Say, how many times have you seen a vintage speedster from the early 1900s? My husband, Ed, and I saw eight of them when we were riding along the C&W Rail Trail near Castlegar, B.C., on July 28, 2012. And that was just one of the many interesting sights we saw on the trail that day.
From cyclists to ATVers
The ride started out with lovely sunshine. Our first unusual incident was seeing a car parked by the side of the trail. Farther up, we met a cyclist coming towards us who turned out to be the owner of the car. He had been out for a morning ride and was now on his way home for breakfast.
Our next encounter was when we overtook a family of four from Calgary, Alberta, riding up the trail. The father was on one bike with the youngest daughter in a basket, and it looked like all of the camping gear was draped over his bike. The wife and the eldest girl, who was about eight years old, were on their own bikes and they had some gear as well. They informed us that they were on the second day of an eight-day ride on the rail trail, which is very ambitious of them. We passed two more cyclists after that and they gave us a cheery wave as we slowly rode past them.
After that, we met up with a group of people who had four ATVs and one side-by-side. They were from the Grand Forks ATV Club in Grand Forks, B.C, and they were riding down the trail, doing trail maintenance along the way. The trail had suffered some damage due to the wet spring. In some places, water runoff had cut the edges of the trail and caused a few sinkholes so that quite a few water bars had to be constructed and barricades built for safety beside the slide damage. A lot of work has been done to keep the trail safe and manageable for users.
Doing some fancy riding
We found the mother of all washouts when we got to Brooklyn Creek. After observing the damage, we descended a very steep trail to the bottom of a gully, crossed a bridge that was barely wide enough for our Rhino and then climbed up an equally steep trail to the top. The fact that the washout could be traversed at all is remarkable, considering the damage. A machine was brought in to make this route passable again.
We stopped for lunch just past Bulldog Tunnel. I love going through that tunnel. Unfortunately, we had to come to a stop at Laferty Creek because the bridge that was installed there two years ago is not wide enough for some ATVs to cross over it. There is an alternate route over the creek at the site of an old washout but it is not meant for a Rhino. So for the second year in a row, we had to turn around.
Blast from the past
On our way home, we met some people with a Rhino and an ATV who hailed from Fort McMurray, Alberta. They were thrilled to be able to ride the rail trail. Then we met some people with eight vintage speedsters—Ford and Chevy cars from the years 1914 through to 1931. They had come from Seattle, Washington, and were at a meet in Nelson, B.C. They heard about the C&W Rail Trail and just had to ride it. They could only go as far as the washout but were thrilled to have the opportunity to ride this famous trail.
Our next encounter was with a can of bear spray, which we picked up and returned to its happy owner when we caught up with two cyclists. To finish off our day, we passed a man with four dogs who had been swimming in the lake and another man who was out for a walk.
Gaining in popularity
So that was our day, and what an interesting day it was with all the people we met on the trail. There were people from other parts of B.C. as well as Alberta, the Northwest Territories and even the U.S. It just goes to show you how well known the trail really is, and how many people will come long distances and adjust their travel plans just so they can experience this exciting and unique ride on this exceptional trail.
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