In the early 2000’s, Garvin’s Canyon wasn’t a trail as much as a “path” to follow. In the summertime, it’s not really a “trail” as much due to the heavy brush regrowth, and is mostly used in the winter season. Other trails along the rim and through other parts of the area connect to Pidherney. The primary volunteers who have dedicated their time to the Garvin’s Trail are: John Glass, Doug Knox, and Gil Lainey, but many others have assisted over the years.
The biggest problem with the canyon trail is the situation where you might run into trouble, and the rescue becomes a bit more involved (Gil shares his experience as a past longtime Fire Chief in the area). Falling trees and large deadfall to climb around make for challenging conditions at times.
Gil moved to the area in 2001, but he can’t remember if the trail actually existed when they moved out to the area. It was shortly after their arrival that Gil and his wife, Dinah, had taken up snowshoeing and had wandered down into the canyon from the trailhead off of Christina Road. There were a number of old logging roads in the area that we had already explored, and eventually ended up going down into the canyon. He recalls that the initial hike took up to 2 hours just to go halfway down the existing trail. After exploring it for a number of years, they invited friends along to enjoy the hike, and eventually word spread, and it became quite popular as a winter show shoeing route. There is a trail that skirts the south ridge of the canyon. That trail was created by Gil, John Glass, and Doug Knox, fellow snowshoers who have explored this area for a number of years. John, Doug, and Gil have enlisted volunteers over the years to assist with keeping the trail clear and removing the deadfall. They go out usually on an annual basis to do trail clearing.
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