Saw a massive change in trail conditions over 3 years on the Kettle Valley Railway route

I've been hiking the KVR section near Penticton since 2021 and honestly the difference is wild. Back then the old trestles were still pretty solid but now parts are literally crumbling into the canyon and you gotta watch your step real careful. Some people say it's just natural decay and we should leave it be, others think the trail society should rebuild them before someone gets hurt. Has anyone else noticed how fast those wooden structures are falling apart compared to just a couple seasons ago?

2 comments

2 Comments

morganhayes28d ago

Holy crap, wait. Did you say @william407 that those trestles are basically cracking all at once? Three years ago I walked across the Myra Canyon section and didn't think twice, now I wouldn't trust them with my dog. There's this one spot near the McCulloch trestle where a whole support beam just snapped clean in two, not even rotted looking just dried out and gone. The trail society keeps putting up warning signs but they're not actually fixing anything, just slapping paint on the broken parts. It's wild how fast wood can go from "fine" to "death trap" when the Okanagan sun bakes it for years straight.

william40728d ago

The KVR trestles near Penticton have definitely gotten sketchy fast. I notice the same thing with old wooden boardwalks on trails in the Okanagan too, they just dry rot and crack way quicker than people expect. Guess that's the thing with leaving wooden stuff exposed to the elements, eventually it gives out all at once.