The Bulkley Valley Backpackers (BVBS), now officially a society, celebrated the accomplishments of Barri and Einar Blix at the group’s 20th anniversary dinner on Jan. 15. About 40 members attended the dinner at the Driftwood Lodge, including some longstanding hiking advocates.
“Six of us at the dinner were there right at the beginning,” said founding member Eileen Astin.
Astin said the highlight of the dinner was a special presentation of some signs to the Blixs, after some lobbying on the part of the BVBS.
“We talked [B.C.] Parks into letting us name a trail after the Blixs,” she said.
Barri and Einar were presented with signs naming the formerly anonymous Blix Route, which connects the Lyon Creek and McCabe trails in the Babines. The route has particular meaning for the couple, as Lyon Creek is Einar’s favourite trail. It’s one the Blixes and others rediscovered and cleared in the 1970s, and maintained until B.C. Parks took over management of the area.
Astin said the main focus of the dinner was to honour the Blixs, who are well known in the northwest for the Trails To Timber books. She said the reasons also include the couple’s involvement in starting the BVBS, as well as their work on researching, finding and clearing many trails in the area, some of which were hard to find and not marked or maintained.
In June, the BVBS and B.C. Parks will be leading a special hike up the Lyon Creek trail to celebrate the Blixes and install the new signs, marking each end of the route. The BVBS runs hikes, on foot during the summer and on snowshoes or skis during the winter, throughout the year.
“We try to have a trip every Sunday,” said Astin.