The Dewdney Trail – Searching for Gold

A group of seven EKOC (East Kootenay Outdoor Club) enthusiastic hikers headed up the Wildhorse Creek to hike a section of the Dewdney Trail.

The trailhead

The trail was developed in the 1860’s when the excitement of the gold rush was paramount in the area. The Canada virtual museum has an interactive website which provides the history of the Dewdney Trail from Hope to where it ended at Wildhorse River.

Lorne does a fabulous job of organizing these Saturday forays. Another aspect of hiking with Lorne is that you never quite know where he will lead and where you will have to follow. Instead of following the trail along the side of the mountain, we went up and over not one but two hills. The hills had been destroyed by fire years previous and there were numerous snags that dotted the rocky landscape.

Heading up

Follow the leader and don’t look down

Snag

The rock had texture and a variety of colors

Burned and scarred

A quartz vein. Is there gold deep down?

Moss welcoming the warming temperatures and turning green

A quartz vein

Once we had hiked over the hills and connected with the actual trail, we headed back via the road to where there was a trail down to the Wildhorse River where there was an old mine shaft and various rusty artifacts left behind. At the start of the route down is a huge tree that has planted itself into the rock. At a quick glance, it is hard to tell what is rock and what is a huge tree root anchoring the tree.

Anchored to the rock

Rock or root – melded

To get down to the river, Lorne chose to go up and over a huge rock pinnacle. Why… because it was there and we could go up and over.

The rock

On the downside. Whew! that was a big step.

Going down to the river, the rocks were covered with moss. Once down at the river, you could see where the shaft had been sealed and various artifacts left behind.