Hiking Henry Croft’s Dream Railway

“Have you hiked the old Mount Sicker Railway grade?”

Or: “How do I find the old Mount Sicker Railway grade at Crofton?”

It’s a question put to me from time to time, more frequently lately, as more and more people embrace hiking, with its great outdoor scenery, fresh air and the joy of exploring the Cowichan Valley afoot.

We are truly blessed with the Trans Canada and Cowichan Valley trails, the former Canadian (Northern Pacific) National Railway and the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Cowichan Lake Subdivision, respectively.

According to the CVRD, the Kinsol Trestle alone draws an estimated 100,000 visitors a year; I don’t know if they’ve ever tried to calculate the numbers of hikers, cyclists and horseback riders who use the rest of these two major trail systems.

But how many know about, let alone have tried hiking, the narrow gauge railway that linked the Lenora copper mine atop Mount Sicker to the deepsea harbour at Crofton?

Obviously, the Trans Canada Highway interferes with the old grade as have scores of property owners, some of whom have obliterated all signs of it on their lands.

But there are stretches, in particular the famous “switchbacks” and the Chinese navvies’ cribbing, that are almost pristine—if you know where to find them.

Next week in the Chronicles I’ll take you back in time and, together, we’ll hike Henry Croft’s dream.
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PHOTO: Jennifer Goodbrand and Sophie inspect some of the cribbing of the Lenora, Mt. Sicker Railway grade on Mount Richards. —Author’s Collection