I'm a little artist in the big, dark woods tracking the progress - or procrastination - of various artistic endeavors as I prepare to leap into a bigger pond. Sprinkled in between these are the extreme weather/scenery of Kitimat and the surrounding region as well as local situations that catch my attention.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Wednesday Hike: Haisla Cemetary Trail
The Haisla cemetary is the most special place on earth for me. It's one of those rare situations in B.C. history where the two cultures co-existed and melded for a decade or two and it's set in our magical, mossy forest off a little bay. Haisla designs would have been sent to Victoria or New Westminster to be sculpted in stone commemorating the life or lives of various Haisla citizens. Actually the first dates in the 1880s probably reflect this; the later graves that represent up to 4 children may have been indications of the white man diseases that ripped through the First Nation populations.
On a happier and more inspiring note there is the gravestone above belonging to Sarah Legaiic 'The Great Hunter' who died at the age of 60. I've read an account of her strength and abilities that described excursions where she would portage her canoe 1500 meters to access a remote lake.
We hiked far past the cemetary and noticed this nearly complete skeleton but couldn't quite identify it. Wolf? Deer?* If all the teeth had been present it would have been more obvious. Didn't make it all the way to the end of the trail because those in the lead accidently treed two bear cubs and came briskly walking back to report the situation so we reversed our direction and retreated.
I remembered this hike as being much easier. Five or ten years ago.
*a little Googling seems to indicate 'deer'
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