Quarterly Newsletter

August 2024

Hello all WNMS members, friends, supporters and Emperor’s Challenge participants! It has been a very active and exciting few months! Another successful Emperor’s Challenge, approval for two new backcountry campgrounds, progress on the Disc Golf course development, Work Bees and on-going trail maintenance.

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Our next Work Bee is on Saturday September 14th.

We’ll be working on the Windfall Lake campground and trail.

Please reply on our Facebook posts

or send an email to contact@wnms to volunteer

Emperor’s Challenge

What a day!!

Congratulations to all the successful 2024 Emperor’s Challenge participants  on a fantastic race! It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day - near perfect conditions for the 20km mountain run. Kris Swanson was at the top of his game, winning the race in one hour, 31 minutes - ten full minutes ahead of the next competitor. Congratulations also to Katherine Babcock, the first female finisher at 2 hours, 3 minutes! There were many personal bests and gritty efforts to complete this tough challenge. Huge thanks to the organizing committee and the many volunteers and sponsors of this year’s event! Thanks also to the member clubs of TRORA, especially the ATV Club. Special shout-out to Conuma Resources for their outstanding support, sponsorship and participation! The WNMS is very proud of you all!

2024 Project Initiatives

Wilderness campsites and a new Disc Golf course

Bootski Lake Campground

Bootski Lake is one of the most popular, challenging and spectacular day hikes in the Geopark. Extended hikes along more distant and spectacular routes will be made possible with the addition of a campground with level, dry tent pads, a bearproof food locker, and a toilet. This project has been approved by Recreation Sites and Trails BC.  The WNMS will complete this project in September 2024.

Windfall Lake Campground Extension

The Windfall Lake trail and campsite have become increasingly popular over the years and the campsite, built in 2016, has a need for expansion. This project has been approved by Recreation Sites and Trails BC. The WNMS will build 4 new tent pads in September 2024.

Disc Golf Course Development

The fast-growing and family-friendly sport of Disc Golf aligns well with the vision of the WNMS as an opportunity for everyone to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. The WNMS Disc Golf Committee has begun negotiations with the District of Tumbler Ridge to acquire land to build a world-class disc golf course that will attract visitors from all over.

Donations, Membership and New Legacy Members

One of the new website features is the ability to make a donation, register as a member and renew if you are a past member. As per our society bylaws, we are now requiring an annual membership fee for members to be considered "in good standing".

A special thanks goes out to the family of Sharla K. Shulze for their generous $500 donation in memory of their mother who loved hiking the WNMS-maintained trails.

Membership fees remain at $20/year for individuals (special $40/year for family). Membership benefits include the knowledge that your fees are going directly to maintaining the trails that you enjoy, the ability to vote at the AGM, volunteer training, direct input on trail maintenance, and the opportunity to be part of a fantastic group of like-minded people!

In consideration of the current and past contributions of certain long-standing WNMS members, the Board is accepting nominations for "Legacy Membership", which will  hold a special honorary status in the society. Legacy Members will have their annual membership fees waived in perpetuity.

We would like to announce and congratulate the following recent recipients:

Fred and Shawna Booker, Al Tattersall, Thomas Clark, Crys White, Sarah Gamble and Patsy Antle.

Nominations can be submitted via email to contact@wnms.ca

Recent Trailwork

Work Bees and on-going trail maintenance

As you know, one of our prime directives is to maintain the nearby trails, repairing damage, clearing deadfall and assessing danger trees. This has continued continuously this Spring and Summer as time and conditions have permitted. The trails are currently in excellent condition, overall. Some damage was done to the Holzworth Meadows trail in June, due to motorcycle activity. The WNMS and TRORA are working with Recreation Sites and Trails BC to determine the best way to repair this damage and prevent re-occurrence.  

Work Bees this Spring included improvements to the Tepee Falls Trail and Greg Duke Lakes Trail. Work Bees are being organized for September to complete the Windfall Lake campground expansion and the new Bootski Lake campground.

Many thanks to our hard-core volunteers for stepping in to clear and maintain the trails! There are many unsung heroes out there!

If you would like to join us on a Work Bee or help with trail maintenance in general, please send us an email to contact@wnms.ca

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