42 - Friday, August 21, 1992 - North Shore News

Network extends from
Victoria to St. John’s

On NOV. 7, 1885, the last
spike was hammered into
place to mark the comple-
tion of an unparalleled
engineering feat that for
over 100 years has linked
the two distinct coastlines
of Canada.

By A.P. McCredie
News Reporter

Apart from Hockey Night in
Canada, and perhaps Labatt’s
Blue, the uniting feature of the

national railway system remains a.

defining moment for this country.

With ‘the vision of a Sir John
A. MacDonald (the driving force
behind the coast-to-coast rail-
line), a non-profit organization in
Vancouver is bidding to make re-
ality of a modern National
Dream, Part Two to rol!
through the North Shore. _.

“The Centennial Trails Trust is
actively promoting the creation,
development, management and
use of a muthi-purpose, intercon-
necting trail network stretching
from Victoria to Banff,’’ Glen
Anwick, the organization's mar-
keting officer, suid recently.

Such a trail is not a new idea.

The original Centennial Trait
was developed in 1964, and three
years later it was dedicated to
commemorate the Confederation
of Canada and the Union of Van-
couver Island and British Colum-
bia.

At that time, the west trailhead
was located at Burnaby Mountain,
meandering cast along the 49th
parallel, then snaking up through
Fort Steele to Invermere and the
Alberta foothills.

The new, improved trail will

connect Horseshoe Bay, via the
Baden-Powell trail, to the original
trailhead. A trail from Victoria to
Nanaimo will complete the
1,400-km circuitous route.

This, however, is just
beginning.

The Great National Trail of
Canada — connecting trails across
all 10 provinces and covering
some 7,800 km from Victoria to
St. John’s — will be the world’s
longest trail when it is completed.

Though the idea of a cross-
Canada trail has been informally
discussed for decades, the recent
growth in public interest in hiking
and outdoor activities has inspired
a determined effort by hiking and
trail associations across the coun-
try to make the dream a reality.

According to a recent B.C.
Parks survey on outdoor recre-
ation, hiking was identified by
56% of those surveyed as their
most popular activity, with recre-
ational walking/hiking enjoyed by
over 80% of B.C.’s population.

Anwick beiieves the multi-use
trail, allowing horses and bicycle
(travel on designated sections, will
be a boon to tourism — much as
the West Coast Trail on Van-
couver Island has been — attrac-
ting hikers from around the
world.

The patron cf the Centennial
Trails Trust is former B.C. Lt-
Gov. Henry P. Bell-lrving.

The trust is operating through
government and private funding,
plus tax-deductible memberships
and donations from the gencral
public and business.

Outdoor enthusiasts who are in-
terested in becoming members or
volunteering can call 735-9195
(fax 738-7396), or write te the
Centennial Trails Trust at 1646
West 7ih Ave., Vancouver, B.C.,
V6s 185,

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