In the fall of 1862 John Robert Giscome and Henry McDame begin their trek to explore northern BC, and the provinces we know today as Alberta and Saskatchewan.
On December 14,1863 the Daily Colonist published a detailed account from Giscome of their explorations. They had spent about a year trekking and travelled about 330 miles.
In 1898 one of the creeks they had explored was named McDame Creek in the 1st Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, previous to this the locals referred this creek as Nigger Creek.
The origin of what is today called Giscome Portage Trail is with the Lheidli T’enneh peoples who used this trail as one of their trade routes. They named this trail Lhdesti or “the shortcut”. The “Giscome Portage Trail Protected Area” was designated an official Heritage Site July 17th, 1997. BC Parks took over management of the trail when it was designated a Protected Area in the year 2000.
Image Courtesy of Kevin Creamore, Prince George
