– as told by Derek Fox (52 years later)

Derek Fox worked at CCH in the latter part of the 1960’s including roles as Kananaskin Counsellor, Pit Counsellor and Section Director. In the summer of 1968 Derek, Dales Judd and Doug Bates and Wayne Lyons were Pioneer Counsellors working with Section Director, Gary Luthy

Derek attended the memorial service for Dales Judd in March of 2019 and shared this story with his family and friends.

The story of the Shadow Lake hike is one Dales likely told from time to time, but now I get to set the record straight for this and all future generations of Judds.

It was probably in the late summer of 1968, but I can’t be certain, that Dales Judd and Doug Bates and I hiked up the Red Earth Creek Road to Shadow Lake. We were to join some other Hector staffers to check out possible camp sites to use for future hiking spots for the Pioneer camping program.

I had recently purchased, and was very proud of, a shiny new top-of-line Skyline Cruiser. It was just a back-pack, but a damn fine back-pack, that lifted and distributed the weight down on your shoulders instead of lower down on your back. The frame was titanium (so we were told/sold) and the fabric was bright red nylon. It was cool and because I owned and carried it….I was cool too?!/!

I also had some state of the art Kastinger hiking/climbing boots that added to my coolness and yes, my sense of bravado.

You will know me as a modest and kind person, but I can be a bit of jerk sometimes, and I must admit that I bragged a little too much about how easy it was for me to carry the load with by new pack and new boots, even though I probably only weighed 140 lbs or so. I may have even mocked my friends for their cumbersome, out-dated and completely un-cool Trapper Nelson back-packs and whatever clod-hoppers they sported on their feet.
Well, I had a pretty easy time, or pretended to have an easy time, carrying it all up to Shadow Lake, but for some reason I laboured a little on the way down a couple of days later. It didn’t make sense because we had lightened our load by eating the requisite cans of beans and Spam etc.

After I’d moaned and groaned for a couple of hours, my mates (and good friends!) fessed up. They had filled my Skyline Cruiser with a bunch of rocks!!??

Did they worry that I may injure myself by carrying too much weight? Did they worry that they may have to either carry me the rest of the way, or even abandon their soon-to-be crippled mate on the trail to be eaten by….. Well, we will never know for sure, and the cynical among you will suggest that they were just paying me back for being so obnoxious.

I choose to believe that Dales, being the consummate friend, teacher and life guide wanted to help me build my stamina and teach me to never give up! Doug on the other hand, just wanted someone to carry his pretty little rocks down to the car for him…..