Hopping Around Hope

Hi Blog!

Today is Tuesday, May 3, 2016. It is our last full day in Hope. Yesterday, we ended up working on logistics like getting Canadian Health Insurance and loading all the Canadian topo maps in our hiking GPS. By the time we finished all our chores, it was Happy Hour! So today, we decided to get an early start and see some of the sites in the immediate area.  First stop - Othello Tunnels - located in the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park.

In the early 1900s, the Canadian Pacific Railway decided a railroad was necessary to link the Kootenay Region with the BC coast. Andrew McCulloch was hired as the chief engineer in May 1910. The railway was built over three mountain ranges. In the Coquihalla Gorge, the Coquihalla River cuts a 300 foot deep channel through solid granite, which magnified the challenges. Here is our first look at the mighty Coquihalla River.

To get through the gorge, a straight line of railroad tunnels were built through the mountain, which are known now as the Othello Tunnels. Mr. McCulloch was an avid reader of Shakespearean literature, and he used characters such as Lear, Jessica, Portia, Iago, Romeo and Juliet to name stations of the Coquihalla subdivision. The tunnels in the Coquihalla Canyon were near the Othello station – thus, the Othello Tunnels. Many of the passengers on the Coquihalla rail line came expressly to see and photograph the station boards and to send postcards from the stations’ post offices as a souvenir. Here is our photo of the Othello Tunnels.

The Coquihalla River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia. It originates in the Coquihalla Lakes and empties into the Fraser River at Hope.

Unfortunately, fishing season doesn't open in this area until June 30th. We had to satisfy ourselves by catching a selfie!

Our next stop - Kawkawa Lake. The lake is home to many species of fish, but it is best known for its large kokanee (land-locked salmon), which can reach up to 3 pounds in weight. We are really looking forward to the day we get our kayaks.

We took a short stroll around the wooded banks of the lake and found a spot to peek out across the water.

Kawkawa Lake Park is situated on the lake and has amenities such as: toilets, swimming beach, grassy play area, park benches with picnic tables and a small dock that has a concrete boat launch. We are still early in the season, so it wasn't very busy today.

Onward and upward - Thacker Mountain! The Thacker family - early Hope pioneers - built their homestead at this mountain (originally named Little Mountain) around the turn of the century. Upon their death, they willed the mountain to British Columbia. Here is the view from the first lookout. That's Landstrom Ridge just behind Hope.  We noted that it would make a good hike on a later visit.

We followed a utility road up to the microwave station at the top of Thacker Mountain and we were rewarded with a fine view of Hope Mountain.

The trail circled the summit and gave us a view of Kawkawa Lake.

After hiking back down to the trailhead, we went into town for lunch. When we got back to the campground, we found a text message from our friends George and Nancy looking for a campground recommendation. Before we had a chance to respond, they knocked on our door! Fate brought them to the site next door to us!

Can you say "Happy Hour"?