail.

While we respect closures whenever we can, avoiding this blockade would mean adding almost 10 km to our day, which wasn't a viable possibility, especially so late in the afternoon.  As we stood there, we watched several other trail users pick their way across the closure.  They passed us with a cheerful wave.  So, we decided that when in Rome to do as Romans do...and venture through the closures like the flocks of locals also doing so.

Feeling somewhat disheartened, we continued on. When we reached Lakemont Rd we crossed back over the river, leaving the Sumas River Dyke Trail behind in favour of a smaller, dirt footpath.  Yet again, signs warned that the path was closed due to recent flooding, that bridges could be washed out and the trail might be undermined in sections.  Once again, we had no choice but to continue onward, hoping for the best.

The soft earth path was indeed washed away in places, but thankfully it was passable. Tall trees with the last of the fall colours rose up beside us as we wound our way along the river bank.  Across the water we could see the dyke above us, looking solid and strong.  Several benches were tucked into the trees, but with only a little daylight left, we continued on, hoping against all hope that there were no major washouts or bridges down around the next corner.  As we approached the parking lot at the far end we began to see lots of other walkers, many with dogs, which was very encouraging.

After emerging into the gravel parking lot we climbed up to N. Parallel Rd, which was a very narrow, winding, busy road.  At first it was lined with small homes and businesses, and then we found ourselves crossing an industrial park, with trucking outfits, storage units, and the like on one side and the incredibly busy and loud Highway 1 on the other.

As a gorgeous pink and gold sunset began to fade to darkness we raced towards Abbotsford.  Rush hour was in full swing, and despite our proximity to the highway, our service road was incredibly busy. Not a single car pulled over as they passed, and many swerved at us.  At times there was little to no shoulder for us step off onto, the local ditch was unnervingly filled with empty beer cans, and with a constant stream of headlights in our face, it was extremely unpleasant going.  Finally, finally, finally we arrived at Tim Hortons and gratefully stepped off the road.  It was not an inspiring entrance to Abbotsford, but it was a short walk to our motel, and we were grateful to have arrived alive safely.

See you on the trail!

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