View topic - Thlewiaza gravestone

We paddled the lower Thlewiaza this summer and stopped to look at the "gravestone" on a lake along the river downstream of Edehon Lake. We first read of the gravestone in a trip report from 2004, I think, and other travelers on the river have noted it. It is on an island in beautiful country, and it reads: " Here Lies Wilderness XXI". The last is taken as 2001, we reckon. The stone looks to be from country rock and is well crafted. We can find no other backstory. It is haunting. Can anyone provide more of this story? Thanks, Ray

Looks like MMI, not XXI, so 2001. Edit: ah I see you got that...but i will let this stand anyway (like the mysterious stone...)

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Yes, you are correct. My mistake. Ray

any more info on "I think, and other travelers on the river have noted it. " ??

Yes, Mel Baughman paddled the river down from Seal Hole Lake in 2004 and mentions the stone in his trip report; I have a copy but don't recall which website he posted to. Chris Rush with Lee Sessions and two others paddled part of Nueltin and down the river in 2017. His report is posted at canoeing.com, and he also visited the stone. Neither Mel nor Chris indicated any backstory on the stone. Mel does say that the stone is slate... We saw similar stone along the beach.

could you give some idea of its dimensions. Hard to think of it being done with a hammer and chisel. a mystery!

Re Mel Baughman‘s trip report, maybe from canoeing.com.
http://canoeing.com/thlewiaza-river-summary/

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Brian
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca

 

If I read corrrectly Mel Baughman made no reference to the slate monument.

Correct, in that trip summary. What I have is a doc file of the trip log that he wrote. Can't figure out how to attach the file in total, as doc and pdf files do not seem to be allowed. I did take a screenshot of the day he reports the stone, and I think that meets the attachment limits as a jpeg file...

thanks. Tried to access his log but got an error.

another question. any opinion on method used to engrave stone? I doubt if canoeist did it.

Some decent tools and skill; not just a belt tool. If a canoeist at all, one who knows how to carve in stone and brought along tools for the opportunity... still a mystery to me.

But why there? Chance? presence of raw material? I have photos of the Mason memorial on Seal. Entirely different. mystery indeed.

Yep, I just don't know. The nearest sign of modern occupation is an abandoned mining exploration camp on northwest Edehon Lake, quite a few miles back upstream...