While the trails in Nelson (and to a lesser extent, Rossland) get all the press
time and exposure in the mountain bike world, New Denver and Silverton in the
Slocan Valley boast a network of trails that rival the best the Kootenays has
to offer. While I've skied
in the Valhallas just west of New Denver I didn't realize until recently
that there were alpine bikedescents in the area.
What tweaked my interest was a writeup in the new Super, Natural British Columbia
tourism guide "Bike
Vacations: Kootenay Rockies". Ignore the geographically unfortunate
title and focus on the description of Idaho Peak/Wakefield Trail as "dreamscape
360-degree panoramas, followed by epic vertical, high speeds and heaps of flow".
Mitchell Scott is a connoisseur of trails, and when Mitchell Scott writes a
description like that, there's only one thing to do -- find out what he's talking
about for myself!
My Kootenay's road trip had already taken in one alpine ridgeline
epic in Rossland's
Seven Summits. From Rossland, New Denver/Silverton (I'll call it New Denver
for simplicity although for the record they are two separate municipalities)
is about a 2 hour drive due north along Highway 6 up the Slocan Valley and
is one of a series of communities along Slocan Lake. We got there while they
were hosting the Valhalla Summer
School of Music, an event which adds 30% to the population of New Denver's
650 residents. Restaurants get booked quickly during the summer rush so be
warned and make reservations.
Shelter from a Kootenay
storm.
Being clueless newbs to this area we chose to shuttle. There
is a fire lookout at the summit of Idaho Peak. A winding road, built to access
this lookout, goes all the way to the Alamo parking lot located at the col
between Idaho Peak (2282m) and Selkirk Peak (2324m). Silver Ridge links these
two peaks. It turns out that the road from New Denver to the parking lot and
the climb itself isn't really that difficult - approximately 26.5km over 1600m
with a gradual climb on the first leg to Sandon and getting steeper thereafter.
The road is in decent shape and is easily navigated by a 2WD vehicle. Althought
narrowing as you approach the top, the greatest hazard may be pulling out
on some sections to pass nervous drivers.
Click here
for a panoramic of the picture below.
Kokanee Glacier Provincial
Park to the east (picture left) and Valhalla Provincial Park to the west (picture
right) from the Wakefield trailhead. Taken from the parking lot at the col
at Selkirk and Idaho Peak.
Here are some guidelines for time management for different ways
to ride this route.
Shuttling: We managed to hire a local to drive
us up to the top. It takes about 1 hour to drive to the top. The ride down
for us to Silverton then the 5km of road-ride north on Hwy 6 back to New Denver
on a road with a nice shoulder (with lots of photos and gawking at scenery)
was about 1.5 hours. If we hadn't had the shuttle to the top call it about
a 4 hour ride as you would have to retrieve a shuttle vehicle.
Climbing: The next day we rode part of the
uphill with Jorg Becker, a local who holds the unofficial record for climbing
to the Idaho Peak parking lot (62 minutes timed from Sandon to the parking
lot). I figure that the climb itself from town would take 2 hours at a leisurely
pace either by climbing on the Galena trails or on the highway. So call that
about a 4 to 5 hour pedal-powered round-trip.
Indian paintbrush on
the descent of Idaho Peak singletrack.
Our ride started from the Alamo parking lot. The idea of hiking
the short distance to Idaho Peak proper and taking in the 360-degree view
from the peak to the Valhalla's, the New Denver Glacier, Kokanee Glacier,
the Goat Range and other Kootenay landmarks, was enticing but some stormy
weather was coming in from the south. Given that we were wearing bike shoes
with metal cleats, the idea of hiking an exposed peak on Silver Ridge anywhere
close to a lightning storm didn't seem prudent. Instead we waited out the
storm under a shelter and took in the views.
The long way down the
Wakefield Trail. Photo ~ David Diplock
From the Alamo parking lot, we drop down the Wakefield trail
to the shores of Slocan Lake. The Wakefield trail is on the south face of
Idaho Peak and is one of the first series of trails clear of snow.
Click here
for a panoramic of the picture below.
Old mining tracks on
the Wakefield Trail.
Packhorses servicing camps of miners living on Silver Ridge
first built the Wakefield Trail. They have left tokens of their enterprise
and skill as reminders to us that it wasn't all about play.
Not enough travel - Wakefield
Trail
As with all Kootenay singletrack, the views were horribly distracting and
the singletrack was incredibly narrow with frequent switchbacks acting as
speed-checks to keep you focussed.
Click here
for a panoramic of the picture below.
More squalls pass through
the south Kootenays. Photo ~ David Diplock.
We missed the prime alpine flower season by about three weeks.
However it had rained recently on Silver Ridge and even the usually dry south
slopes were lush-green. The trail was beautifully tacky and in great shape.
I would imagine that dust could be an issue during a dry spell.
A view of Kokanee Glacier
Provincial Park, Slocan Lake and Silverton.
Fireweed on the slidepaths
I've ridden some ripping alpine singletrack but I've never,
ever seen singletrack which justifies the labe so precisely; tire-width
narrow in most places. It was carpetted with pine needles and the trailbed
is in pristine shape. The trail itself is beautifully bench-cut, which probably
explains in large part why it's in such great shape. Apparently, the Wakefield
Trail doesn't see a lot of traffic. There simply aren't many riders - either
local or visitors - in the Slocan Valley.
Lush green singletrack
on the lower Wakefield.
The flow of this iridescent emerald green-lined trail didn't
want to quit. Switchback after switchback, turn after turn, followed by ripping
fast sections where you release the brakes keeps on coming.
Loamy beautifully tight
switchbacks- lower Wakefield.
All good things do come to an end and just when we think our
brake fluid boileth over we found ourselves on doubletrack which then became
a forest service road coasting us down to Silverton. Following that we had
a road ride back to New Denver.
Village of Silverton
The next day the weather still looked dicey although the light
framed the climb to Idaho Peak enticingly.
Morning squalls over
Idaho Peak.
We meet up with a local, Jorg Becker on day two and heoffered
to show us some singletrack climbs and a descent which rolls around Three
Forks and Sandon.
Carpenter Creek from
the Galena Trail.
The Galena
Trail and the H-Road climb is part of a network of rail-to-trails non-motorized
recreational trails and climbing singletrack which takes you from New Denver
to the Idaho Peak climb close to the Queen Bess fork on that same road. It's
a great way to climb from town to the Alamo parking lot. Along the way you
get to experience a rather unique way to crossing a creek - Carpenter Creek
in this case.
Carpenter Creek cable
car crossing - Galena Trail.
Quite a thrill and a nice way to avoid getting your feet wet,
the cable car was installed by volunteers in 1997 and replaces an old trestle
that once crossed this section of river called "Alamo Siding".
Carpenter Creek cable
car crossing - Galena Trail. Photo ~ Sharon Bader.
A Norco above fluid water.
The ruins of many old mine buildings are still in place, the
concentrator at Alamo Siding are among the more impressive examples of what
happens when flood-waters wreak havoc. Once 200 people lived and worked here,
"working
three mines, an ore concentrator and a hydro-electric plant."
Click here
for a panoramic of the picture below.
Sandon real estate. Mining
ruins
Branching off from the Galena, H-road's singletrack climbs up through remarkable
coastal-looking rainforest up the flank of Idaho Peak to the road that climbs
to the Alamo parking lot.
Mossy narrow singletrack
on the H-Road climb Photo ~Sharon Bader.
We made a loop of this ride by descending the road to Sandon then taking
the K&S Trail on the north side of Carpenter Creek back to town. This
entire ride is full of history which I can barely touch on in this article.
Sandon in its heyday was B.C.'s largest city with over 5,000 inhabitants.
It had red-light districts, bars, warehouses, hotels, breweries, schools,
a curling rink and an opera-house but it's now largely deserted. The K &
S Trail (or the Kaslo and Sandon Rail Line trail) is another rails-to-trails
effort that starts out mellow but then descends in tight, twisty and steep
fashion back to Three Forks and the Galena trails.
K & S trail descent.
This profile of our first day's ride - Idaho Peak/Wakefield
- is a ride profile to warm the heart of any shuttler. Over 1500m of descending;
of which over 800m is on pristine singletrack and only 55m of ascent. Seen
on the trail - a few mine-shafts, some rabbits and marmots, some bear-scat,
and not a single other soul other than riding partners. Spell-binding and
highly-distracting views of the Valhallas, Kokanee Glacier, Slocan Lake all
included.
A graph to warm the heart
of any shuttler - Idaho Peak - Wakefield trail descent. Plotted with a Polar
HRM.
Although there is an awful lot of trails that we didn't explore
in New Denver I wouldn't say that the area itself has the variety or abundance
of the Rossland trail network or the challenge of Nelson. What it has though
is very special and very unique to an area that has very few crowds. The
trails are so deserted and pristine that you are literally, at times, riding
over moss growing on the established trail. While one would never mistake
any Kootenay trails (whether it be in Silverton, Kaslo, or Rossland) for
the take-a-number madness of certain North Shore trails on a weekend, there
is something to be said for riding in an area where you literally won't
see anyone else the entire day without trying very hard to get away from
it all.
If you want a less technical high-alpine experience on pencil
thin singletrack seasoned with flow, stunning views and more than a hint
of history, visit New Denver and Silverton and ride Idaho Peak's Wakefield
Trail.
Lee Lau
If you'd like to comment on this article or see what others
had to say click
here.
Some useful links:
-
-
-
Magic Places (Jorg
and Ulli Becker) - contact if you're looking for a good climb and ride;
or a great bike tour
-
-
Some other places and resources of note (no web presence)
- Appletree Cafe - New
Denver - (open for breakfast and lunch 250.358.2691)
- Jack Harvey's Restaurant - Village
of Silverton (Reservations recommended in high-time in summer 250.358.2888)
- New Denver Area mountain bike trails map (available from most New Denver/Silverton
businesses)
