What’s Going On – GCC Social Feed
A quick update on the alpine ride application process. Section 57 applications went in for 4 different trails several years ago. Last summer a committee based decision was made to pursue the Hobo trail first with the $5000 we had been granted for an Environmental Impact Assessment. The EIA was submitted at the end of last summer and we were informed that there was a moratorium on new alpine trails.
In late July this summer Rec Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC) organized a field visit to the area with several stakeholders as well as some biologists and wildlife habitat provincial employees. Some great discussions took place and it was valuable to see how much use the area already gets. The wildlife folks had some concerns about bear and goat habitat but no real data to back it up.
RSTBC has provided the GCC with some trail cameras in order to get a better idea of the current number of users. These will be installed soon and will collect data year round.
Hopefully it will be determined that this is already a high use area and the wildlife concerns can be managed and mitigated. So the process continues.
Here’s hoping that the continued efforts of advocacy groups across the province spur a more progressive attitude from government officials, and other user groups. Knee jerk reactions and groups drawing lines in the sand with no factual evidence to back up their claims has put the alpine in more risk from rogue access. When there is a defined trail, people stick to the trail.
I'm an avid mountain biker, and love the thought of biking in the alpine but, 'if you build it, they will come'...and the wildlife will be disturbed yet again. We are slowly increasing our access to everywhere. This is not good for the wildlife who depend on these areas. Studies will look through a very focused lens on the impact of one trail....but I guarantee no-one, particularly the government, will have the funding, motivation nor time to do a 'big picture' look at the true cumulative effects of the roads, trails, helicopter access and increasing human activity thorughout the Purcells. Any increase in use, has an impact on the wildlife, is another straw on the camels back, so to speak. The real question is do we want to sanction increasing the pressure on wildlife species, adding to the challenges they face in meeting their basic needs, in order to have yet another fun, great mountain bike trail experience? Our population is growing, it is getting easier and easier to access to the far reaches of our wilderness and sooner or later, wildlife will pay the price once again. The impact of one trail, may not seem like much, but look at how human use in the area, all year round, has increased over the last two decades.....this trend can't continue, we must start making sacrifices to give wildlife the space that they need.
Thanks for keeping people informed.
Sounds a lot like getting a pipeline built! 🤔
Huge shout out to everyone who came out to work on the Twisted Sister volunteer build day.
We had between 25 and 30 people attend, despite the weather. About 250 meters of trail were built with only one bee sting to report!
Thanks to all who attended to help on the trail and make Golden a better place to bike. Big thanks to those who provided a great lunch of chili and fresh home baked apple pie!
The GCC Trail Crew has been hard at work lately keeping the trails prim and proper. Here's an update of the happenings of late:
-General cutting of deadfall across trails. Brushed the entrance of Sternwheeler, more to come.
-Moved the fire pit off the middle of the Summit Trail entrance.
-Worked with Bruce, helping him with line ideas and fun options for his section of Twisted Sister.
-B12 corridor work, remove deadfall, old ladder bridge, and bar grabbers.
-Worked with the students, taught them how to bench cut trail and make terrain features.
-5K/3K corners and intersection. Although you pass these corners pretty fast and would never know it, we moved over a 1000+ pounds of stone and rocks to build up and armour these sections.
TRAIL BUILDING, FUN MAKING, Volunteer Day
Twisted Sister, the CBT parallel on the north side of the ski hill road needs your help!
Sunday Sept 16
Meet at 9:00 AM on the FSR (logging road) across from the mid hemiptera trail entrance.
Coming from town toward the ski hill on Kicking Horse Trail, turn right at the logging road 5.7 km after the bridge, continue along the logging road approx 100m to the trail head.
Plan is to work till 1 PM and then have lunch (provided!).
Tools provided, all welcome.
We have recently been made aware of some encounters members have had at Sander Lake that has not made them feel welcome while using that area. I have spoken to the owners of the campground and they are happy with bikers using the trails and road around Sander Lake. They recognize that it is mostly Crown Land and have always been accommodating with public users. Their main concern is the potential liability of public assessing the dock next to the road which is their private property. Please do not use this area. Signage will be posted soon as well indicating this. As usual please don’t drive up to Sander Lake as it is clearly marked private at the bottom of the road. If you need to drive up there to do trail work call Bernie Sander at 344-6517 and he will happily let you. If you do encounter anyone up there act respectfully and hopefully any misunderstandings have been clarified. Enjoy the great riding conditions!