Point to point 80km trail starting in Tulameen, BC and ending on the outskirts of Hope, BC. Following a first nations route then utilized by Hudson's Bay Company fur traders around 1849. Map is here: http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resources/REC4660/documents/HBC%20Trail%20Map.pdf
Originally a First Nations route for hunting and trade, the HBC Trail played a key role in British Columbia’s early development. Completed in 1849, the HBC Trail was built by First Nations.Stó:lo, Nlaka’pamux (Thompson), and Similkameen used trails over the Cascade Mountains to gather plants, hunt, and trade with each other. They helped Hudson Bay Company build the trail to link the Fraser River at Fort Hope with Fort Kamloops and other important fur forts farther north to Stuart Lake. For more than a decade, the HBC’s fur empire in Western North America depended on this trail.
Hundreds of pack animals and men crossed the Cascade Mountains on this trail from 1849 to 1860. Hudson’s Bay Company “Brigades” were essential for getting valuable furs to world markets, and for re-supplying HBC Forts in the BC Interior and far North. BC’s early economy developed around this trail and the fur industry it supported.
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