The past year has seen the incorporation of two local non-profit societies that are hard at work on the trails in the area.
The Nakusp & Area Trails Society
This group has been working on cleaning up Kimbol, Kuskanax and Kuskanax Mountain trails.
Labour on the first two was extensive, and involved brushing, clearing and water barring.
Because of the late spring, there was still snow on Kimbol trail in June and maintenance was delayed.
The society is applying for stewardship of the rail bed, known as the Trailway, from Nakusp to Summit Lake. The part of the rail bed from Summit Lake Hill onward lies within Area H of the RDCK, whose director Walter Popoff is still waiting to find out if the land tenure will be granted to the district.
“With all the changes in the provincial government, it could be any time,” Popoff said, but he also noted that the request for tenure was made before he came to office three years ago.
The area won’t go through the process of looking into private ownership of any land that the rail bed runs through unless it is given tenure, so the stewardship of the Trailway near Summit Lake is waiting on the province’s decision.
Area K director Paul Peterson says one challenge the group will eventually face is a public vote.
“A big roadblock will be the public referendum,” Peterson said, which will see whether or not people are willing to ante-up for the maintenance of local trails.
But the director would like it if the trail maintenance were carried out by local commissions, and has full confidence in the trails society.
“When I heard the names of who was in it,” Peterson divulged, “I knew these people could do it.”
The society is interested in keeping trail development in line with the land owner’s preferred usage. Some people would like to keep trails for non-motorized use while others want to be able to drive their ATVs through. The society itself has no preference, Barb Chwachka told me, they just want to make sure people get out there and enjoy nature on foot, horseback, or ATV.
The Trails Society now has about 40 members and room for more, so anyone who is interested can get memberships at Meritxell Bookstore and Little Mountain Outdoor Gear Store. Their next meeting will be Monday September 12, 7 p.m. at Nakusp Secondary School.
The Nakusp Freeride Downhill Mountain Bike Society
It has been busy since their formation the summer of last year.
Keeping to their mandate to enable people to get out enjoying nature while biking out on the trails, the twenty-plus membership has been building trails in the Box Lake area. So far they have four trails for bikes, refurbishing an older trail and are also building a skills park where novice riders and youth can develop their mountain biking prowess.
Safety is a big concern for the group, and they are applying for grants to put up signage that will alert riders to crossings with other paths, and the skill level required to ride certain trails.
The society’s website rates each trail and gives a listing of the features riders will come across in the trail, as well as the names of other trails each hooks up with.
As part of a student project, Barry McLean is working on GPS maps for the website. Crystal Townsend, the group’s secretary, told me that there are trails that the group doesn’t advertise because they’re on private property and they want to make sure that they are not ruined by careless riders.
“We promote respect of the trails,” she told me, and keeping the unadvertised trails, which are fragile, free from motorized vehicles is a priority.
Members get out at least once a week, usually meeting up at Box Lake or What’s Brewing On Broadway after making arrangements via their Facebook page. The weekly rides typically go from early Thursday evening until dark, but the group often go further afield, exploring trails around New Denver and Vernon for a bit of variety.
And every once in a while, races are held, which are more for fun and glory than anything else. The competitions are open to all ages, and the registration fee is a non-perishable item for the food bank. After the waivers are signed, the racers have a good time and their standings are taken down by the group.
