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West Kootenay Trail Society gears up for new season

Though there’s still some snow pack on the trails, spring is here and the trails society is gearing up for a new season of trail building.
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The Kootenay Columbia Trails Society will be working on Phase 2 of the Dewdney Trail upgrade project this summer.

Though there’s still some snow pack on the trails, spring is here and the trails society is gearing up for a new season of trail building.

This year the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society (KCTS) will be working on Phase 2 of the Dewdney Trail upgrade project.

“Phase 1 was done last fall, it was the upper section,” says Scott Forsyth, vice president of the KCTS.

Phase 2 will continue the work that began in Phase 1 and at some point the project will incorporate an old section of the original Dewdney Trail that isn’t currently connected.

The KCTS will also be working on a new trail in Trail the Upper Bluffs.

“I think it’s been four or five years since [the Bluffs trail] was done, so this new Upper Bluffs project will be another loop above the existing Bluffs trail,” says Forsyth. “Adding to what has become a really, really popular trail used by lots and lots of runners and dog walkers and hikers as well as mountain bikers.”

Another trail that will continue to see development this summer is Eddie J, which the Monday Night Church of Dirt will continue building. Forsyth, who founded the group, says the Church of Dirt will most likely start up again in May, depending on the snow pack, and those interested in participating should keep an eye on Bhubble where Forsyth will post details for the first day of trail building.

The KCTS also has a brand new website for the new season at kcts.ca. The new site includes online trail maps that link to trailforks.com, a website building a database of mountain biking trails throughout the world.

“It’s still in the growing stage though, and certainly even in Rossland, all of the trails aren’t there yet,” explains Forsyth, “so we’re asking for a bit of patience from people as we get it populated. But the other thing is that it can be crowd sourced; anybody can post a trail.”

The site provides updates on trail conditions, as well as the distance, elevation and average biking time for the trail.

In preparation for the new season, the KCTS is in the midst of a membership drive. An annual membership is $10 and a lifetime membership is $125, and as an added bonus this year, those who renew or purchase their memberships before April 30 will automatically be entered into a raffle. Prizes include a two nights in a Luxury Townhouse from Mountain Town Properties, a $100 gift certificate from Revolution Cycles, a stainless steel growler with beer from Rossland Beer Company and chocolate from Mountain Nugget Chocolate Company, among others. Memberships can be purchased on the KCTS website.

Those who are further interested in supporting the KCTS can also make a donation to the Trails for Tomorrow endowment found, which currently sits at about $23,000 and has already paid out about $1000 this year.

“The principal never gets spent; we get five per cent a year from it right now,” explains Forsyth.

For more information, visit kcts.ca/trails-for-tomorrow.