The Shuswap Backcountry Riders (formerly the Sicamous ATV Club), the Shuswap Trail Alliance and the Shuswap Snowmobile Club have refurbished the historic Cache Cabin near Mara Lake and Sicamous.
Cache Cabin
The “Cache Cabin” was built in 1907 and is located at the halfway point between the Mara Lake Ranger Station and Sicamous, within a 5 minute walk from the Owlhead Forest Service Road. The Owlhead FSR connects with the Yard Creek Forest Service Road and provides ATV riders a halfway mark for a lunch break.
The Cabin’s log timber construction has held up well to this day but it needed desperate remediation and repairs. The cabin is historically significant to the area as it was used as a storehouse for needed supplies for the Mara Lake Ranger Station.
Pack horses hauled supplies to the cabin. It was also a stop on the telegraph line, and later a telephone line. These lines were used to report forest fire smoke sightings.
The project
With grant funding support from ATVBC and others, the Cache Cabin has been preserved as a piece of local history and as a potentially life-saving haven for all backcountry enthusiasts.
Work included the removal of the cabin floor and the first two rounds of wall logs, as they had deteriorated beyond repair. Care was taken to ensure the replacement logs matched the original logs as closely as possible. New floor joices and a new deck floor attached to the main deck were added and the front door was reinstalled with new hinges.
While not intended for overnight use, the cabin provides emergency shelter and a fascinating place to visit while exploring the Shuswap trail system.
Shuswap Backcountry Riders ATV Club
The Shuwsap Backcountry Riders are an expanding ORV group that has been working with the Shuswap Regional Trail Strategy working group to promote mixed use trails in the region.
The partners
The Shuswap Trail Alliance has taken on over 300 projects over the past 13 years, and has written to or contributed to over 100 community trail plans, publications, guidelines, research reports and public documents. It’s a team effort that has engaged over 200 groups, organizations and businesses and involves 1000’s of hours of volunteer time.
Other partners included the Eagle Valley Snowmobile Club, who has maintained trails in the area for over 60 years, and the Shuswap Regional Trail Strategy Group.
Protecting the environment
Four ORV kiosks along the new connecting trail system will promote the trails and educate ORV users on the do’s and don’ts of riding in the Shuswap region so this amazing tourist destination remains beautiful for generations.
