Leveling the Salmo Lakewalk Trail

The steep boardwalk ramp as it stood prior to this latest project.

Author: Neil Howk

Bayfield Area Trails volunteers waited for cold weather to undertake its last major trail project of the year. Over the years, one of the boardwalk sections on the Salmo Lakewalk Trail had turned into a real roller coaster ride. A very steep ramp on the lakeside approach to the boardwalk presented a particular problem, especially when wet or frozen. 
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By the first weekend in December, the mud in the slough froze solid enough to allow workers to take on leveling the boardwalk. On December 5th, a crew led by Bob Feyen and Jim Steffenson cleared snow from the boardwalk, hauled timbers to the work site, and planned the strategy for leveling the boardwalk. On the morning of December 6th, Bob and Jim were joined by Neil Howk, Kate Kitchell, Ted May, Gerry Miller, and Jamie Paterson to implement the plan. 

We used a lot of tools!

2x6 blocks set at the new boardwalk level.

Bob and Jim’s calculations determined the amounts to be cut from the timbers supporting the boardwalk to level the deck. Wooden 2” x 6” blocks were attached to the support timbers at the new boardwalk level. Temporary 4” x 4” supports were installed under the boardwalk. Bolts and screws attaching the boardwalk deck to the supports were removed. The support timbers were then cut and the ends of the timbers removed. Then the temporary supports were removed sequentially, allowing the deck to drop into its new position.

Meanwhile, the ramp was laboriously separated from the boardwalk. Once the deck of the boardwalk was lowered, the ramp was shortened and reattached to the deck. Finally, new holes were drilled to house the bolts attaching the deck to the support structure. 

This all sounds straight forward, but the implementation was anything but. Stripped screws had to be sawed or broken with pry bars. Blunted saw blades and drained batteries needed to be replaced. Screws fell through the cracks in the boardwalk into the snow. We kept misplacing pencils. Differing opinions had to be worked out. And all of this happened in single digit temperatures requiring insulated coveralls and boots, hats, gloves, and hand warmers. A mid-morning delivery of hot cocoa and cookies by Carol Feyen and Sue Aiken gave the crew a boost to carry the project over the finish line.

And now its level!

Jim, Bob, and Kate admire the adjusted ramp!

Somewhat miraculously, it all worked out. Though each of us may not have completely understood why we were doing each specific part of the project, at the end of the day we had a level boardwalk that was a huge improvement from what it was before. 

When spring rolls around, the last section of this boardwalk ramp will be raised and reconnected to make the entire boardwalk slope easy for travel. All of this is an important preparation for the next project to make the Salmo Lakewalk Trail accessible to all in summer 2026. 

There is still much to do on this project. Please consider making a year-end donation to keep this important work moving forward!

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