by Morris Moser What a load of pompous, self-righteous, holier than thou, pontificating bull written by Helmut Godau in his letter to the editor Along the Trails, June 29. His words are highly insulting to the volunteers who give freely of their time and effort in all kinds of weather. They are doing something. They are not sat on their backsides writing mean-spirited letters about how good they were and nobody has done anything since. The man suffers from delusions of grandeur.
There are dozens of trails covering many hundreds of kilometres. I have been absolutely amazed at the wonderful condition and upkeep of the trails that I have walked on this year and I have yet to find one that is impassable or unsafe.
We’ve had a miserable, windy, chilly, damp spring. It seems Godau expects all these trails to be in top condition at all times. Dream on. It takes continuous time, effort and money to accomplish that, and for the last several years money has been in very short supply.
He states bridges are in need of repair, boardwalks disappearing. That is Mother Nature in action and is called decomposition. The structures mentioned are wood and from the day they are installed they rot. Many of them are not in need of maintenance or repair but of actual replacement. All it takes is time, effort and money. I don’t see anything stopping Godau from assisting. In all weather conditions and for free, he could take the first ferry over from Vancouver Island, work with the BOMB (Bloody Old Men’s Brigade) Squad and return on the 5:15 pm ferry. A very nice day’s outing for him. But one word of caution, the squad needs workers not talkers. If that is inconvenient, a donation is always acceptable.
Someone has the resourcefulness, organizational abilities and ambition to get grants and put up shelters to make a particular trail system even better. So what? Thank goodness there are people like that around. For Godau’s information, a complete refurbishment of the portages including bridge replacement is commencing on the Powell Forest Canoe Route thanks to Western Forest Products. All it takes is money.
Godau can write to the provincial government and complain. If there are any trails that have needed redoing over the last several years, the much vaunted and publicized wheelchair-accessible trail around Inland Lake would be a prime contender. It was in absolutely miserable condition until very recently and a kilometre still needs a lot of work.
Also, Godau could write to the City of Powell River and complain. It does not maintain or repair trails, it closes them. The north access to the seawalk was officially closed for several months, denying access to people who have difficulty walking up and down the steep grades. And trail markers are none existent. There is no signage whatsoever telling visitors where it is. Also the fishing pier [next to ferry dock] has been closed for many years now with no sign of it being opened again any time in the immediate future. Never mind trails, they close roads (for example Westview Avenue).
Sorry Godau, your hubris is totally out of order, just very sour grapes.
Morris Moser is a resident of Powell River.
