Today is Canada Day, Canada’s 149th birthday. It seemed appropriate to have a photo reflecting (no pun intended) the stereotype that much of the world has of Canada.
Kinney Lake was the destination of the hike we took on Tuesday, and it didn’t disappoint. It is located about an hour (6 km or 4 miles) up the Berg Lake Trail in BC’s Mount Robson Provincial Park. It is an easy hike with gentle grades.
Every time someone mentions Kinney Lake I flash back to an experience that my ex-neighbor Kjell had.
One coolish drizzly Thanksgiving, Kjell and his son decided to hike up to Kinney Lake. As they made their way up the trail, they met a Japanese lady coming down. She kept her head down and didn’t react to their greeting, but just slowly continued down the trail.
Having arrived and spent some time at Kinney, Kjell and son headed back down. When they arrived at the parking area, they saw the Japanese tourist on the ground and a man trying to help her. The lady was dead. It seems that she died of hypothermia (the loss of body heat). She was not dressed for the wet cool weather, probably got soaked from a rain shower, which drained her body heat, and then had exhausted herself on the hike. When they met her coming down, she was no doubt already unaware of her surroundings.
Kjell, of course, felt horrible about not trying to help her earlier, but didn’t realize the condition she was in. It is a sad reminder that despite all their beauty, the mountains can be unforgiving if you are unprepared.
Sorry to end on such a downer.
Happy Canada Day.
Check out my paintings: www.davidmarchant.ca
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