TRESTLES – N – TUNNELS!

REGISTRATION OPENS JULY 23 at 8:00 am!

***Please note that the ride begins from the MYRA STATION PARKING LOT.  If you are not caravaning with the group, please make sure you go to the correct parking lot!

We were closed out back in June due to Covid, but we are good to go now!  The Myra Canyon Trestles are open once more!  Enormous thanks to Club Leaders Ian & Liz Cornish for volunteering to Partner-Lead and allow more members to participate!

NOTE ON COVID-19:  It’s still around, folks.  New cases in the Interior, so we DO need to stay on top of our social distancing to stay safe ourselves, and to help keep our fellow hikers/bikers, close friends, and loved ones safe.  If you can’t take this seriously, I ask that you do not sign up for this trip.

First, a little history on The Myra Trestles, from the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society website:

( https://www.myratrestles.com/ )

“In 1897-1898, responding to the rush for Kootenay gold, silver and other minerals being mined, the CPR built the Crow’s Nest Pass line, eventually reaching Midway in West Kootenay. Meanwhile the Great Northern Railroad, a USA company, was also completed with branch lines North into Canada. Crossing the 49^th parallel threatened the sovereignty of what is now Southern BC by claiming “Manifest Destiny”, a philosophy at the time to drive US territorial expansion.

CPR directors and its President Thomas Shaughnessy agreed to a plan from the small Kettle River Valley Railway (later the Kettle Valley Railway or “KVR”) to extend the southern route from Midway. By connecting to the main line at Hope, Kootenay minerals and lumber could move to the ports of New Westminster and Vancouver. This commitment and action kept BC within Canada.

Myra Canyon presented a challenging obstacle to Chief Engineer Andrew McCullough. At an elevation of 1280 metres, the highest section of the KVR, it is a deep, steep and wide chasm, carved out by two main creeks: today’s KLO and Pooley creeks. McCulloch creatively hung his railway on the sides of the canyon, using nearly eleven kms of track to reach around something less than one kilometer wide. Completed in 1914, it took 19 (now 18) wooden trestles of various lengths and heights to do it. McCulloch commented that he had never seen a railway built in such difficult conditions. His engineers aptly called it “McCulloch’s Wonder”.

When the Coquihalla section opened in 1916 the southern route from the Kootenays to the West coast was complete. Through to 1980 the KVR was the major economic driver of development of BC’s southern interior.”

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Come join us as we ride through some of BC’s scenic history!

We will meet up at the Valleyview Arena Meet Up Spot at 8:00am and caravan drive to the Trailhead at the Myra Station end of the Trestle Trail.  Depending on traffic, this is a 2 1/2 hr to 3 hr drive.  (The trailhead is 24 km from downtown Kelowna.  Use Google Maps and search Kamloops to Myra Station Parking Lot, Myra Canyon to see the routes available.)

Directions:  Once in Kelowna, take KLO Rd to McCulloch Road, to the Myra Forest Service Road. Use caution since this section of paved road is narrow with blind corners. Once on the forest service road, follow it for 8 kms to the large parking area. The road is gravel and can be rough. The gravel parking area is divided into two lots with a total of roughly 75 spots and lots of room to turn around. There are two pit toilets here, one of which is wheelchair accessible. There is no parking beyond this point.

Once there, we will saddle up and RIDE to Ruth Station.  It is 12 kms one way between the Myra and Ruth Stations (24 km round trip). Compact gravel and trestle surface.  The grade is within 2 degrees with no steep climbs. What makes the Myra Canyon section special are the 18 trestles and two tunnels you’ll pass over and through, with spectacular views, informative signs and a truly unique experience.  PLEASE NOTE:  THIS WILL BE A LEISURELY RIDE, WITH MANY STOPS FOR PHOTOS, AND JUST TAKING IT ALL IN.  If you like to ride quickly, this is NOT a ride for you.  We will stop for lunch at a spot to be chosen along the way (lots of bike parking and room for seated social distancing….and VIEWS!!) so bring a lunch and plenty of water.

Apres-bike, there will undoubtedly be a quest for ice cream before heading home……   : )))

Please note:

• I am not an expert bicyclist, I do not ride singletrack, etc.  (I have done, but don’t any longer)  I have an old but faithful mountain bike – I know how to ride it and can actually change a tire (slowly….with an instruction cheat sheet…. which I keep with tools in a seat-pouch).  I am posting this outing due to it’s looking like awesome scenery!  I’ve never seen it and want to go – and thought I would post it on the Club Site in case others wanted to come along, so consider it to be “exploratory“(I have not been before).  It’s an out and back trip – the round trip distance is 24km.  Participants need to understand they are expected to be completely self-sufficient with their bikes – carry tools and spare tire/tube, etc, in addition to the Ten Essentials and a mandatory bike helmet.  I am not qualified to assist in repairs or trouble-shooting other than to encourage and cheer you on.  You need to be familiar with cycling, and hopefully cycle often.
• Please contact the Hike Leader if you have questions.