Time: 10:00AM–12:30PM

The next SFURA walk is on what was once called Joe's Trail (now a portion of the Trans-Canada Trail), Mel's Trail, and other trails on or adjacent to the SFU Burnaby campus. The walk is Wednesday, March 24 at 10 AM; David Ryeburn will lead it.

Direction to the meeting spot:
Take a bus or drive to the Burnaby SFU campus and park in the Parkade (parking garage) [entrance immediately west of the Diamond Building (see map)]. Remember, your unexpired membership card in SFURA entitles you to free parking – subject to availability! – in the Parkade.

We will meet at the trailhead which is just east, maybe 10 or 20m, of the (VN?) Visitors' Parking area (where there once was a Shell service station). Again, see map. A trail map is posted there, and the short descending connector trail at the beginning of our walk is quite visible.

The route we will walk:
The connector trail descends about 15 to 20m and meets Joe's Trail. We turn right (East) on Joe's Trail, following it past the Cardiac Hill Trail (which we will ignore) until it meets Mel's Trail. Joe's Trail is wide and its surface is very good. The other trails are narrow and rocky and muddy in spots. As we continue along Mel's Trail, we pass several other trails which all lead uphill to University Drive East for anyone wanting to shorten the walk. Mel's Trail ends lower down on University Drive East, but an unofficial trail continues after we cross the road. We approach the Naheeno Park area, and a connecting trail takes us uphill to South Campus Road. The rest of the walk goes past the playing fields and residences to a connector trail which crosses University Drive West and enters Centennial Park, where we meet the Trans-Canada Trail. We follow the Trans-Canada Trail uphill to where it joins Joe's Trail, which we take to the connector trail where we began.

Description of the walk:
The walk is Moderate, or Easy/Moderate if people want to shorten it. The trails are sometimes wide with a good surface, sometimes narrow and rocky or muddy (if wet). David recommends lightweight hiking boots. If it is raining, we will modify the route and take only the wide, well-surfaced trails. The trail length is about 10 km, with altitude varying from about 180m to about 315m. There are also some ups and downs. For those who want a shorter walk there are trails that lead to familiar campus roads. The entire walk should take about 2½ hours.
If you have questions, you can email David Ryeburn, or phone him at 604-298-7913.