The Alexander MacKenzie Heritage Trail (also Nuxalk-Carrier Route or Blackwater Trail) is a 420 km (260 mi) historical overland route between Quesnel and Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada. Of the many grease trails connecting the Coast with the Interior, it is the most notable and often is referred to as the Grease Trail.
The trail was originally used by the Nuxálk and Carrier people for communication, transport and trade, in particular, trade in Eulachon grease from the Pacific coast.
During his trek from Montreal to the Pacific Ocean in the late 18th century, Alexander MacKenzie made use of the overland trail when natural obstacles in the Fraser River prevented his continued water route. He reached the ocean on July 20, 1793, completing the first recorded transcontinental crossing north of Mexico. The route was designated as an official heritage trail by the Heritage Conservation Act in 1987.
From east to west, the modern-day trail begins at the West Road River (Blackwater River) 53.269063 N,123.148917 W between Quesnel and Prince George, passes Kluskus Lake, Eliguk Lake, then crosses through what is now Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, then follows the Bella Coola River to the North Bentinck Arm inlet.
Because of its length and difficulty, experienced hikers can expect the route to take about 18 days, whereas intermediate hikers may require at least 24 days. Also, hikers may choose to hike only sections of the trail, such as the route through Tweedsmuir Provincial Park which passes the extinct Rainbow Range shield volcano. Only a few hiking or horse riding parties, plus a few ATVs or trucks, pass along the trail each year.
The middle section of the trail passes within 5 km of Pan Phillips' Home Ranch, popularized by the books by Rich Hobson, Grass Beyond the Mountains, Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, and The Rancher Takes a Wife, and the CBC television series based on the same books. The Home Ranch closed operations in the early 1970s, but the remains of the ranch are in good shape.
Famous quotes containing the words heritage and/or trail:
“Flowers ... that are so pathetic in their beauty, frail as the clouds, and in their colouring as gorgeous as the heavens, had through thousands of years been the heritage of children—honoured as the jewellery of God only by them—when suddenly the voice of Christianity, counter-signing the voice of infancy, raised them to a grandeur transcending the Hebrew throne, although founded by God himself, and pronounced Solomon in all his glory not to be arrayed like one of these.”
—Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859)
“You will trail across the rocks
and wash them with your salt,
you will curl between sand-hills
you will thunder along the cliff
break retreat get fresh strength
gather and pour weight upon the beach.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)