Penticton to Osprey Lake

Day 1 - June 17, 2012

Weather: Warm and dry with a strong westerly headwind

Trail description: From Penticton to West Bench the trail is rocky and eroded in places, but gets better as it climbs above Okanagan Lake. The surface has a firmer, more natural feel than the KVR west of Summerland which has been graded with loose gravel. Starting at the Trout Creek trestle the KVR is a working railroad, with tracks in place extending fourteen kilometers to the Faulder siding. There are realistically only two options: cycle a detour on hilly, paved roads through Summerland to the Kettle Valley Steam Railway main station at Prairie Valley or, arrange for the steam train to pick you up at the Canyon View siding near the Trout Creek trestle and deliver you and your bikes to Prairie Valley saving you about ten kilometers and 160 vertical meters of climbing. Regardless of which route you choose, beyond Prairie Valley station the KVR tracks are still in place for four more kilometers to Faulder, so the TransCanada Trail leaves the railbed and cuts its own way through the pine forest. At Faulder the tracks stop and the TransCanada Trail returns to the KVR railbed. West of this point the trail is wide but graded with several inches of gravel making it soft (like cycling on a beach) reducing your speed and requiring more concentration. Some graded trails eventually settle out and develop hardpan wheel ruts that you can cycle in but these are rare on this section of the trail, perhaps because there is no large vehicle traffic to create the ruts, but instead smaller ATVs keep the trail surface churned up. At Thirsk Lake the KVR joins the Summerland-Princeton road for a kilometer or so before veering away as a separate trail again. The road is unpaved at this point but smooth and fast compared to the trail (the road has been treated with molasses to keep the dust down. Molasses? Really?). There are one or two cattleguards on the KVR but no washouts or any blockages between Penticton and Osprey Lake.

Special concerns: We contacted the Penticton Indian Band land administrator to ask permission to cross their reserve in west Penticton. The KVR railbed within their reserve belongs to them so this is a courtesy.

Wildlife: No bears sighted but there was bear scat on the trail. The day before two large black bears were seen at Osprey Lake. We made lots of noise―all bikes had bells or horns―but the headwind didn't help as it carried our noise and scent behind us rather than ahead of us. All of our wildlife encounters today were with cows.

Distance and elevation: Distance travelled (including the section on the steam train) was 65 kilometers, from the KVR footings on the Penticton River channel to the intersection of Link Lake Road and the KVR (at the west end of Osprey lake). The elevation gain for the day was about 800 vertical meters but 160 meters of that was on the train. Beyond Kirton the grade flattens to the point that you may not even notice it, or you'll be so distracted by trying to keep your wheels from twisting in the soft gravel that the grade becomes a secondary concern.

Average speed and time on the trail: We left Penticton at 9:30 AM and reached Osprey Lake at 6:00 PM. This included a considerable wait for the Kettle Valley Steam train which picked us up at Canyon View siding at 11:00 AM. Our average speed including all stops, was about 7 kilometers per hour. This is slower than on our previous trip from Midway to Penticton: the uphill grade, soft trail surface and headwind made it difficult to keep any momentum.

GPS tracking: We used a Garmin 910XT to record our distance and elevation changes, and kept it running on the train, so the elevation profile below between Canyon View and Prairie Valley represents the train tracks, not the bicycle detour.

The Penticton Ramada Inn. Getting the bikes ready to roll

The official start of our ride - the KVR bridge footings at the Penticton River channel trail

The KVR passes under Newton Drive in West Bench

Looking east from West Bench

High above Okanagan Lake, halfway to Summerland

Walking across Trout Creek trestle

Bypassed by newer technology an old power pole with glass insulators still supports a few dubious looking wires

Walking from Trout Creek trestle to the Canyon View siding (the green roof)

At Canyon View siding waiting for the Kettle Valley Steam Railway to pick us up

Trout Creek trestle

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway train arrives and the engine is decoupled from the passenger cars

The tracks are switched so the engine can move to the other end of the train for the return trip

While we prepare our bikes the train backs out onto the trestle for a few minutes

Barb talks with the train's onboard entertainer - "Hey, do Foggy Mountain..."

After loading our bikes and panniers onto the train we are off

The conductor arrives to give us our tickets (which we'd pre-arranged)

We each hang on to a bike so the train motion doesn't cause them to fall over

We are right behind the engine tender. I heard someone say the engine weighs 400 tons. Is that with or without the 10,000 gallons of water and 3,600 gallons of oil?

The backside of Giants Head rising high above Summerland

Prairie Valley station. The train has already reversed its engine for another trip down to Trout Creek trestle

The TransCanada Trail is separate from the KVR railbed until the tracks end at Faulder

Charlie approaches some domestic wildlife

The cows make a run for it...

...but in the end they are stopped by this cattle guard and have to watch us pass by

The KVR joins the Summerland-Princeton Road for a kilometer or two along Thirsk Lake then the road and trail veer apart again

The spillway at Thirsk Lake dumps water into Trout Creek

Approaching Osprey Lake. Notice the ATV tracks that cover the trail from side to side leaving no firm ground to cycle or walk on

We finally reach Osprey Lake after a long and challenging day

Our stop for the night: the Osprey Lake Retreat B&B

A shower, a beer and the US Open, but we are just happy to be out of that wind

Next page: Osprey Lake to KVR Trail Edge B&B