Trail Condition: Unknown

It had been over 10 years since I last hiked in Manning Provincial Park, and I wanted to talk to someone about trail conditions and route recommendations before planning a multi-day backpacking trip last summer.  Searching around online, I find the number of the Manning Park lodge.  Sorry, we just run the lodge, says the person I talk to, I’ve only hiked one of the trails and can’t tell you about the rest.  He recommends the one trail he’s hiked.  And no, he tells me, there aren’t any rangers for you to talk to.

Photo: Caitlyn Vernon

At the campground, I ask the young campground attendant whose job it is to collect camping fees.  He works for a private company; the provincial park has contracted out the job of managing and maintaining the campsite.

Unfortunately, he’s only hiked a couple of the trails and not recently.  He recommends I go to the lodge where there is a sign posted with trail conditions.

Sure enough, there is a sign posted at the lodge.  The backcountry trails are listed, with one word next to each in the column describing trail conditions: unknown.  The young woman in the gift shop says what is becoming a common refrain – I’ve only been on one of the trails she says, referring to the most popular day hike, but it’s beautiful and you might consider going there.

By this point I’m not sure if I want to laugh or cry.  These young people are doing the best they can, but there is nobody to talk to about routes, trail conditions, backcountry campsites, safety issues, numbers of people on the trails, or how to conduct yourself in the backcountry to minimize impacts to wildlife and sensitive alpine ecosystems.

Photo: Caitlyn Vernon

In the end, I rely on a guidebook for the area, which provides some information but doesn’t beat actually talking with someone who knows the terrain.  So I pick up the phone again and call a friend of mine who worked as a naturalist in Manning Park before the provincial government laid off all naturalists across the province.  She used to talk with park visitors about the ecosystems in the park and the wildlife that live there.  With her guidance people learned more about the wonders of the park, could identify the plants and birds they were looking at, and knew more about how to minimize the impact of their visit so as to co-exist with the wild creatures in this beautiful place.  She actually got to walk the trails, and could provide some knowledgeable recommendations.

I got into the mountains, which I love.  Sitting on a high rocky ridge with wide open spaces all around, the smell of meadows covered in alpine flowers, the sense of accomplishment when you reach the top and look back on how far your legs have carried you, the quiet…  these things make me feel good.  But my trip to Manning Park was marred by the clear lack of management, maintenance, enforcement, and even just basic information.  It’s time to revive our parks, to put knowledgeable people on the ground and make the experience safer, more informative, and ultimately ensure a lower impact on the natural ecosystems that the parks are in theory trying to protect.

By Caitlyn Vernon, Coastal Programs Campaigner