The Trestle
Of all the spots along the Nanaimo River, no place is so appealing or so disgusting as the Trestle. On the one hand, it is beautiful and fun. There is a high jump from the top of an old train trestle foundation atop the side of a canyon, followed by a wide pool, then rapids, then a playground of tunnels and boulders and jumps, and finally a long, wide pool presided over by flat rocks for sunbathing.
But unfortunately, this wonderful place is only a three minute walk from the road, and the two steep parts aren't enough to repel the hundred or so people who crowd the spot each day, and many of them enjoy throwing their empty bottles at the other bank. It's too bad, because the other side has neat potholes and a petrified log, and access to parts of the canyon playground. Garbage is left behind and sometimes thrown into the water.
It is our hope that the City of Nanaimo can procure some kind of stewardship role at the Nanaimo River, so that much of the river property can be effectively parkland, and patrolled. My cousin Jim-Bob is getting tired of hiding on the opposite bank and firing rusty .22 shells at people who leave garbage.