A Dangerous Swimming Hole

 Hullo blogger pals! Today we are heading to another potential swimming hole. This one is called, ominously... the Gun Barrel.

It was a bit of a hike but... we hear the river!!

And it looks like there's a plinth/monument or something down there. Maybe it's like the info stations they have around the province? Maybe a historical site?

Oh dear... nothing of the sort! It's a memorial to a young man named Robert Anthony Brondyke (1968-1986)..=

He died here while swimming! And he was an excellent, strong champion swimmer too. The bottom of the plaque says "PLEASE thing twice before you lose [your life] in The GunBarrel." It also says... he wasn't the first but hopefully he will be the last.

Awww that's so sad. He was only 18 years old! But... there's another monument here too... uh-oh...

This guy was Raymond Donald Ross who passed away 22 August 1992. He was only 16 years old. The bottom of the plaque says "WARNING: No matter how well you swim its over once the Gunbarrel gets you".

Right then... we are most definitely NOT taking Rose here to go swimming.

It's a bit tricky to get down to the river from here too. And, in case you were wondering, there are lots of recent stories of people almost getting killed here. Slip on the rocks, fall in and... almost done.

So we are being extra super careful!!

Were not even sure how people would get down there!

And there are lots of signs warning people of the dangers too.

Oh wow... that is a super deep pot hole! If a stuffie fell in there... well... they'd need a long rope and some friends to get them out!

How deep is it?? We think maybe 5 feet...

Geez!!! It's loke a borehole almost!

This is the upper end of The Gunbarrel... apparently there are all sorts of underwater overhangs where, if you get swept into them, the current will keep you pinned down there. 

Right then... onwards!

Sooo... we scrambled along a narrow goat trail below The Gunbarrel and there is a nice deep pool here... But it's way too much of a scramble to make it a viable swimming hole.

We tried to go out a different way... it looked like an old overgrown road...

With lots of skunk cabbage.

They are pretty... stinky... but pretty.

We also found this! An old safe? Or a wood burning stove?

We think it's a stove...

But just in case it's a safe... we had a peek inside... in case there was any forgotten treasure.

Nope... just a lot of rust!

Whew... and we had another mad scramble because the road petered out at a fence and we had to bushwhack up the slope but... it spit us out on the old logging road. Great adventure!