Hikers approached it carefully, walking over it with small steps especially when the rain made it slick and the worn chicken wire offered little respite. Meanwhile, mountain bikers often hoisted their bikes across as only the most skilled braved peddling up or cruising down amidst the possibility of a 10-foot drop to the rocky creek below.But the challenge of the Trestle Trail log bridge is no more. After many months of water saturation and rotting, district Trails Coordinator Todd Pope and SORCA's director of trail maintenance Chris McCrum decided the Garibaldi Highlands crossing from the Coho Park area to Jack's Trail was no longer up to the task."I had some safety concerns about that log just because of the height it was above the creek. It was getting pretty close to fail," said McCrum who dismantled the bridge on Thursday (April 24)."I just had this vision of five or six or even two people being on it and all of a sudden the thing just collapses and that could lead to death or severe injury if someone would have fallen from that height."Plans for a new permanent bridge with handrails much like Darwin's Bridge on the way to Powerhouse Plunge is in the works. The sources for funding are slippery at this point, however, and Pope estimates it will cost around $20,000 to rebuild."I've got a few irons in the fire that I'm working," said Pope. "It's definitely an important crossing and trying to get something done soon would be perfect."In past years, there has been $25,000 put aside for trails in the capital budget (as well as additional funding in the operating budget). This year, because so much money is already going to the Corridor Trail linking the Sea to Sky Trail network, council opted to completely cut the $25,000 item from the capital budget in early April. Mayor Ian Sutherland wasn't at that meeting, but when he returned, he asked council on Tuesday (April 22) to revisit the item. He said the Squamish Trails Society was willing to pay $12,500 if council would match it with $12,500. This idea was passed unanimously by council. Squamish Trails Society vice president Shawn Gosnell said the society will be involved in some way when the building of a new Trestle Trail bridge begins. But while the funds are meant to support that type of project, the allocation of the society's funds is not yet determined."We have a wish list of trail projects we would like to see this [money] go towards," he said. "The question is whether we have assistance from outside development and I don't believe that's forthcoming at this point." In the meantime, hikers and bikers wanting to cross the creek can still scramble up and down beside the toppled bridge Jim Harvey built about a decade ago. Harvey said he's supportive of the upgrade, but hopes it happens soon. He also noted that he built up the courage to cycle across the narrow bridge once in its lifetime."I rode it once on my bike," he said. "I only did it once going down. I know guys who rode it either way no problem but it was scary as"
