Denver Canyon to Three Forks Hill: a good early season workout

I sure prefer Daylight Savings Time, with the chance to cram in some activity after supper during that special twilight time. Evening riding becomes easier to arrange, and now the lower elevation trails are open and the roads clean and dry. I do a lot of trail and road rides east of New Denver, following Carpenter Creek canyon.

I set out on my hybrid for a tour up Hwy 31A to Three Forks, which is a good climb with a ton of scenery and almost zero traffic at day’s end. From the village on out, this is a fairly relentless ascent, with a couple of steeper hills, and only some level road towards the end. The pavement isn’t perfect, and I’m less inclined to take my fussy, skinny road bike just yet…

All these valleys coming down to the lake tend to have a noticeable downdraft breeze most nights, which adds to the effort of the ascent, but really speeds up the return ride. I guess the railroad got first choice in right-of-way location, and follows the creek all the way to Three Forks, forcing the highway to climb high above the canyon for the entire route. This does offer more open views, though, and is dry and snow-free much sooner.

The highways department and YRB undertake regular avalanche controls over the winter here by flying over the upper chutes of Goat Mountain and dropping explosives from helicopters. This must be hugely entertaing to do, and pretty neat to hover there as a wicked snow slide rears on down, maybe reaching the road during planned closures. There is a vivid example of shot-down debris right at the highway for about five km out from town, and that alone is worth the ride to see. It won’t melt away for a while yet.

After seven km of riding, you come to the summit of this ride, before the road drops down to cross Kane Creek and the pass the Sandon turnoff. Here at the summit, there is a new rock-cut to allow a more open corner for traffic. I really hope Highways will simply make the retired paved corner into a scenic pullout. It’s a low-speed place anyhow, and as a rest stop for cyclists or drivers, offers a tremendous view to the west, and a scary look down into Carpenter Creek from the edge of the bank. This is not an avalanche run out zone either, so I think it would sure be swell to retain its as a pullout.

The other neat place to see is Jeff and Sue’s micro-hydro plant at Three Forks. This is private land, and not necessarily meant to be visited, but the facility is right below the road just before the Sandon junction and harness the waterpower of Seaton Creek. It’s very gratifying to see small, efficient and unobtrusive hydro production.

The round trip ride to the turnoff at Three Forks from New Denver can take one to two hours, depending on bike and ability. This is a most historic area, and suggests a visit to the local museum some time soon. The road skirts the lower flanks of Goat Mountain the whole way, with enough curves, views, dashing deer and hills to impress any rider.

The season’s early, and drivers may not expect to encounter cyclists farther out from town yet, so always be aware of traffic approaching and wear bright clothing to be more visible. There is still some grit on the corners and those rocks roll right down onto the road, so be alert and enjoy your evening.

Paddling the Lake Loop From Silverton

Monday February 23 was one of the nice and milder days last year , so some time out on the lake seemed like the best way to do another Kootenay day. I acquired one of those smaller whitewater kayaks last fall, and have found it to be stable and pretty fast on flat water, and it even just fits inside my van. I connected three friends from Silverton who shared one of the Silverton Resort rental canoes, and we set off in the morning sun. People tend to think it's kind of crazy to be out on the lake in the winter, but there are many days when conditions are quite ideal. Nobody's going to head out in a blizzard or windstorm these days, but there are a couple days each week that are fine. Funny thing is that in April there will be plenty of people out paddling away, yet the water temperature then is barely any warmer than mid-winter, so the potential hazard remains even then. As with any undertaking, self preservation is the idea, not rescue reliance.

The paddle time to Sandy Point, right across from Silverton in Valhalla Park , takes 30-odd minutes and with the complete calm of the lake, you could see the whole valley reflected in the water all around us. You can view 30 km of open water, from Hills in the north to the Slocan bluffs way to the south.

My thermometer sensor indicated 3.5 Celsius at surface, and the same two metres down, and silverton Creek was 2.8. With the lengthening days, the sun now lingers on the west shore into early afternoon, but it still only really gets warm on the south and west aspects. We found a patch of nice dry snow-free sand for a snack break, then headed south towards Nemo Creek and the beach there.

There are a number of parcels of private property, water access only, on the west side of the lake, with cabins or cottages that get some use in the summertime. Although it doesn't seem in keeping with the provincial park status, these places were around before the park was proclaimed in 1983, so you can certainly gawk at them but respect them as the private property that they are. There is an old homestead just north of Nemo Creek with both an attractive original frame house, and a new log house, too.

The beach at Nemo was mostly snowbound, so we took a short hike up to the waterfalls, got some photos, and beachcombed a bit on the margin of exposed shore. From here south to Slocan village there are many pocket beaches and creek mouths and scenic rocky points along the west shore. This west side is my preference from Silverton heading southwards, but I find the east shoreline more varied and interesting from Silverton going northwards.

The shade was starting to stretch out from the trees as we loaded up to set out back across the lake to visit Bannock Point. On the way across, we could just make out the fencing up at the Highways rest area viewpoint far above. There are some huge rock faces on this side of the lake, and the water has the real dark, deep look. There is a small Forest Service site here at Bannock Point, and a trail down from the highway gravel pit. The big feature here is the rounded, flowing sort of rock faces that front the water for a long way. These rocks are great picnic spots and diving platforms, and this is a popular place.

However, it was a real drag to see some graffiti painted on a couple of those exotic rock walls,and we discussed ways to brush off or mask over the mess. I think well done graffiti can make a cold concrete wall look better in some inner city location, but it is a great insult to bring that kind of blatant expressionism to the wilderness.

The sun was losing strength and some high cirrus clouds were spreading so we began the homeward paddle up the east shoreline back to Silverton. The lake was still dead calm, and no other boat had come into sight all day. The last leg seemed to be longish, but the map suggested 3 km. It can be hard to guess distance over water, and I always like to plot out on the map how far it is and how much stuff may be needed. This entire loop is around 10 km in length, and makes for a perfect short day or long afternoon. In season, you can rent canoes or kayaks at Silverton Resort, or book a day tour if you want the full experience.

The cold but clear days of fall, winter and early spring make for some delightful kayak touring. Shorter daylight hours mean tighter timetables, and you do need to take more gear like jackets, thermoses and mitts. There is much less risk of those crazy storms that erupt so suddenly on summer days, but you should never get too complacent. Watch the sky as much as the water, and head for any close shore if things blow up. Better to endure a cold campfire night on the shore, with a cold morning paddle home, than to risk swamping. The real big winds tend to blow out after an hour or two, so have a book to read, and sit it out, go beachcombing, or start making camp for the night.

Rolling out the Two Wheeler for the New Season

At last winter seems to have receded enough to allow for some springtime thoughts about outdoor hobbies around the house and town in general. People are definitely looking out the window now with greater inspiration.

I’ve gotten in some nice rides on my old reliable hybrid, with its semi-wide tires, soft front shocks, and even fenders to keep me less dirty…The highways are pretty clear for riding, except for grit and dust remaining on most hills and long grades. Best idea seems to be to wear colourful sweaters or jackets, to be visible in traffic, and when you get home, just hang up the stuff to air, don't shake out the dust, because if you try to be too clean these days, the laundry efforts will drive you crazy!

I was in Nelson the other day, and saw tons of people out riding, most just doing the Baker St. cruise scene, but also several hard cores out on Hwy 3A, getting in some road mileage. Maybe half these riders had helmets on, and for sure a toque is warmer at this time of year, but a helmet combined with headband is also quite warm and sure a lot safer if you do wipe out in a patch of sand. I feel that bicycling exists as much as a social activity as a physical one, with all the good environmental aspects as well, and it was fun to see all the various types out and about, pedalling and parading.

Once you get around to digging the bike out for the season, it’s a good idea to spend some time giving it a soapy wash down and rinse off. This takes just a couple minutes and is a great way to identify any small or large problems that may lurk. For sure the tires will need to get pumped up after sitting for more than several weeks, and you can check the tread condition and decide if they’re okay, or if you want to try a new tread pattern to suit a more specific cycling style. Tires come in an infinite variety of types.

If you’re so inclined, you could also now take a little oil and apply it to any dry-looking places where things turn, pivot, and articulate or just plain squeak. Wiggle things to see if they’re loose or busted, and consider getting them dealt with. You can’t likely do anything wrong, but if you’re not real sure, contact your local professional bicycle facilitator for definitive-well, you get the idea!

This column doesn’t actually go anywhere specific or new that you haven’t heard about-the goal is more to get you off your behind and out riding the bike for any good reason that you may have. Unlike so many other sports, bicycling has no monthly dues, no membership fees, licences or even insurance. Rules of the road and traffic laws do apply, but are not always enforced. However, all riders aught to be courteous when riding in traffic and when encountering pedestrians. Stifling rules and regulations appear only when people do dumb and thoughtless things for a long enough time.

The rides that I’ve been doing out of New Denver have been north and south on Hwy 6, and east on 31A to the Fish Lake summit. The 18 km ride to the Fish Lake rest area is largely uphill, but with very little traffic and very much scenery. The neat feature to see right now is the enormous piles of avalanche debris that have flowed right down to the highway just west of Bear Lake. Helicopter control work released some wet slab slides that stop just short of the road, with one that had crossed the road to a depth of five metres.

Hwy 6 north is nice and open, with more traffic, but offers the reward of good lake views and afternoon sun, and the water pipe beside the road north of Rosebery makes a fine turnaround point. The highway south past Silverton involves, of course, the climb up the Silverton hill for about six relentless km, with the reward at the famous viewpoint. Only drawback here is that for now the road is real dusty, and the seal coating applied two summers ago is still rough to ride on until traffic beats it a bit smoother.

Finally, the days are getting noticeable longer. As the spring equinox approaches, the rate of daily daylight gain totals nearly five minutes, then the rate of increase lessens as the weeks continue by approaching the summer solstice. To actually figure out the dynamics of daylight gain rate, you’d need to have on hand a light bulb, and a world globe so you’ll simply have to take my word for it for now!

Enjoy these lingering spring evenings on your bike and in your gardens, keeping things sunny side up.

Capella Mine Route Gives Off-Season Hikers a Reason To Climb Goat Mtn.

Over this past winter, I’ve spent as much time hiking as I usually would on my skis!

On the south side of Goat (or Carpenter) mountain, overlooking New Denver and Slocan Lake, the Capella Mine is a great destination for early and late season hikers because of the southerly exposure and the low elevation. The trail is a short, steep walk to one of the hundreds of historic mine sites of the Kootenays, offering a lovely viewpoint about halfway up.

The trailhead is easy to locate. Drive towards Kaslo from the main junction in New Denver for exactly 3.21 km. Park in the pullout on the right side of the highway, where you will see a cute little yellow and black sign on a tree trunk identifying this exact distance from New Denver.

The trail ascends from the north side of hwy, 31A to a flat spot just above the highway. Beyond here, the trail is narrow and very steep. The forest is quite open and airy because enormous fire that swept up Carpenter Creek about 1910. As you gain elevation, there are many pockets of stately old fir trees that escaped the fire.

About one-half hour up this route, there is a beautiful open meadow on the right, above the steep pitch that you’ll be on at that point. Look for the small path that leads up into this meadow and get a super view of New Denver, the lake, the glacier and on down past Red mountain.

After a rest, strike off further up the road as it grinds upward, swtchbacking for a while until it arrives at the lower workings of the mine. There are some ruins here. I have heard that Capella was a gold mine that didn’t make anyone rich. An excellent foot trail across a slide chute to some a few relics and mine portals can be easily found from here. The trail is a beautiful piece of work, but stay tuned as you cross the cute. You need to climb over some tree trunks that have fallen with the slides over the decades.

I’m still feeling pretty new in New Denver, even after 25 years living in Nakusp. If you have any trail suggestions that you’d like to see highlighted, or kept sworn to secrecy, please let me know.

There are so many fabulous walks and rides in this region that would be nice to share with friends guests and visitors.

Why Should the Bears Be the Only Ones to Enjoy It?

One of my many road rides in February was following the shore of Slocan Lake northward towards Summit Lake. Because road rides are a little less demanding of your attention than, say, steep single-track trails, there was plenty of time to gawk at the scenery as I cruised along.

I stopped at the turnoff to the new refuse transfer station just off the highway about one kilometre north of Rosebery. After looking over all the construction efforts on site, I gazed upslope to a spot about 400 metres up behind the main transfer station clearing. What attracted me was a completely clear and open rock bluff, although small, seemed like it would offer great views, for the effort of a short hike up to it…

Several days later, I returned with some friends to scope out a trail up and to see if the views had any merit. We walked a little way south along the power line, and then just bee-lined up what was actually a pretty steep and windfall-laden route. Pretty soon we got up to the first openings, and before long walked out onto a delightful, flat, open, mossy out cropping. The scenery down the lake and eastwards was fine, and there was a good view of Valhalla Park’s northern boundary straight across the lake.

The neat thing is that the refuse transfer site, directly below is masked by trees. All you really see is the highway down below, and some of the entrance. This seems to be a favourite deer and elk picnic site as well, judging by the maze of game trails, and profusion of pellets everywhere! The flat spot is maybe ten by twenty metres, and fades back into the forest for shade on hot days. This could be a pretty dry spot in summer, with breezes typical and no water anywhere.

The land status is Crown land, coming down the mountainside to meet RDCK land, where the refuse station is located. There are tons of places to park either along the wide highway shoulder or anywhere near the station entrance, if not blocking traffic. An established trailhead could easily be made right by the perimeter of the transfer site.

I made a subsequent visit here with Jorg Becker, and we located a good access route from the corner of the site via an old road and a well-beaten game trail. During an afternoon work party, this route could be improved a lot. It goes through a stand of birch and fir, and nicely leads out onto the rocky point after about 20 minutes.

This is definitely an easy front country kind of experience, likely anti-climactic for some, but available and visible to everyone. Although the transfer station site seems an odd location to have it, at least this short hike allows some consolation.

Stop for a look anytime, or a hike up with some bushwhacking. Once the snow goes and things dry out a little, I’d like to set up a work bee to rough out the trail to the top.