For many many years, the road to Joe Rich was a winding gravel road crisscrossing the path of the present Highway 33. Many portions of this road can still be seen. Starting in Rutland (see Map 1), the road turned south at a sharp angle at the bottom of the climb up Mine Hill (now Toovey Road). Midway along the east side of the pond it took an abrupt left turn at a dangerous corner (1) where John Findlay’s truck rolled and killed him. Just before the top of the next knoll, to the right of the road, was Felix Casorso’s red barn (2) beside the present Sandana house in which his family lived. The old road then crossed over the route of the present highway and can still be seen as the ‘ Joe Riche Road’ (incorrectly spelt on the road sign). It then crossed over the highway again in front of the present Black Mountain School. On the left side of the old road, between the site of the present highway in front of the school and the old road in what is now a chain link fenced area of grass, was Joe Casorso’s large tobacco barn, and a few metres farther, on the site of the present Highway 33 were another barn, some sheds and a cook-house also belonging to Joe Casorso (3) see picture . Past these, a little farther down the small hill was the old Black Mountain School (4) which is still there on the left side of the old road. Past the school house, the road met Gallagher Road and Gopher Creek and turned abruptly left to go under where the present highway crosses the little valley on a large fill. A half kilometre up Gopher Creek, the road turned right and climbed up Black Mountain. As it did so, and this portion of the road is still present, it crossed the present Highway 33 and continued upward over the entrance to the rodeo grounds to climb around the south side of the shoulder of Black Mountain behind the present site of the Appel shop and equipment yard to the Walker Ranch (5) which is now the home of Budge Winter and is not visible from Highway 33. The Black Mountain Hill on the Joe Rich Road was called ‘ Walker’s Hill’.

From there, the old road wound and climbed over much the same route that Highway 33 past the Pyman Ranch higher up Black Mountain over the brow of the treeless hill. (Pyman’s old farm house still stands on the high southeast shoulder of Black Mountain). Then it passed the present location of Penny’s Garden Centre and continued to climb until it reached the point where the gates are now located on the south side of the highway. Initially, at this point, the road continued to climb as it does today, but at Eight Mile Creek it crossed a few metres farther up the ravine than the site of today’s hairpin curve across a large fill.

Later, in the 1930s, it was decided to shorten the road by taking it down into the Eight Mile ravine near the site of the gates. That road can be seen dropping over the bank just north of the present power line. The road veered slightly to the north, dropped down the bank and crossed over a bridge just above the level of Eight Mile Creek (6) to climb the opposite bank up and across what is now Eight Mile Ranch. The low level bridge over Eight Mile Creek was washed out and the road was routed back along its old bed to follow roughly the same route as Highway 33.

Past the upper creek crossing (7), the road climbed a little hill and then went down a much longer hill to curve left at the bottom and head east. That hill (8) was called Clever’s Hill because the Clever’s house (9) was located at the bottom of the hill beside where a big old Elderberry Bush presently grows at the edge of the large field now belonging to Eight Mile Ranch.

The old road then wound eastward along the same route as Highway 33 to pass where the little house named ‘Walter’s Valley’ is now located. Immediately before this, is a deep ravine falling down into the Mission Creek Valley. In the valley below on the site of an old homestead, the new Fred Stevens, Black Mountain Irrigation Reservoir (10) is located. Past this site, Highway 33 passes the concrete guard barrier on the right where the large Earth Slump has occurred. At the end of where this barrier is now, the old road passed the entrance of the logging road which dropped down hill to cross Mission Creek and climb the south bank of the valley up Grouse Creek.

Next, the old road arrived at tiny Second Creek. The highway now crosses this ravine on a large fill, but the old road went along the west side of the ravine, crossed the creek and came out of the ravine along its east bank to form a second hairpin curve (11). Today, that old road can still be seen on the west as the driveway to the house beside second creek and on the east as the location of a small telephone substation. From here, the old road crossed where Highway 33 is today and continued on Falconridge Cres. to rejoin the present Highway 33 route where it does today. The present highway cuts through banks.The old road wound around the edge of them.

Past the entrance to today’s Cardinal Creek Road, just before reaching Cardinal Creek, the old road passed Billy Huckle’s cabin on the left as Highway 33 still does. After Cardinal Creek, the road reached where Philpott Road starts today. Below this point, an old logging road can be seen below the highway. It leads to Justin Mccarthy’s logging camp which functioned in the 1940s (13). The old road climbed up the first part of what is now Philpott Road, then turned to the right to parallel the present highway and then rejoin it from above after about one half kilometre. It passed above Serwa’s property to the location of today’s Three Forks Park. Here, it was located closer to Mission Creek, but crossed the route of the present highway just before Belgo Creek to cross the creek a few metres upstream from the present highway bridge, cross the field just behind the mail boxes at Three Forks Road and then wind around the base of the hill where Three Forks Road now meets the highway.

Three Forks Road didn’t meet the highway there until the 1960s. For many years, the north side of Mission Creek Valley east of Joe Rich Road was only accessible from far up the creek where Pearson Creek enters and a good bridge was and still is located (23). Later, Three Forks Road was joined to Joe Rich Road by switch backing down to the Mission Creek level about a kilometre upstream from the Joe Rich Mission Creek Bridge and following the creek edge west to the Joe Rich Road (14).

The old road then crossed Mission Creek on a bridge starting just upstream from the present ‘Tom Smith’ bridge, but crossing the path of the present bridge to join what is now Thelwell Road. There it took the route Thelwell Road does today to pass in front of Smith’s (Russell’s place), and on the left, pass what became Pratt’s property (15). It then turned to the left and climbed the hill passing the Joe Rich School (16) on the right where the Community & Fire Hall is now located. Here, the old road crossed to the north of Highway 33 and turned left to follow Greystoke Road to where it meets Dion Road. At that point, a road continued on to Nicholas’ house (17) and to Greystoke Road. The main Joe Rich Road followed the route of the present Dion Road back toward Highway 33 which it crossed to turn left just past it in Weddell’s field. Here, Weddell’s driveway branched off to their house (18) as it still does. Past Weddell’s, the road skirted Duncan Stewart’s house and property (19) and reached Schram Road. Here, it was to the south of the present highway and several metres lower. Schram Road branched off to the right and a small road leaving its right side reached Henderson’s home (20). Across Joe Rich Creek, Schram Road came to the Brewer House (21) on the left.

The main Joe Rich Road which had become small and narrow at this point, finally reached the Mack property (22) on the left. Here, it ended except for a poor quality logging road which continued on up the valley to eventually reach McCulloch Road.