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Regional Districts in BC are celebrating 50 years next year. To kick off the celebrations, the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) has created a geocache for each of the six member municipalities and eight electoral areas of the FVRD. This geocache is a lock & lock container in Electoral Area E and contains a few items for trade. Head east on the trail from the campground and keep going until you reach the point of the park.
The Chilliwack River Valley
For thousands of years, the native Ch-ihl-kway-uhk people have lived within the Chilliwack River valley. The Nlaka’pamux First Nations have also indicated that their traditional territory lies within part of the drainage with trails that lead to hunting grounds, fishing areas, camps, quarry areas, berry patches, etc. There remain today several sites which are important to the Sto:lo (People of the River) for cultural, spiritual and economic reasons. Researchers have found 60 archaeological sites within the watershed to date consisting of house pits, burial mounds, culturally modified trees, stone tools, lithic scatters and roasting pits. At least 12 settlement sites have been found in the area. Most of these lie between Vedder Crossing and Chilliwack Lake with major villages occurring at either end.
Historically the Chilliwack River flowed north from Vedder Crossing, over a broad alluvial fan to the Fraser River. In 1875 heavy rains caused a logjam that diverted the river into two small streams, called Vedder Creek and Luckakuk Creek. This caused hardship for the area's farmers. In 1882 a new logjam was deliberately created which caused the waters of several streams to shift course toward the west, flowing into the now-drained Sumas Lake. A freshet in 1894 caused the new course to become permanent. In the early 20th century the diverted river was diked and channelized. Today the Chilliwack River changes into the Vedder River at Vedder Crossing and then becomes the Vedder Canal farther downstream. The Vedder Canal was created in the 1920s as part of the effort to drain Sumas Lake. The former course of the Chilliwack River below Vedder Crossing is now known as Chilliwack Creek, which flows north to the Fraser River.
The Chilliwack River is the most popular river for recreational use in the lower mainland. In fact, next to the Fraser River, the Chilliwack River Valley supports the highest volume of recreational use of any watershed in the province. It supports camping, hiking, mountain biking, caving, kayaking, boating, whitewater rafting, nature appreciation, rock climbing, and of course angling. It records as much as 90,000 angling days per year along the Chilliwack River!
The Chilliwack River is not two separate streams like its name suggests, but simply a name change partway up the river. A bridge crosses the river where it leaves the mountain valley and flows onto the Fraser Valley flood plain. Below the bridge the river is called the Vedder; Above the bridge it is known as the Chilliwack. Anglers usually refer to the whole fishing section simply as the Vedder. Above the Slesse Creek tributary, the river is closed to fishing, and anglers refer to this section as the Chilliwack. No matter what you call it, the river and the watershed it drains, are wonderful.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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