Trail alliance holds first work bee of season

By MIKE YOUDS

NEWS — Volunteers with Kamloops Thompson Trails Alliance, including members of local hiking clubs, will gather on Saturday to make improvements along the Community Grasslands Trail.

The work party, first of the season for the alliance, takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Anyone affiliated with a member hiking club can participate. Others interested in helping out can sign up on the website (there is a $20 individual membership fee), http://www.kamloopsthompsontrailsalliance.com. Club or alliance membership is required for insurance purposes. Email almichel@shaw.ca if you wish to take part.

The trailhead is located off Ida Lane near The Dunes golf course. Parking is limited.

An initial work party scheduled for this past weekend was postponed due to residual snow at higher elevations.

A second work party is scheduled for April 26, 8:30 a.m.-noon, on the Dewdrop Trail, located along Fredericks Road in the Dewdrop Ecological Reserve west of Tranquille.

“Every year, we work with B.C. Parks and (city) recreation and trails to see what trails out there need more TLC than others,” said Richard Doucette, president of the alliance.

Thousands regularly use a vast array of trails around the city, but many routes have no official status or are not regularly maintained.

“People don’t realize that the trails don’t manage themselves and there are all kinds of disturbances,” said Doucette, a biologist and outdoors enthusiast. “It’s good to see those trails maintained.”

The alliance was incorporated as a society a couple of years ago along the lines of the successful Shuswap Trails Alliance. Member clubs include the Kamloops Outdoors Club, Kamloops Hiking Club, Kamloops Naturalist Club, Overlander Ski Club, Kamloops Bike Riders and Kamloops Ridge Runners.

Since forming, they’ve done trail work at Isobel Lake, along the Bushwacker Trail on McConnell Hill near Stake Lake and on both trails that are the focus of this spring’s work bees. A small group of core people usually takes part.

“It’s definitely rewarding work,” Doucette said.