As the brightly painted Squamish Nation long canoe slipped into the cool green waters of Howe Sound and its crew began earnestly paddling in the afternoon heat, Gordon McKeever stood watching on the shore. He had a huge, satisfied grin on his face.
This was, after all, the moment he had been working towards for more than five years.
“It was a pretty neat sight,” he said, joy still apparent in his voice. “It was a powerful emotion I was feeling, after having been involved with this project from concept right to the opening ceremony.”
McKeever was the driving force behind the new Sea to Sky Marine Trail, a part of the Trans Canada Trail network and BC Marine Trail Network. It officially opened on Sunday, June 14, at Nexen Beach amidst speeches from various dignitaries, including B.C. Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon, MLA Jordan Sturdy and Mayor Patricia Heintzman.
The trail is unique in the entire country, in that The Sea to Sky Marine Trail is the only saltwater route on the Trans Canada Trail network. But McKeever was quick to point out he didn’t create the route on his own and that it took Herculean efforts by different groups, individuals and levels of government just to pull off.
“We got amazing cooperation from a number of sources,” he said. “There is no way this could have happened without a large number of people working very diligently on this, so it was very much a team effort across the board.”
The story of The Sea to Sky Marine Trail began with McKeever, project manager for the Sea to Sky Trail, looking for a way to connect Squamish and the Sea to Sky with the rest of the Trans Canada Trail.
“I knew a land route was going to be too hard,” he said. “From Squamish to Vancouver, you have these mountains that plunge into the ocean.”
At the same time, Alistair McCrone, the district recreation officer, was seeking out new outdoor recreation opportunities for the corridor.
“So, he saw an opportunity, and you could argue a need, to create more public recreation opportunities in Howe Sound,” said McKeever.
“Up until now, there had only been three provincial marine parks in the area where you could camp,” said McCrone. “But, now we have six more new sites in the Sound.”
These new waterfront sites have been developed as “rustic” campsites for users of self-propelled watercraft such as sea kayaks and offer the opportunity for multi-day paddling and camping trips throughout Howe Sound.
“And now was the perfect time to undertake something like this,” McKeever said. “Howe Sound is going through an incredible renaissance… a rebound. We no longer have Britannia Mines or Woodfibre, so with no more polluting going on, we’ve started to see big mammals like dolphins and orcas. Before, there wasn’t a lot of recreation going on in Howe Sound, but now that it’s rebounding, there is a definite need for these sites.”
Another piece of the puzzle came into place with the partnership of the BC Marine Trails Network, a not-for-profit organization with a vision to design and develop a marine network of access points and campsites along the entire B.C. coast.
“They brought a lot of skill to the table,” said McKeever. “Nick Heath and Mick Allen from the BC Marine Trails Network were invaluable. We spent days out on the water, picking painstakingly along the shore looking for the sites we would use.”
Initially they had identified 15 potential campsites for the marine trail, however, not all the areas made the grade.
“They had to be on Crown land, and six of the original sites didn’t pass that first test,” he said. “So we sent nine sites to a referral process, but at the end of the day, three more didn’t pass muster and we ended up with six sites.”
But they still needed some work before paddlers could start landing their crafts and pitching tents at the sites.
“Four of the six sites had pretty rocky landings, so we had to go out there and take those big rocks and move them around to create a channel for paddlers,” McKeever said. “We also had to do some clearing and creating of additional campsites.”
He said each of the six sites is completely unique now.
“They are absolutely gorgeous sites,” he said. “Each is completely different from the other, and that’s what is fun… they are so different.”
At the opening ceremony of the marine trail on Sunday, Roxanne Rousseau, president of the Sea Kayaking Association of BC said she had already stayed at two of the sites.
“I can’t believe the amount of work that has gone into this legacy,” she said. “They are simply stunning campsites. It’s a real opportunity for people to see Howe Sound in a completely different light.”
For MLA Sturdy, a longtime supporter and champion of the project, the Sea to Sky Marine Trail represented a look at the past as well.
“What we are actually doing is reestablishing a marine trail,” he said, thanking Squamish Nation members at the ceremony for allowing the trail on traditional Squamish Nation territory. “The Howe Sound was used since time immemorial for transportation by First Nations. We are just reestablishing that route and tradition.”
Squamish Nation Chief Bill Williams told the assembled crowd that the new trail would serve to recognize First Nations connections to both the land and water and help Squamish Nation youths to explore their heritage and culture like never before. The campsites will have signage in English and the language of the Squamish Nation.
Williams presented McKeever with a ceremonial drum for his efforts in creating the Sea to Sky Marine Trail.
As the Squamish Nation canoe pulled away from the shore, marking the fulfillment of five years of hard work, McKeever held the drum close to his chest and just kept smiling.
