1. FoLC Directors: Mark Davies, Nina Andermatt, Blake Rawson, Laura Duncan, Carol Flowers, Dave Hale, Rod Chapman (regrets), Nigel Kitto (regrets)
2. KTS introductions: Kenton Lane (President), Ryan McKenzie (Trail Manager)
3. Recreation Sites and Trails BC Recreation Officer: Lisa Cox
4. Mark for Rod - Invasive Plant Control Project and Ski Bench.
Invasive Plant Control
New Bench Added
5. Mark for Cailey - 2021 Goals of Lois Creek Plant Control Project. report. Full Report Here.
6. Mark Davies: Mark reported that his family installed a Timber Frame bench at the Lindsay Park Entrance in memory of Don Davies with assistance from the City in June 2021. The City upgraded the entrance by landscaping, clearing some shrubs and adding a few big boulders.
7. Carol Flowers: The kiosk at Elko Street Entrance is being updated with new maps, Bear Aware signage, and map boxes. With the Lindsay Park Entrance updated, we will inquire to the City for a landscaping upgrade to the Elko Street Entrance.
8. Nina Andermatt: The Davies family, with the assistance of Blake, Nina, Quentin and Mark Knudsgaard, brought a new timber frame table out to the Tea Spot on June 8. A plaque presented by KTS in honour of Don Davies was unveiled. The old picnic table was transported to Loop D Loop fire spot in October after danger trees were felled and a platform was prepared. Final touches were made in late November.
9. Blake Rawson:
a) Ryan, Lisa and Blake walked the Lower Chute Reroute to be completed in Spring 2022. Ryan reported that the KTS paid crew worked on improving several trails in Lois Creek by removing angular, exposed rocks on A-Frame, Blake’s Single Track, 401, and Daisy.
b) Housing Developments*:
i) Fernie Street - 5 buildings planned with 4 units each.
ii) Legion Track micro homes - No development timeline.
*Both developers were invited to meeting with no response.
*Concern as all trailheads are on private land.
c) Wildfire Mitigation: BC Fire Crews cleared A-Frame and 401 and finished Totem. Work is planned on Bart’s, Chute and Loop D Loop in Summer 2022. Because Fire Crews removed all danger/dead trees near trails there were fewer tree casualties after the windstorm on Nov. 14, 2021 and FoLC maintenance crews cleared all trails in 2 days.
d) Winter Grooming 2021/22: Ryan reported that the Snow Dog will do the same circuit as 2020/21. Blake indicated there would be more machine-groomed ski tracks. Yellow Winter signs are now up.
e) Proposed Wildsight Project: Wildsight is seeking funding for a project to return Lois Creek to its natural riparian state at the junction of Florence’s Gully and Powerline trails. Two proposals for funding have been submitted, with the project to be undertaken in Spring/ Summer 2022 if funding is secured. Dave Hale will oversee this project.
f) Issues:
i) Partying, garbage and fires at the bottom of Wax Tester. Concern has been expressed by Trail Street neighbours. To report similar incidents phone Police / Fire Chief.
ii) Ingrowth over the past 20 years has created a lot of fuel. FoLC has no funds to mitigate this ongoing issue.
10. Carol reported on Winter etiquette and Winter signage. Lisa is providing Winter etiquette signage for trailheads (Rec Sites and Trails BC winter signs used throughout the province). A Single-Track Skier sign is being made by Rec Sites and Trails BC and will be placed at 2 short sections along Blake’s Single Track (middle section and outer section to Tea Spot).
11. New Directors: Welcome to Amanda Aube, Pete Kerckoff and Steph Spensley.
12. Meeting adjourned at 8 pm.
Author: Trail Guide
Friends of Lois Creek
New Bench Added
The old Easter ski lift chair is now installed at the south end of Tighty Whitey trail (photo 1) near where it meets Totem trail (photo 2).


We took out one dangerous tree in the area and cleaned up the brush a bit so the location offers a fairly unobstructed view of the ski hill (photo 3).

Many thanks to Jim Webster for donating the ski chair to Friends of Lois Creek, and to Kimberley Building Supplies for supplying the patio blocks (photo 4) and sand for the base.

Custom grooming machine boosts Kimberley’s growing fat bike scene

Fat biking, like many other outdoor sports, has seen a big uptick in popularity due to the pandemic causing people to look for new ways to enjoy the outdoors.
PJ Hunton, a board member with the Kimberley Trails Society, took the Kimberley Bulletin out to Lois Creek Trails after a fresh dump of snow, to demonstrate how their new snowdog machine creates trails for fat bike riders to enjoy.
“Our vision and mission [at the Trails Society] is to build, maintain and manage trails in the Kimberley area,” Hunton said. “In the winter it snows, but that doesn’t stop people from using the trails, so last winter we decided we should start grooming the trails to make them better for everybody to use.”
In order to accomplish their goal of grooming trails, the Trails Society created a GoFundMe page and, thanks to the generosity and support of the people and businesses of Kimberley, they managed to raise $8300 in three days.
They used that money to purchase a snowdog, a gas driven, track-powered machine that is used to tow either a toboggan for grooming through deep snow, or a custom-built plate groomer, that is used to create corduroy trails.

Full story here:
Spring beauty

Whenever the snow is melting into a fresh new season in the forests around Kimberley, keep a sharp lookout for the Western spring beauty (Claytonia lanceolata). Among the first wildflowers to appear each year, patches of spring beauties help brighten the landscape after the long winter months. But look quickly – they don’t last long.

Found mostly in wetter areas in loose clusters of up to 20 flowers, each tiny white plant has a few basal lance-shaped leaves and five delicate petals lined with distinctive red veins. The flowering stalks can rise as high as 20 cm.
Pairs of stalkless leaves are sources of Vitamin A and C, and below ground small corms (rounded storage organs) are a source of carbohydrates. When collected and cooked shortly after flowering, the corms taste much like potatoes. Disturbed spring beauty patches are a sign of foraging grizzlies and rodents, who also appreciate the nutritional value of corms, while ungulates mostly value the flowers and leaves.

Western spring beauties are classed as spring ephemerals – perennial plants that develop stems, leaves and flowers early each spring to take advantage of the plentiful moisture, nutrients and sunlight. After flowering, they quickly go to seed and die back to their underground corms for the remainder of the year.
Look sharp when the snow starts leaving the frozen ground, or you will miss the fleeting pleasure of seeing the beautiful but short-lived spring beauty.
Thanks to the Kimberley Nature Park Society for helping share information about our local flora and fauna.