Inspiration has a way of catching up to you in the most unlikely of spots.
For Summerland filmmaker Erick Thompson, he found it on a centuries old hiking trail that runs between Hope and Tulameen.
The Hudson’s Bay Company Heritage Trail is an old trading route that was initially established by First Nations in the region, before becoming a major trading route for the HBC starting in 1849.
The 74-kilometre trail starts just outside of Hope and goes up over the Cascade Mountains and comes to an end just outside of the Community of Tulameen.
“I think the trail is a real gem,” said Thompson, who hiked the trail last year with his wife. “It has the capacity to become a premier hiking trail, like the Pacific Crest Trail and the Juan De Fuca Trail.”
The trail recently underwent a major revitalization by the Hope Mountain Centre, who did major work fixing up campgrounds for hikers, restoring old cabins and installing informative plaques and signs along the entire length of the trail to explain the history and significance of the trail to hikers as they walk.
Thompson felt the story of the trail was one that needing telling.
It’s an important story, Thompson said. The trail opened up the Interior of British Columbia and helped established key trade routes that helped develop the province.
Without it, Thompson added, there was a pretty good chance that Canada would have focused its effort on developing trade routes east of the Rockies.
Thompson hopes to use his documentary to make the trail more accessible to people who might not know that it even exists.
His plan is to mix historical information, interviews and interesting facts to tell the story of the trail. Included in his plans for the movie is filming a historical re-enactment of what life would have been like for hunters and trappers who travelled the trail.
The group heads out on the trail in July of this year and Thompson will be following along to capture the event on camera.
Along with applying for grants to help cover the costs of making the documentary, which will be filmed this summer, Thompson has started a GoFundMe campaign to get the ball rolling on securing funding for the project.
Anyone who wishes to help out with the campaign and support a local filmmaker tell an important piece of B.C. history can find the information online here: https://www.gofundme.com/HBCTrailDocumentary.
For anyone who is really interested in the trail and wants to learn as much as possible about the history and the route itself, or maybe if you’re interested in hiking the trail, you can visit the Hope Mountain Centre’s website to find out more at: www.hopemountain.org.
Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and cultureevent, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.