Baden Powell Connector
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
We decided to recon a trail that I had seen one day when coming down Nelson Canyon on the Trans Canada trail. On this holiday Monday the forecast was for a dry couple of hours in the morning with rain starting later on. So we set off for the parking lot off Westport Road at the Upper Levels, skipping our usual coffee at the start.
We parked and started at 9:15, walking to intercept the Trans Canada route, then continuing uphill on the old road to the water tower. Here we entered the trail in the woods which we followed for about 200m. I kept my eyes open to find the trail leading to the left and recognized it when I saw it. We headed along it and found ourselves close to the river's edge, walking through a forest of large douglas fir trees. In a further 400m the trail reached a well-made log bridge. There was no handrail but the log was flat, some 40 cm. wide and provided with two strips of solid mesh on which to walk without slipping. I am the most squeamish of the four of us when it comes to crossings but even I had no problem on this bridge, despite the rushing water below.
On the other side, a more recently-made trail followed the north side of Whyte Creek, with boot treads and cycle trails impressed in the wet muddier sections. We took the opportunity to have a hot chocolate break at a point along here. After this, we climbed gradually toward a lighter open area where the trail crossed the creek on a short wide plywood sheet bridge laid on logs and provided with mesh strips for safe walking. We now followed sections of older wider trails before skirting the edges of Whyte Lake to reach a road. A sign told us that we were banned by court order from travelling the Baden Powell trail to Horseshoe Bay or to Eagle Bluff. At this point we were about a kilometre from the Nelson Creek bridge and about 1.6 km. from the water tower.
The road leading uphill was marked with red tapes but nothing indicated that it was the Baden Powell Trail. However, we were not interested in heading up higher so we went downhill and, in about 100m. reached a junction where there were Baden Powell Trail markers. Behind us on the trail from which we had come was a sign saying Watershed No Access. The earlier notice had apparently banned us from going up or down the Baden Powell trail and the present one told us not to go back. However, I can say that subsequent research on my return showed that Whyte Lake is no longer used as a source for any water supply so the No Access notice may be out of date. I also found out that we were 1.5 km from the Black Mountain trailhead near Horseshoe Bay, 1.9 km from the Eagleridge Drive trailhead and 4.3 km from Eagle Bluff.
To conclude our hiking day, we had lunch in a busy Troll's Restaurant in Horseshoe Bay and met other hikers who had come over Panorama ridge from Whytecliff Park.
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