Kettle Valley Railway — Once Around the Lake and Home

For the last day both groups camped out at Otter Lake.

I see why we do this trip early. It just wouldn’t be fair to the other campers if it was busy.

Do we HAVE to get up?

You do now.

We made it a race to the other end of the lake. My group got the early roll out. John Lee, Billy, and Amar got the holeshot. This other guy from Mitch’s group (sorry dude, I forgot your name) absolutely stomped the field, even with the 10 minute delay on his start. He’s a Bulgarian rower, who’s already competing with the senior Canadian men, and he’s only 15. Have fun at the Olympics.

Amar was a close second, and Billy and John Lee were just behind him.

Check out this pic. What are those guys doing? And why are they all a hundred feet apart.

Drag up and down on the logo to zoom in and out.


That’s it, that’s all. It was a great trip. Hope to do another next year.

Kettle Valley Railway — Granite City to Tulameen

7 am sure comes early around these parts.

Doesn’t it, Rich? Yeah….early.

The boys are well into the pace now. Actually, five of them have already been to Tulameen, as they went for a little ride last night. Seems that they heard that there might be a candy store there. Suckers….they missed it by ten minutes. That’s the kind of enthusiasm for the bike that I like to see, though. They’ve even figured out how to draft and work together all on their own.

Otter Lake. Even if you’re not into the XC side of biking, it’s hard not to enjoy this ride. Amar the Hammer was really starting to challenge John Lee for the lead today.

The mysteries of the Shoe Tree. Must be over a hundred sneakers up there. Thats Coquihalla Mtn. inthe background, and the toll-booth on Coquihalla Highway is just the other side of that range.

Kettle Valley Railway — Princeton to Granite City

Well, the Princeton Castle Resort was OK, but this guy really takes the cake. He thinks he’s the descendent of a bank robber named Bill Miner (the guy who coined the phrase “Stick ’em up”). I see that we drink the same brand of coffee, at least.

He was entertaining. I wonder if the guy buried here knew the original Bill Miner. This is a little cemetary in the ghost town of Granite City. That was our destination today. Not to far to ride, only 30 km, but it was through the Tulameen Canyon, which is plain awesome.

Shanks, you ridiculous, ridiculous man. You can’t ride all that way with a tube in your mouth….

The ride is so cool. You go through a tunnel at the back of a subdivision, and — BAM! You’re in this wicked canyon. Graydon and Henry hangin’ out in Bedrock City.

This is looking back down the river at the group. They are just visible on the left side of the river where it turns out of sight.

These gazebos are built on the old foundations of the water stops for the old engines. Perfectly spaced for rest breaks. You can see a tunnel, an abandoned trestle, and some class IV+ rapids over the Tulameenie Falls in this shot.

There’s also some natural rest spots, like this sandy beach near Coalmont. The water was a bit cold….

The frogs liked it though.

This huge beetle just liked my chamois.

The haunted hotel in Coalmont. All the St. George’s students thought that this was the ghost town. “You mean people actually live here?” Too funny.

THIS is a ghost town. Granite City, one of the few buildings remaining. This was built in the 1880’s

Coalmont has some cool stuff in it. Check out these old cars.

I’m not sure what this one is. I think it’s a Chrysler of some kind, but I’m not sure.

Our lame campsite. $10 a night for our whole crew to stay here. What a gyp….