The weather today was one of those days which illustrated why Canada is so green. Rain and then some more …. We are staying with Sue in Rossland – a mountain-biking and ski resort, though there was little evidence of either on a day like today.
The origins of Rossland are as a gold mining town and there is still evidence of the old gold mines, though these are now fenced off as they are not considered safe. In fact, as a result of a gold rush, in 1897, Rossland was one of the largest towns in Canada. By then, the population had increased to 7,000, with 42 saloons, 4 banks and 17 law firms. Now the population is around half this, though it is now a lot higher in winter when the ski resort is in operation.
We had a wander round town for an hour or so in the morning and then headed off to the Rossland Range. This is an area which now has recreation site status which helps to protect it. The Friends of the Rossland Range (FORR) maintain the area and also build cabins on the mountainside. We parked by the start of the seven summits trail – a mountain biking (or walking) trail which, not surprisingly, takes you over seven summits. Does exactly what it says on the tin …… From there we walked up to Sunspot cabin via Booty and Eagles Nest cabins. The cabins are built by volunteers at FORR and are small but well-built. Each one has seats or benches and a wood burner. A wood store and axes are supplied at each, so you can chop your own wood of there isn’t any available.
At the top we were at a height of nearly 5,500 feet, but the view was not that great with the cloud. We had lunch at the Sunspot cabin (toasted sandwiches on the wood burner – delicious) and then headed back down, though by this time it had started to rain even more heavily. We didn’t get the full benefit of the views as we were in the cloud for much of the time, but it was nevertheless a lovely walk. On the way, we picked and ate huckleberries. This is a North American variation of the English dialectal name for the bilberry (sometimes also known as the ‘hurtleberry’ or ‘whortleberry’). They were small and sweet berries – also apparently a favourite of the local black bears.
The bears may like huckleberries, but once they run out, they will be attracted into town by the prospect of any food. In 2016 Rossland city council doubled the fines residents pay for having bear attractants on their properties after officials had to kill nine bears in 2015. The day we arrived Sue was helping out with a community fruit pick. The aim of this is to help ensure that there is no fruit left on the trees which might help attract the bears into town and people here know not to leave anything which might attract or encourage the bears. That includes putting out your rubbish early! Despite these measures they are apparently regularly seen around town, though not while we are here ……