For Prince George locals Mark Vejvoda and Gerald Weich, the call of the wild is irresistible.
Both are avid members of the Prince George hiking community and run YouTube channels dedicated to exploring Northern BC.
So when a viewer mentioned a forgotten trail that hadn’t been used in more than 30 years, they knew they had to investigate.
They even got in touch with the family of Otto Elden, one of the original outfitters who helped cut the trail.
The old “donkey trail” lies near the back of Pine Le Moray Provincial Park and had been completely cut off from surrounding routes for more than three decades.
Vejvoda and Weich packed their gear and headed out, hoping to find and reconnect the long-lost trail to the broader network.
The pair spent nearly a week exploring, clearing and cutting through dense overgrowth along the old path.
“It’s nice — but it was hell,” said Vejvoda. “We spent several days just bushwhacking, and we had no idea where it went because this 30-year-old trail just comes and goes in the bush. For several days we tracked it with GPS.
“We created tracks and eventually found the connecting points to get up to those three lakes. It was crazy — we were five or six kilometres deep in the bush, on the side of a mountain, and it’s like, hey, here’s an old ribbon from 20 or 30 years ago. Then we found another chunk of the trail!”
Based on their initial exploration, the trail is a 7.5-kilometre trek that crosses railway lines, gullies, meadows and ridges, offering scenic views of the three Lemoray lakes.
From the summit, hikers can see the Pine Pass Highway and Heart Lake. The duo also discovered decades-old cairns built by early trail users and outfitters.
Despite the pair’s efforts, Weich said there’s still more work to do.
“Eighty-five to 90 per cent of it is a pretty decent horse trail—it’s been cut out and you can follow it,” said Weich. “You’re not really bushwhacking. Just a small percentage is more overgrown.
“When you look at the backroad map, it actually shows the trail going much farther than where we stopped. Other people in the Facebook group are talking about distances of 20, 30 or even 40 kilometres leading to other lakes. There’s actually a lake out there called Otto Lake. We think it’s named after the guy who originally cut the trail.”
Vejvoda believes the remaining trail continues around the ridge behind the lakes and comes out near Mount Lemoray. He estimates it could take several weeks to fully explore and uncover the rest of the route.
Still, the pair is confident others will step up to help complete the rediscovery.
“We cleared most of the trail,” said Vejvoda. “But there are two kinds of help we think could happen. We’ve reached out to the B.C. Horsemen’s group, and they’re starting to talk about it.
“There’s the Prince George–Omineca chapter of the BC Horsemen. Since it’s an old donkey trail, there’s nothing better than getting horse people in there — they can cover ground, pack saws and clear trail really well. But also, any zealous hikers who want to check out this ‘new old trail’ — we’ve got all the information.”
Vejvoda and Weich are excited about the rediscovery and hope it brings a piece of hiking history back to Northern B.C.
“I think you’ll find with all the hikers and horse people, they’re all adventurers, all explorers,” said Weich. “History is a big part of that. If there was something there before, there was a reason for it. People want to get into those places, whether it’s for hunting, fishing, or just to see what’s around.
“Tons of local history books talk about where they used to go with horses and how they travelled through that country. Now the trails are disappearing, and it’s cool to bring some of that back.”
For those interested in hiking the newly rediscovered trail, GPS coordinates and details can be found on their website: https://hiking.princegeorge.tech/pine-pass-lemoray-lakes-in-northern-bc
