Restoring BC’s Athabasca Pass Heritage Trail
by Donna Naprstek
Members of The Alpine Club of Canada Columbia Mountains Section are hard at work restoring the western side of an iconic trail.
Map by Donna Naprstek
The Athabasca Pass Heritage Trail brings to mind the epic explorer, cartographer and surveyor David Thompson who completed the first recorded crossing of Athabasca Pass in 1811. Led by an Iroquois man by the name of Thomas, Thompson and his team opened up a significant new route across the Rocky Mountains, leading to the Columbia River and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean for the fur trade. Thompson’s wife was Charlotte Small, a Cree woman who often joined his expeditions with their many children in tow. She brought with her knowledge of five languages, invaluable abilities and connections. Thompson, Small and their team incorporated innovative Indigenous travel techniques, including making and using snowshoes and using pemmican as a means of survival. This trail is of major importance in Canadian history The eastern side of it is in Jasper National Park and is maintained. The western side, from Athabasca Pass on the Continental Divide down to Kinbasket Lake, is largely not.
In July of 2021 Trevor Willson from Calgary and another volunteer spent four days including travel time, making their way halfway up the trail on the British Columbia side, flagging their route as they went. The official trailhead starts at the confluence of Jeffrey Creek and Wood River where the Jeffrey Creek campsite is located. At times, the trail became faint and difficult to follow because of forest overgrowth and fallen trees. Devil’s club was plentiful and made the going tough. It was last cleared by the BC Wildfire Service in 2002 and some work was done on it in 2010.
Trevor returned a second time, in September 2021, with two more volunteers and chainsaws. This time they were able to start at the trailhead and clear and flag eight more kilometres of trail. Each of these ventures required a drive from Revelstoke to Sprague Bay, then a ride across Kinbasket Lake on the Downie Timber barge. They continued as far as the Wood River bridge where they had to leave their vehicles and walk another eight kilometres to the Jeffrey Creek campsite.
Jeffrey Creek bridge, reconstructed, on the west side of Athabasca Pass. Photo Trevor Willson
History of the trail
Any travel on these trails involves walking in the footsteps of the fur traders. A plaque at the Sprague Bay Recreation Site points across Kinbasket Lake to the location of Boat Encampment, between Canoe River and Wood Arm. This is the site where David Thompson wintered with his crew in 1810-11 after descending the steep terrain on the west side of the Athabasca Pass. They built boats in preparation for spring travel on the Columbia River, which took them all the way to the Pacific Ocean. For nearly 50 years the site remained an important transfer point on the trade route between Montreal and the Pacific ports. Because of the Mica Dam, the Boat Encampment area is now flooded.
Artist, Paul Kane, also spent time on the Athabasca Pass Trail. Kane met with Sir George Simpson, the inland governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, to ask for permission to travel to the west coast in order to document the lives and customs of the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Kane set out with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1846 and his wanderings lasted two and a half years. Each snowy crossing of the Rockies was a particularly challenging part of his adventure. But his sketches, paintings, and notes from his diary made it safely back to Toronto and are admired to this day for their artistic value and for the recordings of Indigenous life before it was irreparably altered.
Clearing the west side of the Athabasca Pass Heritage Trail. Photo Trevor Willson
Reviving the trail
In 2022, Trevor Wilson led another five-day work party over Labor Day weekend. Their goal was to clear and mark the western side of the trail the rest of the way to the summit of Athabasca Pass, as well as construct bridges where needed. After months of organizing and planning, 16 volunteers were formed into three groups consisting of a Jeffrey Creek team, a Ridge team, and a Pacific Creek team. Because of the need to bring in equipment and supplies, they arranged for a helicopter to meet them at the Wood River bridge which took them and their gear to the three sites along the trail. Volunteers that weekend came from Calgary, Rossland, Nelson, Kelowna, Vallican, and Revelstoke.
Particular attention was paid to safety and only very experienced people were chosen for the type of work that they were assigned to do. Safety glasses, helmets, and sturdy work gloves were provided and even life jackets were available for working in the fast-running creeks. The remaining eight kilometres of the trail were cleared and fifteen of the sixteen total kilometres were brushed. When blowdowns were being removed, chainsawing the deadwood started at the highest point and logs were rolled downhill to where no one was in danger of being hit. But before this could happen, parts of the trail still had to be found and marked. This was no easy task for the Ridge team on the steep slope of La Grande Cote or for the Pacific Creek team, working their way up to Athabasca Pass.
Two bridges were built; one over Pacific Creek near that camp, using a tree that had fallen across it, and one at the Jeffrey Creek camp. An immense log lying across Jeffrey Creek was used as a base for a 96-foot bridge. First, branches had to be removed and while two people sat on the log, a chainsaw was used to create a level surface for walking on. Decking, posts, and supports were attached to this to give stability as well as a railing to hold on to. A food hang was also set up between two tall trees, benches were constructed, and new signs were installed to give direction to backpackers.
When all the work was done some of the teams hiked to the Pass. As they did, spirits soared and a feeling of pride in their accomplishments prevailed. A small lake or tarn called Committee’s Punch Bowl sits at the Height of Land. In the days of the Hudson’s Bay Company travelers gave a toast to the London Governor and Honourable Committee, hence the name. This is also on the Alberta-BC border and the Continental Divide; from here, water flows west to the Pacific on one side, and north to the Arctic Ocean on the other.
This remote trail is a link to our past. If you decide that hiking through pristine wilderness on a trail of such historical value is for you, keep an eye open for notched trees from those who came before us.
2023 Trip Update
Unfortunately, the planned 2023 Athabasca Pass Heritage Trail maintenance trip did not go ahead due to a variety of issues. However, several people did paddle and bike, then hike to the top of Athabasca Pass from the west side.
They reported that:
• the trail is in excellent condition
• the Jeffrey Creek Bridge is in excellent condition
• the old trail markers from 20 to 40 years ago should be replaced by our new UV-resistant ones
• about five to ten trees had fallen across the 16km trail
Uri Naprstek of the ACC Columbia Mountains Section is currently applying for funding for a maintenance trip that would take place in early September, 2024.
Donna Naprstek
Retirement started a whole new life of hiking and skiing in the alpine for Donna and her husband when they moved west in 2013. BC and Alberta offer endless opportunities to pursue their passion for the mountains. Kayaking along the Columbia River also brings them joy and contentment.