KVR - Cycle Trip

• Posted on October 22, 2008 at 1:15 PM

Descent to Jura

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Below are details of our 6 day trip from Rock Creek to Hope; total distance 485 km (including the odd detour). The focus is on trail conditions, as this was highly variable, and small differences could be noticed on my hybrid. The trip was from September 23rd to 29th 2007 inclusive, and was cool and mostly dry, with frost overnight, under clear skies, with rain on the penultimate day, and freezing rain over the Coquihalla summit. There had been a few days of rain before the 23rd, so this may have improved the condition of some soft sections.

Day 1: Rock Creek to Lakevale (74 km) Good hardpack surface with some fairly loose, sandy sections from Kettle Valley Provincial Park campground to Beaverdell, plus a stretch of road around Rhone. Good surface from Beaverdell to Lakevale Station, with the most scenic stretch being the loop up and back down Wilkinson Creek. There is some minor washboard within a couple of kilometers of Arlington Lakes. Nice, lakeside Forest Service campground; no piped water.

Day 2: Lakevale (Arlington Lakes) to Chute Lake (82 km) Steady grade and good, hardpack surface from Arlington Lakes to Hydraulic Lake, with minor washboard either side of Hydraulic Lake. Very good, stable surface in the region of Myra Canyon, as far as the Bellevue trestle. Poor, loose washboard from Bellevue to Chute Lake (many motorized vehicles). The Myra Canyon bypass (15 km) is OK in the dry, but is mostly hard packed mud, so may be tricky in the wet: a lot of ups and downs up to at least 6% grade, a few short, loose, gravelly sections and one very rough descent from the logging road. [Note: All Myra Canyon trestles are open as of late summer 2008, so the bypass is no longer necessary]

Day 3: Chute Lake to Crump Long downhill (approx 25km) from Chute Lake to Naramata is loose in places, with some washboard. Improves after the tunnel, and then much better from Naramata; hard packed gravel and then asphalt in Penticton. Gradual packed sand/gravel incline up to Summerland is a nice surface with great views of the lake. In Summerland, the road detour around the active railway is very rollercoaster, and rejoins the KVR trail at Faulder. For a few kilometers, the trail runs alongside the railway. Immediately there is about 3 km of truly dreadful, newly laid loose gravel, which provides almost no traction, followed by a small stretch of decent hard pack, and then 5 to 6 km of very loose sand, on a fairly steep grade all the way to Crump. This section is very hard going. Possible bypass of this section on Hwy 40 from Faulder to Trout Creek?

Day 4: Crump to Princeton (81 km) Good/variable surface on the ascent until just before the trail joins the road at Thirsk Lake. The rail grade is then very loose and sandy for another 30 km approx, improving to hard packed surface at around Erris Tunnel. The payback is an easy descent on a firm surface, with a limited amount of loose rock, through Jura, and all the way to Princeton.Possible detour option is Hwy 40 from Bankeir to Jura, rejoining the trail just past the Jura gazebo. The Princeton Municipal Campground (1.5 km West on Hwy 3) is well priced ($17), conveniently located between the sawmill/river and the highway, and has showers.

Day 5: Princeton to Brodie (67 km) Generally good, hard packed surface until Coalmont, with numerous small rockfalls to negotiate along the Tulameen river valley. Becomes very loose and sandy from Coalmont until just past Otter Lake, and then becomes decent hardpack and a steady uphill grade through farmland in the river valley. The right of way becomes nasty washboard approximately 10 km before Brookmere, improving to hard packed narrow cart tracks on the descent from Brookmere to Brodie. Finally, some short (<50m)>

Day 6: Brodie to Hope (85 km approx) Good surface for approx 6 km on a logging road until the first washout. Note: the designated bypass trail around the KVR washout is also washed out now, and is loose, dangerous and almost impassable (may well be completely gone by Spring 2008). The lower bypass looked easier, but is on loose material close to the river. The second trail washout on this stretch (800 m further on) is passable on sandy scree below the original trail, but this is also loose, unstable material. Joined the Coquihalla Highway for a 20 km ascent to the Coquihalla summit, then a steep downhill to Aurum. Picked up a 5 km section of the trail from Aurum (accessed up a steep logging road) back to the highway. This section is a mix of logging access roads and narrow trails. The trail was firm with some muddy sections and rockfall and continues to the east side of the highway. We continued down the highway to Othello road to Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. The trail from Othello to Hope is well developed and firm.

General comments: This was tough on a hybrid with 700C 38 tires (Vittoria Adventure Comfort). Though I had only one puncture in 6 days, and the tires held out well, the traction was insufficient for soft sections. Knobbly tires are needed for the soft sections. Water is scarce in some sections. Bring a water purifier/filter, and keep stocked up. Much of the camping is at quite high elevation (>1100 metres). Dress warmly at night.