Being in the Rocky Mountains really does humble ones perspective of landscape and scale, and our visit to Parks Canada’s Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks, proved this in spades.
This is the first time that the Trail Care Crew (TCC) has worked with Parks’ Staff at Mount Revelstoke, even though the TCC had visited the town previously in 2010. The work during 2010’s visit was done on the local McPherson Trails in collaboration with the Revelstoke Secondary School Bike Club.
During this visit, we undertook a visioning exercise with Park Staff to discuss plans for a suitable location to house a concept they have been working on for quite some time – a Youth Skills Park! This really is an exciting venture with some impressive creativity, and the opportunity to provide an amazing recreational destination for those visiting the park or for those from town. It was also great to meet and chat with local MTB advocate, professional rider, and coach Lorraine Blancher. It really is evident that the MTB passion that Lorraine and others that live in town share, is the thread that binds much of the success Revelstoke’s trails have given back to the community.
The TCC provided a Trail Building School (TBS) to the Parks’ Asset Crew, as well as other staff, that focussed on sustainable trail design and construction theory. During the several days spent at the Park, we were able to help conceptualize a more sustainable route for one of the current trails, and we had the pleasure of visiting Glacier National Park to research the potential of other trail opportunities for the future.
Thanks to all of the staff that went over and above to make our stay in Revelstoke such a memorable and positive experience. We look forward to visiting the park and developing even greater potential in years to come.