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Sunshine Coast, BC
Canada
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 8:22 PM
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We spent those sunny days last week hoofing up whatever snow free trails we could find on the sea-to-sky. The usual suspects of the Chief, DeBecks hill and a run up local trails in Whistler got us a good start to the season. Time for a nice sunny morning walk, with not too much of a thigh burn.
So we wandered along the riverside trail, south of Function Junction, to the Train Wreck Trail. It's not a hike, it's a walk, or an easy mountain bike ride. A good place to take your active mom. No mountain-man grunt on this little trek, but what an amazing walk.
One half hour south of the parking area (a gravel pit on the west side of hwy 99, 80 m south of Function Junction), after a walk on the train tracks, you'll find yourself glancing down into the beautiful gorges of the Cheakamus river. I'd never seen these before. Just beautiful, with smooth rocky outcrops to catch some sun above the roar of the river.
Keep going and some quite nice stands of old Douglas Fir below the train tracks are a sight to behold. A few hundred meters more and you find yourself amongst a handful of 50 year old box cars, launched like missiles into the forest, after a high speed derailment many years ago. Absolutely cool, left just as they were, and then painted over the years by numerous local artists. If you want a nice walk in the woods, with a bit of history, and stunning river views .... do this walk.
Check out the Box Car Goblin action on this unit, thrown some 100 meters from the tracks
tossed on its side, the rooftop became an artist's canvas
thrown all the way to edge of the river and stopped by lone cedar tree
Looking up from the River to another box car at its edge
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
908 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 8:30 PM
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| That looks like a cool place to check out! How many box cars are there in the woods? |
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Sunshine Coast, BC
Canada
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 8:39 PM
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Rocker man
there are eight of them, scattered like pick-up sticks. The train was probably doing 50 mph and the manual brakes on the cars failed. It's quite surreal, kind of like finding a ship wrecked on the shore some place.
It is really worth a visit. |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
908 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 10:00 PM
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| I am not fermiliar with were this trail is located other than it is near function juntion. Do you have any coordiantes or anything of that sort? |
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 canine loving, machete-toting bushwhacking lake seeker, Indiana Jones hat-wearing off-road 4x4 guru
Surrey Hole, BC
Canada
6773 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 10:17 PM
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| Never heard of it, cool post/find |
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Sunshine Coast, BC
Canada
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 10:48 PM
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Sorry folks, I should've put some co-ordinates in the post. Here's a good link with directions and many excellent photos.
http://whistlerhiatus.com/whistler-trail-running/whistler-train-wreck-54k.html
One thing the directions are not clear about ... when you start walking on the train tracks, you must go SOUTH. It's not far, you will see the trail head off to the left as you walk along the tracks
The pics in this link of the Cheakamus River are exactly what you will see. Truly amazing gorges. I've been going there for decades and didn't know about this until a realtor buddy from Whistler told me about it. Not to be missed.
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Edited by - xj6response on 05/21/2012 10:49 PM |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13445 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2012 : 11:07 PM
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Amazing... cool
K |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
908 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2012 : 06:36 AM
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| cool thanks! |
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271 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2012 : 08:03 AM
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| Also known as Whistler Staff Housing |
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Whistler
719 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2012 : 09:45 AM
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| Also known as Cheakamus crossing or the athlete's Village. Whistler staff housing will mean the housing on Blackcomb to most people. |
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 | LeeL
Advanced Member
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Extreme ski tourin, mountain bikin addict who hikes at least once a year
2506 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2012 : 10:52 AM
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It's actually Aussie staff housing. Cool trail. Watch for bikers hucking meat off the box cars
Lots of little walks down to the river to cool your feet on a hot day |
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Sunshine Coast, BC
Canada
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2012 : 11:09 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by LeeL
It's actually Aussie staff housing. Cool trail. Watch for bikers hucking meat off the box cars
Lots of little walks down to the river to cool your feet on a hot day
Good point :-) .... was nearly run over by two Aussies on mountain bikes. Other than that, a really nice trail for lazy summer mornings, amazing river views |
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Utah's canyon trekking,deck chair packing desert explorer who dreams of visiting Canada someday
3988 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2012 : 8:28 PM
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Way cool!!
Train art is a favorite of mine. Train grafitti, bridge grafitti, it's all art to me.
I remember a train wreck in winter, back home in PA where they had a picture of possums smacking down the condensed corn syrup that ruptured out of a tanker car. hehe too funny.
Great post!! |
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962 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2012 : 09:27 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by xj6response
Rocker man
there are eight of them, scattered like pick-up sticks. The train was probably doing 50 mph and the manual brakes on the cars failed. It's quite surreal, kind of like finding a ship wrecked on the shore some place.
It is really worth a visit.
Sounds kinda neat. I'd never realized the trail name referred to an actual train wreck. Buy I doubt the train was doing 50 mph when the cars derailed. Most of that track is rated for 50 km/hr or less. |
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Sunshine Coast, BC
Canada
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2012 : 4:03 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Stoked
quote:
Originally posted by xj6response
Rocker man
there are eight of them, scattered like pick-up sticks. The train was probably doing 50 mph and the manual brakes on the cars failed. It's quite surreal, kind of like finding a ship wrecked on the shore some place.
It is really worth a visit.
I doubt the train was doing 50 mph when the cars derailed. Most of that track is rated for 50 km/hr or less.
According to a local lady we met, who's dad was a rail worker at the time, some of the manual brakes failed somewhere on the train, some cars broke free and accelerated down the grade. It is remarkable how far some of the cars were thrown. Don't really know how fast they were going but the energies involved were substantial. It's a really worthwhile walk, even if just for the beauty of the Cheakamus river gorges. |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7095 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2012 : 8:49 PM
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| Nice report, shouldn't the company of cleaned up this mess instead of letting it rot in the woods? |
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Sunshine Coast, BC
Canada
250 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2012 : 10:13 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by AcesHigh
Nice report, shouldn't the company of cleaned up this mess instead of letting it rot in the woods?
The cars were flung so far away from the tracks that recovery would have required major equipment mobilization, excavation and clearcut of the surrounding forest. The cargo was apparently just general freight, no contaminants.
However, more than anything, It was 1962, nobody gave a damn. Whistler mountain was still called Mt. London and there wasn't even a road up there. Out of sight, and very out of mind. |
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a trail, a train wreck and the Cheakamus River
