E&N Railway - Alberni Summit to Cameron Lake (January 2026): Episode 4

Описание: Episode 4 in a series of videos of a hike that I did on January 17, 2026 on the former Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway's Port Alberni Subdivision.

The overall hike started at Mile Post 20.6 on the east slope of the Port Alberni Summit, and went railway east to my turnaround at Mile Post 15.6 above the west part of Cameron Lake, and then back again.

An area further eastward down the lake had been impacted by a wildfire during August 2025, and my hike got to within 0.5 miles of the closest edge of that wildfire's burned zone.

This Episode 4 video covers my outbound leg from the Mile 17.5 trestle to Mile-Post 17, above Cathedral Grove.

Photo Album Link for my entire hike is Here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1320134...

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0:00 - Mile 17.5 Trestle Approach
0:45 - Walking the Trestle
1:48 - Looking Down
2:45 - Leaving the Trestle
4:21 - Old Repairs
5:27 - Mile-Post 17
6:10 - Outro Context
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I like to see how the inactive railway grade and structures are impacted by nature and time. There has been no train activity here by the E&N Railway since early 2002.

This railway is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF). The railway was previously owned and operated by RailAmerica and by Canadian Pacific (CP).
Various physical and political obstacles would have to be cleared, partnership relationships established, and structures rebuilt, in order for trains to run here again.

Disclaimer for the area where I visited:
Walking on any industrial property, including a railway and its structures, exposes you to various risks, and more so if the property is unmaintained. This is not a park or a trail. This requires good situational awareness and alertness, knowledge of the location and its hazards, personal responsibility, and a good assessment of the risk that you are exposing yourself to.

For the current post-fire era, any visit inside the burned-zone would be very dangerous, because of the combination of typical post-wildfire hazards in a steep-slope area, as well as the partly-destroyed remnants of an industrial corridor

I am curious to see what changes might happen with this part of the railway corridor in the coming years.