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TRAIL MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR’S REPORT

Hi everyone: It really feels that Spring is here now. So let’s all get out soon and often, to enjoy all its heralds and new finery [birds, frogs, fresh and varied greens of newly sprouting foliage]; also to enjoy the scents of the Cottonwood bud resins and the shyly emerging lovely spring flowers.

Here is the list of those people who (I understand) have agreed recently (or of old) to care for sections of “our” trails: - Pat and Al Sheppard: Dove Hill Trail to junction with Elk Cut-off Trail.

Rob Macrae and family: Elk Cut-off Trail and remainder of Dove Hill Trail to Columbia Power Corp [CPC]’s ‘new’ Brilliant power sub-station.

Harry Simoens, Geoff Tellier: Skattebo Reach Trail [SRT] from the above sub-station to (Big) McPhee Creek bridge, including sweeping the bridge deck, etc.

‘The Brilliant Adventure Cyclists’ Group’: namely – Brian Marsh, Doug Pinkerton, Bill Sloan, Steve Sutherland, Wally Verigin: SRT from (Big) McPhee Creek Bridge to the Trail’s end by the Big Rock erratic at the south end of Glade flats.
Wayne Gray, Peter Wood: Doukhobor Waterline Trail and (Big) McPhee Canyon Trail.
Bert and Sue Port, Chris Stanhope: Brilliant Overlook Trail [BOT] from junction with SRT up to the BO Junction and on to the actual BO at elev. 915 m (including the short leg to the entrance of the Vise.)
Ken and Ginny Brownlie, Rick Johnson: BOT between BO Junction and the Upper Trailhead. [The short trail section off to the former Lwr BO trailhead at elev. 913m has not been maintained by CFPT for over a year now.]
Chris Bullock: the ‘Canyon’ section of the SRT all the way up to and beyond its crossing of the access road to the new Brilliant Expansion power plant, to end just north of the ‘new’ Brilliant power sub-station.

All the above people have agreed to make a ‘couple’ of clean-up/ inspection trips per season, the first one to be early in the Spring, as close as possible to the end of packed snow on their section of the trails; clearing the trail of debris with minor hand tools only, whatever is possible; also to report back to me, Peter Wood, by phone message at 250-359-7107 or email: apwood@shaw.ca about any obstructions, problems with or threats to installed structures [eg bridges, boardwalks, handcables, etc] that they cannot fix.

I will file your reports for 2009 and try to arrange for timely action to fix any bigger trail obstructions or hazards that you report. If you no longer wish to care ‘officially’ for a section of trail but are listed above, please let me know and I will reassign responsibilities and take your name off the next list.

This year CFPT has hired a Trail Maintenance/Improvement contractor who will also supervise and take care of our 2009 Katimavik volunteers [KVs]. His name is Fraser Hayes. He will start with us and the KVs early in the second half of April. Our first project with them will be re-opening ‘the Canyon’ section of the SR trail that Chris Bullock will be caring for afterwards. Lawrence R., a CPC representative and I will be orienting Fraser to this trail very soon. After that is done we will have a Grand Opening in May – probably Victoria Day. After the Canyon section is ready, then our crew will move onto another trail in the Pass Creek area and then explore, maintain and upgrade all our remaining trails, including the Columbia Trail south of Ootischenia.

If anybody wishes to contribute to the care of any of our trails, please feel free to do so while you enjoy using them; for example – casting fallen branches or rocks off the trail to the downhill side. especially carefully in steep terrain. If you would like to be added to the list of carers for a particular trail section, please let me know. All our trails are primarily user-maintained trails.

Peter W. Wood, CFPT TMC

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