More than once I read the memorial plaque word for word. I felt a sense of loss and emptiness as I stood on the banks of the third and final lake in remembrance of the 13 people who died in three-related plane crashes in June 1986.
I had seen the photos from Barb’s Memorial Lakes trail run and it piqued my interest. I had never heard about Memorial Lakes or any plane crashes so I researched the area. (Remember I wasn’t living in Alberta in the 1980s.)
Here’s what I learned. A small passenger plane carrying pilot Ken Wolff and wildlife biologist Orval Pall crashed near Mount Allan during a storm. Friends of Wolff – pilot Rod Harradence, pilot Bruce Pratt and Hayden Evans – set out to find their friend later that day. The plane crashed during the search. Six days later, a Twin Otter military plane with eight on board crashed into a mountain while looking for the first plane. (The second plane was recovered.)
What a tragedy. I don’t know what else to say. I can’t imagine what it was like to be part of the community here in Alberta at that time.
The first of three Memorial lakes.
The second of three Memorial Lakes.
The memorial plaque sits at the final lake. It’s a bit of a climb but it’s worth the effort.