The Altar Boys Camp of this summer of 2004 was by far the best one. The first two years we had gone to a lake in the Interior, but the idea of a third time was not appealing. Father Boulet was able to find another option, a hiking camp at Cathedral Provincial Park near Keremeos. The boys of Christ the King parish drove up to the park with Father Herkel and one of the parishioners, Mr. Michael Long. Father Boulet joined us at the base of the mountain along with some boys from Alberta and Saskatchewan, and some others from the Interior. We also had a seminarian as one of the counselors, Mr. Dominic May.

Because there was no road suitable for vehicles to reach the top, we stopped at the base of the mountain for the night, making the seven-hour hike to the top the next day. When we were told we were going to be going on a hiking camp we thought that we would have to pack everything we were going to use up on our backs. We needed to pack light. As it turned out the park was able to bring the gear up by truck to the top of the mountain that left us carrying only lunch and 16 liters of Gatorade. After the first night at the base camp we had Mass, breakfast and prepared to leave. Several of us thought it was a brilliant idea to leave and go exploring before breakfast. When we didn’t come back in over half an hour, the others left to bring the baggage to the drop off zone, leaving us stranded. Luckily we were all united an hour later and the party of 16 started the assent. It took about six hours and was quite the hike. When we got to a higher elevation there were great views, but nothing like those to come in the next few days.

On the glacier!

 When we reached the camp almost near the top of the mountains we were about 7500 feet up. Unexpectedly it was quite cold there, supposedly the coldest summer for twenty years. Just our luck! Since we had expected to have to carry our food up with us it was all dried and powdered. We spent the three days up at the top exploring the mountain ridges all around the camp. At one point we were 8500 feet high! The views from these parts were just spectacular, you felt like you were on the top of the world. We could see the Coast Mountains, Mount Baker and countless others. It was well worth the climb. Besides this there were the various mountain animals to be seen: marmots, deer, grouse, and mountain goats. It was just an amazing experience.

 The time spent at the campsite wasn’t very much and this was mostly spent in cooking.

The menu mainly consisted of soup and it took 45 minutes to make dinner on account of boiling several liters of water over an open fire. Every morning we had Mass with an interesting sermon from Father Boulet. After chores, Mr. May gave us a catechism lesson and then we were off. Then, after the daily hike we said the Rosary. 

Nice Panorama!

After three days we were thin and fit and ready to take off down the mountain again. We thought that this camp we had escaped the skit thing but I guess that was not meant to be. Luckily we were given one night to sleep on it but no one was very confident. The next evening we were given time to prepare and it went off without a hitch and was lots of fun.

The next morning we packed up all the gear and at about 10 we started the hike down. The trip down was easy and uneventful, except when two herds of cows, being driven up the mountain trail, interrupted Mr. May’s catechism lesson during the lunch break. When we got to the bottom we made camp again but in another location where there was a swimming hole. We spent about 2 hours swimming after the downward hike and that was great. It was the first swim we had the whole time.

The next morning we started the drive back home right after lunch. The other van went first but when we came after them 10 minutes later they had broken down right beside a convenient swimming hole. So we were able to spend another couple of hours swimming there while Father and Dominic Linder went to get new tires. After this little stroke of good luck, we went home with memories of a great trip.