walking

Friday we drove the Benz to Duncan, BC and stopped in at UPAK, Bemberton on the way.

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The UPAK site is sporting a new gated fence which now uses a PalGate Electronic System App to gain access the 5800m section of the former BC Cement Haul Road. (aka Private Truck Road).

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One requires a cellphone with the PalGate App installed and initialized to gain access.

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Silly me exited there to Hwy-1 southbound instead of making a U-turn at the U-turn sign posted by the gate. Daah! This meant driving all the way back to South Shawnigan Lake Road which we took up to the village. There are still no eateries there that have restrooms open so we carried on back to Mill Bay at Hwy-1.

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I fueled up at the Shell station while she had a pee. We backtracked along the Shawnigan Lake/Mill Bay road to Deloume Rd where I took picures of the bridge-out and the haul road blocked. From there we carried on to Rowe Rd. in the Glenora Area south of Duncan and cut the large root from the wye trail access to the Great Trail there. This section of trail is also known as: The Cowichan Valley Trail. I've wanted to remove this obstruction from the trail since first encountering it in 2007. Well. it's finally gone.

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The Wye is a remnant of the CPR rail connection from Tidewater Subdivision to the mainline named — Victoria Sub. Only the southern wye remains open due to locals using it regularly over the intervening 35yrs since the railway was abandoned.

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We then drove Miller Rd , over the White Bridge (not to be confused with the Black Bridge or the Silver Bridge) crossing of the Cowichan River into Duncan, British Columbia.

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After chowing down on a hotdog at Cherries Ice Cream Parlor we headed back to Victoria and home by 2:15p.m.

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Labels: cowichan, drove, duncan, tct

Tuesday I cycled 56km roundtrip (17½ miles oneway) from Sooke Lake Road Trans Canada Trail trailhead to Glenora Staging Area, This included a side-venture through the south wye at the Tidewater Trail to Rowe Rd. Tidewater continues 7km to Cowichan Bay but that's another story for another day.

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Glenora Trails Head Park at 4280 Robertson Road, has more activities/amenities for park users than any other trailhead on Vancouver Island.

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Glenora Park, May 2008

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Benz ran well and the AC worked.

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Bernice chose the better part and stayed home but went berserk when I was two hours later than I guestimated.

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The root I wanted to saw off the wye trail was too big so will have to return with more tools.

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Left home at 9:30a.m. and got home at 3p.m.

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Great day biking, visiting two of Vancouver Island's iconic destinations: Glenora Trails Head Park and the Kinsol Trestle.

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Labels: cycled, ebike, tct, tidewater

Today we walked 4.2km roundtrip from Glen Eagles' parking lot to the Kinsol Trestle and return. Jay & Suzanne drove us up in their new Prius Hybrid SUV. Very nice.

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We enjoyed our Subway sandwiches at one of the many new picnic tables setup close to this icon of Canadian history. Thanks again to Tom (T.W.) Paterson whose vision rallied the community to action and save the original CNR trestle from oblivion.

Labels: kinsol, tct, walked

Today we walked 4km on the Trans Canada Trail to the Kinsol Trestle. We parked the limo at Glen Eagle's parking lot and walked the 1300m to the trestle. We took the new trail down to the river and walked the riverside trail to the gas pipeline. This made our roundtrip distance the 4km reported.

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What a beautiful day! Under overcast skies, we were totally immersed in what can best described as a "Scottish mist". It did not rain, but still all the trailside trees appeared to be smiling. They are rife with new growth and appear to enjoy this weather better than what is ahead in the summer heat.

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We started the up-island sojourn with a visit to Equine Emporium at Koksilah to pickup some western garb we had ordered. It was disappointing the Bentley could not get away to come with us but maybe next time. Goodonya, Bentley.

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Kinsol Trestle 1-minute video.

Labels: kinsol, tct, walked

Today we walked 3km roundtrip from Glen Eagles parking to the Kinsol Trestle. We met an interesting couple from England while walking the trestle.

I even got a bit of cardio exercise by walking below the trestle and back up. The weather was perfect! What a great day.

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We stopped off at The Old Mill Park on the shores of Shawnigan Lake to enjoy our picnic lunch.

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Today's photo is Jill doing her Tai-chi on the trestle.

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We wanted to give the Governor General of Canada a couple of Tom's books but did not know what time Their Excellencies were to be there. We wrote this letter:

Their Excellencies
The Right Honourable David Johnston
Governor General of Canada
and Mrs. Sharon Johnston

Dear Excellencies:

Thank you both for visiting British Columbia and its capital,
Victoria. My forebears arrived in Victoria 161-years-ago from the
Orkney Islands. We consider Victoria and Vancouver Island our home and
were thrilled and honoured that you chose to visit here.

We regret not meeting you both at the Kinsol Trestle because we were
late. That is the bad news; the good news is when we arrived two-hours
later the rain had stopped and we basked in the brilliant sunshine!

My wife, Bernice, and I have been strong supporters of the Kinsol
Trestle Rehabilitation Project since its inception and are thankful
for the Federal Governments' financial support to bring it to
completion. We were so pleased Your Excellencies got to meet T.W.
(Tom) Paterson and share his tremendous knowledge of Vancouver Island
history.

Your Excellencies' visit to this historical, Canadian icon, gives
immeasurable prestige and value to what -- in the beginning -- was
recognized by only a few. Today, another major link in the Trans
Canada Trail is procured for the future.

Thank you both, again, for coming out west to visit with us. We look
forward to your next trip to Vancouver Island. God Bless the Queen of
Canada.

Yours aye,

Labels: kinsol, tct, walked

Friday, August 12, 2011, I cycled 35km roundtrip on the Tidewater Subdivision CNR Right-of-Way (RoW) to the Kinsol Trestle from Koksilah Road. After dropping the wife off in Duncan, BC, my vehicle transported us -- me and my Norco bicycle -- to the intersection of Miller & Glenora roads. There's an ample parking area here from which it's 100m to the Tidewater Trailhead beside Koksilah Rd.

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It's 6km uphill from here to the Trans Canada Trail (TCT) at Deerholme. From Deeholme to the Kinsol Trestle along the TCT is 11km. It was just another day in paradise.

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video Narrative:
Today we're off to the Cowichan Valley Trans Canada Trail & Kinsol Trestle. We'll start at the Tidewater Subdivision railtrail from Koksilah Road at Miller Road, south of Duncan, British Columbia. Sometimes finding the trailhead is the most difficult part of the journey and accessing the Tidewater railtrail is no exception. Directly west of the 50km speed sign on Koksilah Road is where we'll access the trail for today's 6km cycle up to the Trans Canada Trail adjacent to Rowe Road. This short section of the Tidewater
trail passes the TLC's Keating Historical Home to one's right and another hertiage home, Reneen, to one's left. At Langtry Road the trail comes to an abrupt end. Access beyond here is blocked by a farmers gates. A logical option here is to pick up the railtrail again at the Glenora/Seshia Road intersection. From here, the unmaintained trail continues uninterrupted to the former Deeholme Wye at the TCT. A WYE in railroad vernacular means where one railway line connects with another in the form of the letter Y - this permits access by trains heading in either direction. Once headed southbound on the Trans Canada Trail, it's 11-km to the newly, rehabilitated Kinsol Trestle.

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90-second Tidewater Video

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Total Tidewater Video

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GPS Coordinates Langtry Rd: N48°45.589', W123°42.324'
Glenora/Seshia roads: N48°45.709', W123°43.011'
Intersection with TCT N48°45.023', W123°46.008'
Southside Kinsol Trestle: N48°40.085', W123°41.646'

Labels: cowichan, cycled, duncan, kinsol, tct

Today I cycled 26km roundtrip with Cameron from Sooke Lake Road to Kinsol Trestle on the Trans Canada Trail (TCT).

Sooke Lake Road is currently the southern terminus of this section of the TCT on Vancouver Island. The Victoria Water District prevents this section from connecting with its more-famous counterpart: The Galloping Goose Regional Trail (GGT).

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We lit out on the trail northbound at 9:00 a.m. and forty-minutes later had crossed the rehabilitated Kinsol Trestle. We secured our rides and got permission from workers to use the old trail down to the Koksilah River. The new multi-use trail down to the river was closed due to ongoing site improvements. We spent over an hour at the site enjoying the views and river.

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The return ride took us an hour. The southern end of this trail is downhill outbound but is uphill inbound for approximately three kilometres from Sooke Lake Road. That's just the way it is. Thus, after cycling this uphill on the way back, one's pretty tired at the end.

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Nokian Ultra Tour 2 PunCture Resistant (PCR) tires (with carbon-fiber liners) from
GPS Coordinates Sooke Lake Road Trailhead and Parking: 48°34'50.40"N 123°37'53.16"W
Cycling to the Kinsol Trestle

Labels: cycled, kinsol, tct

Kinsol Trestle Reopens Thursday, July 28, 2011
Kinsol Trestle: A Treasure Saved -- Times Colonist

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It has come together piece by piece, nail by nail, dollar by dollar. It has been a tough fight, but worth it — for today, the Kinsol Trestle is back in business. The trestle is a vital link in the Trans-Canada Trail system, the national network that encourages us to use people power to enjoy the great outdoors.

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But it is more than that. It is also a vital link with our history, to the days when steam-powered locomotives carried goods and people up and down Vancouver Island, making transportation possible before modern highways started grabbing the traffic away.

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80-seconds Kinsol Video

Labels: cvrd, kinsol, paterson, tct

Tuesday, July 5, 2011, I cycled 32km from Lake Cowichan (The Foot) to Duncan, BC. Bernice and her friend, Betty, drove me and my ride to the Foot and then they returned to Duncan to shop-the-day-away. Summer has hit the valley (that be: Cowichan Valley) with a vengeance so the weather was severe clear with balmy temperatures around 25*C.

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After departing the Foot at 11:00 a.m., I arrived in downtown Duncan three hours later. It took 90-minutes to cover the first 17km to Paldi on the all-new, Cowichan Valley Trail. Again, the shade of the gazebo beside the Paldi Sikh Temple invited me to sit there and reflect upon the life of one Rajindi Mayo while enjoying my soon-to-be-world-famous, egg-salad sandwich.

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Upon crossing Sherman Rd at the end of the trail, the main objective became where to find the trailhead for the soon-to-be-completed, Duncan-commons Trail. This trail -- which is completed in sections -- primarily follows the E&N Railway tracks to join the City of Duncan with one of Vancouver Island's largest shopping complexes: Duncan Commons Mall.

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Cycling eastward on Lane Road brought me to Averil Park. This park is adjacent to The Commons and is roughly at the site of the former, Hayward Junction.

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Hayward Junction was the eastern terminus of the railline just cycled: the 18.4-mile, E&N Cowichan subdivision. Hayward Junction derived its name it part as it was the junction of the E&N Mainline (Esquimalt to Nanaimo) and the newly built line to Lake Cowichan in 1925.

The locals did not seem to know as much about the new Duncan Commons Trail as I did. Most of half-dozen persons queried had never heard of it. Go figure. After cycling the E&N mainline toward Duncan for a while (we are familiar with this section of rail as we've walked it in the past), I happened upon a survey crew who were (guess what?) surveying for the new trail! They knew exactly where and how I could pickup the new trail heading into Duncan.

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My wife and I both have cellular phones so she knew her shopping trip was over and the cycling journey had been completed successfully. What a great ride! What a great trail!

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90-second VIDEO // 30-sec. VIDEO Holmes Creek footbridge

Labels: cowichan, cycled, duncan, tct, video

Today I cycled 22km roundtrip from the Trans Canada Trail's Western Trailhead in Lake Cowichan, BC, to Skutz Falls and return. The 9.6km outbound leg was via the Trans Canada Trail sectioned which was formerly the Canadian National Railway (CNR) line tracking the southern side of the Cowichan River. The 8.5km Cowichan Valley Trail (CVT)inbound leg was on the former Canadian Pacific Railway (CNR) right-of-way (RoW) which is located on the north side of said river. This day, the 2.6km Mayo Road connector was chosen to get from one railtrail to the other.

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Oddly enough, both these railtrails are downhill (DH) when cycled in these directions. How so? Excellent question. The part left out here is the 177m (580ft.) gain from Skutz Falls, CNR railtrail Xing at Mayo Road up to the CVT. Yes, this cyclist walked part of it. The last time I cycled this loop it was done in the clockwise direction so the Mayo Road section was DH. "What goes up must come down". And so it is with cycling. In this direction, the TCT ride back to Lake Cowichan is 30m gain uphill. "Your call, captain", as we say in the airlines.

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Bernice and I were ostensibly in the Foot (as in foot-of-the-lake, the Township of Lake Cowichan) to attend the official opening of the all-new, rehabilitated former Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N) RoW which has been used as a trail for many years but never official designated as such. The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) was reluctant -- unable would be the correct word -- to open the trail as such for legal reasons. It was pretty rough in spots! It was posted with signs warning users they do so at their own risk and cable barricades were erected at every road xing along its route.

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Fortunately for us, those days are gone. We have this marvelous 26km route from Lake Cowichan, BC to Duncan open for our year-round enjoyment and convenience. Once a suitable connection is made between the CVT's eastern terminus at Sherman Road to the Duncan Commons Trail (currently under construction) one could presume locals and visitors alike will use the route to commute to the downtown core or, alternately, Duncan Commons Shopping Mall. Either way, this new trial is a winner.

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We had arranged to meet with T.W. Paterson to get copies of his newest Firgrove Publishing book: Rails to Trails Historical Map & Guide. Tom does nice work! Perhaps best known for his ghost town books which have been in print since the 1970s, TW Paterson is a familiar byline to thousands of readers who enjoy his newspaper and magazine articles, and his 26 books on popular British Columbia's history. For 14 years, TWP has written a twice-weekly historical column, Cowichan Chronicles, in Duncan's Cowichan Valley Citizen.

Cowichan Valley Trail Officially Opens // 6-minute Roundtrip Cycling VIDEO

Labels: cowichan, cvrd, cycled, mayo, tct