The consensus is in from the very first public group to walk the new Station View Trail.
The big hill will be known as “Cardiac Climb.”
BC Hydro’s new 1.7-kilometre trail – a detour on the popular Canyon View Trail – officially opened Friday as hikers huffed and puffed their way up the first leg of the climb to the ridge top.
A sturdy new bench is at the end of Cardiac for those who need a breather, and then it’s more uphill – although not as steep – to the top of the ridge where the station view becomes clear.
From this vantage point, well above the John Hart Generating Station, hikers have a great view of the massive construction project that will take place over the next five years.
BC Hydro will spend nearly $1 billion to replace the entire generating station and build a 1.8 kilometre tunnel to carry water from John Hart Lake down General Hill to the generators.
The Station View Trail was built as a detour around the construction zone and is expected to be decommissioned when the work is completed.
But not so fast, say some hikers who really enjoy the new walk and views. It’s also very accessible, in spite of Cardiac Climb. A blind man walked the trail with a friend and so did Colin Bus who uses a walker.
“I’m getting there, just hang on,” said Bus with a smile as caught up to the group.
Trail Notes:
- The total amount of fill material for the 1.7-kilometre Station View Trail was 570 metric tonnes – about 40 dump truck loads.
- The Canyon View Trail and Millennium Trail are well-used trail systems with about 75,000 user days of traffic per year.
- Since 2007, BC Hydro has been engaging the community to better understand the issues, concerns and recommendations around trail use. In 2008, about 1,700 trail users filled out a comprehensive survey.
- The newly named Station View Trail will go inland from the river and around the surge towers to connect back up with the Millennium Trail/Canyon View Trail.