A Powell River BC Historical Website

Penticton Trails

Posted on September 17, 2016 by OldFart

Powell River, a town built on logging, a town, surrounded by history. One does not have to go far to see it, or feel it. Samantha my wife, Jack our dog are always out walking somewhere these days. We come across a lot, in town there is an area usually referred to as The Penticton Trails, some refer to it as The Maze. This area is a mix of old roads used for logging, to old skid roads to just trails build because someone wanted to, either way, if you were to walk all the trails in this one small little area it would take you 35 hours to hit every single one of them.

And trust me when I say this Samantha, Jack and I have not quite done this yet, we are close, but still not done after 2 summers of walking, we always find a new area. In these areas we find relics of the days when people drove vehicles into the bush to get wood, or just to drive, some vehicles made it out, some did not.

I know as a kid I used to ride my motorcycle along some of these, although to my amazement I did not even know about 80% of these trails until about 2 years ago but I still enjoy them today thanks to an unknown amount of amazing people over the years who kept these trails clear, clean and open.

Enjoy the pictures

Posted in Powell River Relics | Comments Off

Spagetti Junction

Posted on September 17, 2016 by OldFart

Spagetti Junction, is a trail intersection, when I post I never like to explain exactly where anything is, I do this because if you are reading this and want to see it, I want you to research and take the time to go find these places yourself, if I said exactly where things are, its a nasty habit of people to go and take these items because it looks good on their front lawn. So I am caught between trying to show people there is history out there, where walkings, driving or hiking is also part of the experience. This trip my wife Samantha and I took Jack, we tend to take Jack everywhere we can, he is a Papillon Dog, and when you get this little 10 pound guy in the backcountry there is no stopping him.

Two trails cross at Spagetti Junction,but those two trails take you to so many other trails, and almost on any trail here you can find the history if you look. Up one trail we cam across old pieces of a stove.

Continuing on we crossed paths with a few other inter-connecting trails, some have hills some do not, some though pass by waterfalls and some are just flat and straight.

There are lots of signs of previous history here, cables and even places where they are still attached to trees.

And every now and again you come across something that can be worrisome, so you check it out.

And there is always the inevitable what was this item.

Posted in Duck Lake | Tagged bone, duck lake, logging equipment, Lost Railroads, old equipment, Powell River, Powell River BC, Powell River British Columbia, spagetti junction, vanishing history | Comments Off

Freda Lake

Posted on September 17, 2016 by OldFart

Freda Lake British Columbia, what can I say, a beautiful magnificent place

I remember going up to this lake when I was a kid, it was a rough tumbled, bone cracking, head bumping ride. These days you can almost drive a car smoothly right to it, when I went as a kid it was usually in the backseat of some old 1950’s Pontiac or dodge, this trip it was with my wife Samantha and Jack in a 2001 Dodge.

I told my wife this story about when I went as a kid, we never had a boat there, but as a kid I thought I could see a truck on the other side of the lake, but was never sure and I always wanted to see if I was right, so again with my wife’s urging off we went, took our truck and our canoe and Jack our dog and to Freda Lake were left.

It was a freaky windy day, this lake is usually frozen by late November well into early February, this was August so we knew we were good From a distance as we closed in I knew I was right, it was a truck.

It has been there for years, it has all the appearances that it was left total intact. Bullet holes and all, it still has its carb, which is usually odd for an old truck sitting in plain site for more than 50 years.

Posted in Freda Lake | Tagged abandon equipement, Freda Lake, Freda Lake BC, Powell River, Powell River BC, Powell River British Columbia, vanishing history, vintage car | Comments Off

Goat River

Posted on September 17, 2016 by OldFart

Every now and again, you are reading a book, or talking to someone, or seeing something published elsewhere, and you see something you just want to go see. A long time ago I saw a picture of this truck, its a long ways up past the head of Goat Lake and a tiny walk to get to it unless you have a quad. My wife Samantha and I decided one day to go see it, mostly because she said “Rob if you do not go, you might never see it so lets go” so off we went.

Its an older truck, locally owned it looked like in its last days, some people I am sure will know who’s it is, and now, if you recall it, you will know where it is resting in its final days.

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Posted in Goat | Comments Off

Duck Lake 51 Pontiac Trail

Posted on September 17, 2016 by OldFart

It is 2016, and although I have not posted in a while my wife Samantha and I have been doing a fare amount of trail walking. Life changes but things are still vanishing here in Powell River. Recent logging activities have destroyed or removed a few things that have been posted on this site, but some things remain.

When I was a kid, my family used to do a lot of driving in the back country, when roads were harsh and vehicles were left abandon all over the place, it was always weird to see an abandon vehicle in the back country, one always wonders why it was left, why would no one come back for it?.

On this walk up Duck Lake Road is a trail, well travelled but really obscure in its whereabouts, people would drive by it hundreds of times, never realizing its there. Samantha and I took a walk one day, we walk on trails we have never been on as much as we can.

This one is referred to as the 51 Pontiac Trail, and this is why.

It never ceases to amaze me after all these years how many vehicles are still in the back country, years ago companies came and took hundreds if not thousands out of the backcountry just for their metal. One does wonder though, who’s car was this one. There is however two cars here, one is now literally part of the trail, you walk directly over it. If you are out walking the back country, pay attention, history is all around you as you are never the first person there, people were standing right where you are more than 100 years ago. Enjoy the rest of the pictures.

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

: lost cars

Posted in Duck Lake | Tagged 51 Pontiac, abandon car, Duck Lake Powell River British Columbia, history, old cars, Powell River BC, vanishing history | Comments Off

Haslam Lake Pier – Abandon

Posted on August 25, 2013 by OldFart

Haslam Lake in Powell River has a short history, somewhat man made but still a Glacier dug lake, its not a deep lake but it certainly is narrow and long.

Many years of logging have gone on here, many companies have made floating camps, some also on the shores, stories are in an abundance but the truth to these stories is always finding the places the stories are about. Once I heard a story of a logging rail car sitting at the bottom of the lake, up near the head. A Railcar I thought? really, hmm, I personally know that there were railcars down at the foot of the lake, but the head, never heard of one there, so off I went, with my truck and the canoe and had a look around.

I went down to an old camp, not many come here, a few things still that tell you that logging went on here, and its a nice place to launch the canoe as well

The lake is a beautiful lake, Powell River’s current watershed lake, but some still come here and paddle around.

Up near the head of the lake I noticed an area I suspect is an old camp, the day was getting long so I didn’t land, but I paddled just up and around the corner and there she was, an old pier, and definitely a rail pier, large, heavy timbered.

These piers, dotted along the lake shores and coastal areas of BC, not always were for railcars driving in and out by locomotors, some were oxed driven, or Dozer, some even by Steam Donkey, this one, is hard to say, be interesting if it was from a Locomotor because it would be a new area to look.

So I paddled away and I will be coming back to look on the shores here, but as I did I spotted something on the opposite side of the bay, so over I went, it by all appearances looks likes the remains of a float, probably from a Cabin long since gone as there were a few on the lake years ago

One day I will get back here and search the bay underwater for this railcar, I always hate saying one day, but that’s life.

Posted in Haslam Lake, Head of Haslam | Tagged Abandon places, Haslam Lake, Historic Site, Powell River, Powell River BC, Powell River British Columbia | Comments Off

Steam Donkey No2 Chippawa Bay Powell Lake

Posted on August 25, 2013 by OldFart

Since I went back to the Steam Donkey in Chippawa Bay after so many years, I wanted to go back to the second one, the one a lot say doesn’t exist, and some say does. I saw this one too but it is always amazing how ones memory changes sometimes.

The first thing I recall is the cord road, this road to my memory went left of the steam donkey, but as we looked we found that it went off to the right of it, we followed it for a while, through some clear cuts, locating it on the other side.

Its hard to see that a old road actually existed here but it did, if you know what to look for you always find the evidence.

Along the way, We stepped of the old raid and made the first discovery of the day, its an old fire bucket, still in pretty good shape with the paint still on it.

So after walking the trail for a little while, we got back to where the quads were, had some lunch and then moved further down the large cutblock looking for signs of the old road, completely gone it appeared, slowly we searched the area when something got my attention, a little deer trail. So We get off our quads and take a small walk into the bush, we walked following this trail for a little bit when I spotted it first, a bit of tin high in the air.

So after a lot of years, I had to admit defeat to my memory, it was terrible, yes I was 14, but its no wheres near where I thought it would be, and in an area I never would have looked originally. Amazing though that the wood was still stacked nice and neat beside this steam donkey after 100 years sitting here.

I took a lot of photos here, to preserve some history before vandals or worse come to destroy this, which sadly I know they will, but for now, enjoy what the pictures offer.

Soon to come Youtube Video.

Posted in 2nd Steam Donkey Chippewaw Bay, Chippewaw Bay Powell Lake | Tagged abandon equipement, Abandon places, abandon steam donkey, Chippawa Bay Powell Lake, logging equipment, Powell River, Powell River British Columbia, Steam Donkey | Comments Off

An Old Relic

Posted on July 21, 2013 by OldFart

During my visit with Clive Kent he brought out this lamp, its a headlight actually but a special type. This is an oil headlight, run by whaleoil usually and this style was used originally on many things, boats, horse carriages and the like, but as time progressed they were used on trucks and cars for a short period of time.

Clive told me that as a kid growing up on what is now known as Kents Beach, he used to go through the bush and find all sorts of old equipement, this headlight was one of the few things he held onto. He didn’t know it at the time he showed me because he had it put away and almost forgot he had it.

After taking the photo of it and I went back to my campsite, he came over after a while and said “Hey I know what its from now, its from a 1926 Studebaker, I found it online” and he grinned from ear to ear, solving a mystery for himself after a lifetime of not knowing.

Enjoy the Pictures

Posted in Kents Beach, Powell River Relics | Tagged abandon equipement, Powell River, Powell River BC, Powell River British Columbia, studebaker | Comments Off

Saltery Bay – Powell River Road Connection

Posted on July 21, 2013 by OldFart

In the early days of Powell River, the town consisted of a mill, no roads anywhere except within the Townsite, only logging trains left it. There were however lots of homesteads north and south of this townsite, the Phillips, the Zillinki’s, Donkersleys to name a few. These people that settled north and south of Powell River could only get to the townsite by boat, unless they wished to walk through a rapidly changing landscape of logging there was no other choice.

As Powell River grew areas such as Cranberry, Wildwood started to appear with road connections, soon enough it spread out and such areas like Southview, WildeRoad, Okeover, Lund were being connection north of Powell River, south became, Westview, Grief Point, MunsonVille, Black Point but for many many years no road went past Black Point itself, it was all logging.

A road was pushed through to Stillwater since logging trucks became more widely used and more and more people moved south. It took a ferry system to expand the road to Saltery Bay, this was a rough area to create a road, it had to go up and over a mountain past Thunder Bay, down through Kents Land and into Saltery Bay.

You may be wondering why the history lesson here, if your still reading of course, but this road back in the day for Powell River was an essential link to the outside world, this road would mean people could leave by driving to go to Vancouver, this road took a long time to build and when it was near complete the only vehicles to travel it were the construction vehicles that were making it.

Now, during the construction, Mr Kent knew he could soon drive to Powell River instead of getting in his boat, so he planned it, walked the road, saw how high up it went and thought about a vehicle he wanted. So through word of mouth which was large back then he found a Willy’s Jeep on Denman Island and bought it, he then had it shipped to Vancouver on a barge, from there he had it put on a ship bound for Powell River. After arriving at Powell River the timing was perfect, the road had just started going through his own property so he went by boat to Powell River and picked up his jeep and drove it back home. This Willy’s jeep was the first personal vehicle to travel the new road from Powell River to Saltery Bay, and today, it is still there.

Today its owned by Clive Kent, the son, he plans maybe one day to restore it, and then I am very sure he will drive it yet again on the very road it came to the homestead from, who knows, maybe he can take it back to Denman Island again.

enjoy the rest of the pictures.

Posted in Kents Beach, Powell River Relics | Tagged abandon car, abandon equipement, Historic Site, Powell River, Powell River BC, Powell River British Columbia | Comments Off

Mount Troubridge Winches

Posted on July 21, 2013 by OldFart

A couple of years ago I was on a quick ride with some people of the ATV club and we were heading up the back side of Mount Troubridge with about 30 of us, I was in the middle of the group travelling along this old abandon logging road, going over really old bridges that vehicles can no longer get across, on a now narrow road with not much room for error when suddenly I went by an old winch, it went by my so fast I didn’t get a decent look at it, but I knew it was from a spar tree type vehicle.

Of course I couldn’t stop, or pull over to let others get by me, there was no room, so I had to keep going, and think, I got to get back there someday and look at that, well a year later I hear the ride we are going on with the local ATV club will be going passed it again, you should have seen the smile on my face.

There was not that many people this year and I told the lead guy that I will be stopping at the winches and the rest can keep going and I will catch up, he said oh don’t worry, we are stopping right at them, and up the road we went and there was more there than I thought.

It seems since last year the ATV Club took it upon themselves to clear out the area, it appears that this was a site of a repair for a piece of equipment. I don’t know the age of this equipment but I would guess late 50’s maybe.

Looking around, I was amazed at the condition of this stuff, looks to me like it could still be used, one day Im sure someone else will be able to get into this area and they will take it away, but for now with the old bridges if you tried you will be down in a gully.

enjoy the rest of the pictures