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Above: Wreckage from flight 810.

FLIGHT 810 My grandfather was Karl W. Collett. He was a passenger on flight 810. He had caught that later flight so he could go to the football game and was travelling on the same flight as some of the players. The questions Andrew asks himself at the beginning of his article are questions that haunt families of those who died for years. Some 20 years later my grandmother wrote her life history and the chapter titled simply “Karl” is poignant. Life in the days, weeks and months after the flight disappeared were very difficult. Your article prompted me to read that chapter again. I have been putting it off but next summer I will hike Mt. Slesse and find solace in that cathedral.

Fred Robertson,

Via Email

MOUNT SLESSE CLIMBERS I just read the story about Mt. Slesse in the Fall 2022 BC Magazine and am very unpleased that the story is not correct. The first person to climb Mt. Slesse was Fred Harrison Houghton Parkes and he climbed to find the wreckage of the airplane. They realized that it could not be 6 moved at all and so they left it there in remembrance for the people who died. There is a mention of the late legendary Alpinist Fred Beckey but none of the first crew who did so much in rescue missions.

Wendy Holtz,

Via Email

Our research shows that the first ascent of Mt. Slesse was made in 1927 by Stan Henderson, Mills Winram and Fred Parkes, while the wreckage was found by climbers in May of 1957, five months after the crash. We couldn’t find any reference to the names of the climbers who found the crash. —Eds.

THANKS FOR THE SUMMER ISSUE! I thoroughly enjoyed the Summer 2022 issue! I read it from cover to cover:

First, being a “dog person,” I initially rolled my eyes at “Happy Tails on Beautiful Trails,” but after reading the article, all I can say is “so sweet and what fun to share beautiful BC with those whom you love, including felines.”

Second, Doh! Very clever providing a cliff hanger in “Call It A Ritual: Excerpt from Return to Solitude by Grant Lawrence (2022).” I can’t wait to find out who or what lies behind the water heater!

Third, having recently returned from a disappointing chartered fishing trip in Alaska, I was quite jealous of Desiree Miller after reading her article “Nootka Sound Adventure.” However, I’m inspired to try again, having learned my lesson to not leave British Columbia in search of a “rugged fishing experience” elsewhere.

Fourth, I was oddly intrigued by “Pigeon Racing: Here to Stay or Gone the Way of the Dodo?” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised because our neighbourhood pigeons (on the roof of the Crofton Old School Museum, as it happens) delight me daily with their ability to swoop around in formation. The hobby of pigeon racing seems weird and wonderful; reading the article made me feel 12-years-old again.

Finally, thank you for “Coastal Crofton: From Milltown to ‘Metropolis’.” What fun to see our house in the aerial photograph that adorns the article! Crofton is indeed a great place to live.

Katie KellerLynn,

Crofton, BC

BOWRON LAKES MEMORIES Reading the recent article about the Bowron Lakes canoe circuit, brought back a host of memories sharpened by the fact that the weather the writer described was uncannily identical to our experience, 21 years ago.

We first heard of the Bowron Lakes, as new immigrants from the UK, in the mid 1980s. Then along came family and that adventure possibility had to be shelved for a few years. In 2001, the youngest was 12 and so we decided they were now old enough for the trip. We planned carefully, packed food, including endless little bags with nuts and raisins into plastic buckets with tight fitting lids, and arranged for my brother and sister-in-law from England to join us. Being Brits we had limited canoe experience so we took the precaution of still water canoe lessons and learned the proper J-stroke and simple rescue.

When we first arrived and parked our trailer at the campsite at the top of Bowron Lake, it was windy, raining

and thundery. But fortunately, the great launch day of August 8 dawned, with bright sun and still calm conditions, and incredibly it stayed that way for the entire eight days of our trip. I have wonderful memories of our 13-yearold daughter boldly trundling a canoe plus load single-handedly down the portages and all of us paddling lazily down a spectacular glassy Isaac Lake on a particularly hot, still day. We found slightly hidden Unna Lake and spent an incredible warm afternoon swimming and then crossing the lake to view the spectacular waterfall as did your writer. When it got dark the girls lay on the beach watching for shooting stars. We had no forest fire smoke back in those days, and the clear starry nights are yet another enduring memory.

Our eldest daughter is all grown now, with very young kids of her own. One day, when they are old enough, I hope she will take her offspring on a family bonding, memory building canoe trip round Bowron Lakes just as she did with us. And I hope she will have weather as fantastic as we did!

Roland Alcock,

Sooke, BC

TALES OF BC Fabulous job editing and compiling Tales of BC. Such an exceptional tribute to Daniel Wood.

After my initial rush to check out favourite pieces Daniel wrote, I’m enjoying it slowly now, one article/chapter at a time.

Gonna send a bunch out to friends and family as tried and true gifts. Thanks for doing this.

Sage Birchwater,

Williams Lake, BC

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Send email to mailbox@bcmag.ca or write to British Columbia Magazine, 1166 Alberni Street, Suite 802, Vancouver, BC, V6E 3Z3. Letters must include your name and address, and may be edited and condensed for publication. Please indicate “not for publication” if you do not wish to have your letter considered for our Mailbox.

Thanks Sage! We have just printed our second run of Tales of BC, having sold out the first, and they should be available with plenty of time before the holidays. Glad you enjoyed it! —Eds.