Adventure up Hedley Creek to Leon The Monks Cave

PaulCottonFilms

Oct 05, 2024

Several kilometres up Windy Canyon north of Hedley, British Columbia is the remains of a monks home in a cave. In the early 1900's the cave housed irrigation which fed into Hedley. Visit my blog for more info: https://www.paulcottonfilms.com/blog

Note: This may only be of interest to a select few who live in BC, or maybe northern Washington State. It shows a bicyclist taking a trip above the town of Hedley, British Columbia.

Hedley is a town located near old mines and a plateau. I have been on the plateau above the town, but not very near the mines. I have often thought, in past years, of taking the trip. I used to love roaming around by car in that part of British Columbia.

Hedley, British Columbia, is known primarily for its historical gold mining industry. The most famous mine in the area is the Mascot Gold Mine, which operated on Nickel Plate Mountain. Another significant mine is the Nickel Plate Mine, which was active from the early 1900s until the mid-20th century.

There were a number of smaller, less prominent mining operations in the area as well, but these two—the Mascot Gold Mine and the Nickel Plate Mine—are the most well-known and are often highlighted when discussing the region's mining history.

Hedley is near the Similkameen River, which flows into Washington state and then into the Okanagan River, which itself flows into the Columbia River. I called my guitar instruction sideline business (a loose description) "Similkameen Dreams" — a beautiful river.