Extra parking, new trail could be added to Pulpit Rock
By Timothy Schafer
A Nelson-based community group is looking to expand the trail system of Pulpit Rock, and in the process create an avenue for much needed extra parking.
Dave St. Denis, president of the Pulpit Rock Society, said the group has begun the application process to gain permission and raise funds to build a trail from Pulpit Rock Trail to Lyons Bluff (the pullout at One Mile), where up to 30 extra parking spaces could be added.
St. Denis said the idea for the new trail was necessitated by the high amount of use on the Pulpit Rock Trail. There are approximately 32,000 yearly users on the trail, he noted, making it difficult to accommodate the parking required for this level of usage at the base of Pulpit Rock Trail.
Area F director Tom Newell said the new trail would provide an alternative mountain trail that would both serve as a new hiking experience, as well as relieve some of the pressure on the limited parking available at Pulpit Rock (around 20 spaces).
“The RDCK wants to support the organization in gaining land tenure from the province,” he said.
Currently, the RDCK staff is investigating a license of occupation for Lyons Bluff Trail (Pulpit Rock) in partnership with the Friends of Pulpit Rock Society. They are to provide findings to the Nelson, Salmo, E, F, G Regional Parks Commission at an upcoming meeting.
The trail is in memory of Don Lyons, a founding society member of the society. It was Lyons’ idea to build a new trail on the east side of Nelson Mountain to alleviate the parking congestion at Pulpit Rock Trail, said St. Denis.
He thought the trail could “eventually tie into … and go over the mountain and connect with the Pulpit Rock Trail,” said St. Denis.
Lyons passed away in the fall of 2014 and society members rallied to scout out the trail that he envisioned, and moved the application process forward.
“It seemed only fitting that Don’s name be attached to this new trail,” St. Denis said.
Although the society has been in communication with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources on the issue, Newell said the project is in the early stages from an RDCK planning perspective, so no time frame has been set for when work might begin.
“As the RDCK has a large parks and trails portfolio, this trail is in the queue and will start when time permits,” he said.
However, St. Denis said some Ministry of Transportation officials have looked at the road access and possibilities for road parking at the site, an area which is part of an old highway right-of-way.
As a result, plans for the new trail are moving forward and the society is hoping for approval to move to the planning stage of trail construction by July 2016.
Approvals will still need to come from the Ministry of Forests, the RDCK Recreation Department and the Ministry of Transportation.
The society will also look to several sources for funding to build the trail, including the RDCK itself, as well as the Columbia Basin Trust and private donations. Costs of the project are being assessed and will be fleshed out later in spring, said St. Denis.
To date, the new trail has been flagged by a group of volunteers, and a possible route has been chosen which would lead to an outlook similar to the Pulpit Rock Trail in elevation and length, said St. Denis.
Pulpit Rock
The trail’s origins are murky, but it probably dates back close to 100 years.
While the name Pulpit Rock doesn’t show up in any records until 1923, by the early 20th Century hikers were already clambering up the steep hillside.
Whether Coal Oil Johnny built the original trail is unknown, but Francis Holland was likely its most frequent user. Arriving in Nelson in 1896, he worked several claims above and below Pulpit Rock.
To finance his operation, Holland bought coal oil in bulk and resold it, earning him the nickname Coal Oil Johnny. The light from his cabin could be seen across the lake, a beacon to his determination. Coal Oil Johnny died without striking ore.
There is an abandoned mineshaft near the Pulpit Rock lookout. There are at least two other mineshafts located near this one. All are considered dangerous and should only be approached with caution.
Source: Pulpit Rock Society website
How the trail began
In the 1920s, the Nelson Rod and Gun Club called for the area around Pulpit Rock to be set aside as a wildlife sanctuary, but nothing came of it.
The trail remained extremely steep and hard to find until the 1980s when the Nelson Chamber of Commerce organized the construction of a new, gentler route.
In the early 1990s individuals such as Dave Clark decided to make improvements to the Pulpit Rock Trail. In the late 1990s, Bob Dean and Ted Ibrahim reflagged and cut a new Flagpole Trail from Coal Oil Johnny’s mine hole to the top.
In 1999, Clark, with the help of David Cunningham, took three days to flag a new trail from the Flagpole to halfway to the towers. Along with a group of volunteers, they spent two days cutting the trail.
Dean continued to flag the new trail and organize help to cut it (mostly from the Kootenay Mountaineering Club). By the end of the 2000 hiking season, the trail was almost complete.
In 2008, private property concerns led to the temporary closure of the trail and the creation of the Friends of Pulpit Rock Society. The society, in partnership with Al Dawson, a long-time RDCK director, organized the purchase of permanent legal access to the trail, trail upgrades and construction of the parking area.
Source: Pulpit Rock Society website
- For more information on plants, history, birds and rock climbing in the Pulpit Rock area, visit http://pulpitrocknelson.com.
