Time: 1:30PM–2:30PM

The next SFURA walk is along the PoCo Trail, Northeast portion. We will meet at the Hyde Creek Recreation Centre parking lot on Wednesday, February 24 at 10 AM. This walk is quite level and takes about 2½ hours. David Ryeburn will lead the walk. He rates it Easy/Moderate (moderate only because of the length).

Driving directions:
In Port Coquitlam, drive Southeast along the Lougheed Highway a little less than 2 km beyond the Coquitlam River bridge, and turn left (North) onto Coast Meridian Road. Proceed about 1.8 km and turn right (East) onto Laurier Avenue, going a short distance to the Hyde Creek Recreation Centre parking lot, where we will meet at 10 AM. There are washrooms in the Recreation Centre.

The route we will walk:
We pick up the PoCo Trail immediately behind the Recreation Centre and head Northeast. The first 1.8 km of the trail goes through the woods along the Southeast bank of Hyde Creek, where we walked on our November 11 PoCo Trail walk and saw spawning salmon shortly before we turned around. The trail then continues East along the South bank of DeBoville Slough for about 2 km. The slough empties into the Pitt River, and the trail goes South along the dyke on the West bank of the river for about 3.5 km, at which point it leaves the river for a short while because of construction work at the Pitt River Bridge. We might not go as far as the Pitt River Bridge (if we do, the one-way distance will be a little over 7 km). However, the entire walk is quite level, and if the weather is good, most participants will probably choose to go the entire distance. The route is umbrella-friendly, but most of it is in the open and umbrellas might not survive under windy conditions. If the weather is good, bring your lunch. There are benches in several places, or if it has been dry, one can just sit on the dyke and enjoy the views during lunch.
If you have questions, you can email David Ryeburn or phone him at 604-298-7913.