Barriere Star Journal, July 11, 2013

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013 PM0040030872

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Return to the airwaves is getting closer for The Bear

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Barriere 93.1

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Church of St Paul vandalized Paint thrown on church

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Artists dress up downtown Barriere Barriere Town Road

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Treasure hunts to connect kids with the wild places at Wells Gray Park

2011

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Vol. 39, Issue 28

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If searching for hidden treasure appeals to you – or your kids – you might want to include Wells Gray Provincial Park in your summer travel plans. Thompson Rivers University and the Wells Gray World Heritage Committee (WGWHC) are hosting two treasure hunts in the park. Each hunt offers a cash prize of $1000. And there’s even a new book out to help treasure hunters find their way: Treasure Wells Gray, by Trevor Goward with Jason Hollinger. Both treasure hunts are loosely based on a legendary figure named Harkayee who, according to old timers, used to roam the mountains hereabouts, occasionally letting out blood curdling shrieks. Read the Harkayee legend at this link: www. waysofenlichenment. net/wells/hunt/legend “Each of our treasure hunts is geared to a different audience,” said TRU dean of science Tom Dickinson. “One is designed specifically for family groups – parents who’d like

to connect their children with wild places – while the other is for hard-core treasure hunters: geocachers and the like”. Participants in both hunts will need to hike 10 of Wells Gray’s front-country trails and learn a little natural history along the way. Each trail yields a single-digit number. Put these numbers together in the right order and you’ve got coordinates for a specific place in the park – X marks the spot. “What happens next depends on which treasure hunt you’re involved in,” said WGWHC spokesperson Trevor Goward. “Family groups have it easy, and need only send in their solutions and wait for wildlife artist Robert Bateman to draw the winning entry in early October – this as part of the opening ceremonies for TRU’s Wells Gray Wilderness Field Station”. “Adventure hunters will need to perform four additional tasks, some of them guaranteed to tax their wit and stamina to the full. In the end, whoever finds the hidden clay replica of Harkayee’s

Splash pad for horses

Submitted photo: Petra Migl

This smart horse was spotted July 2, in a pasture along Agate Bay Road beating the heat with his own creation of an equine splash pad. The horse is of the Suffolk Punch breed.

skull is the winner”. Clues can be found here: www.waysofenlichenment.net/wells/ hunt/adventure_hunt The winners of both hunts will receive a cheque for $1,000. “Wells Gray is of course a vast wilderness park,” noted Wells Gray World Heritage Year coordinator Shelley Sim, “so we’ve confined our treasure hunts to a small, rather ac-

cessible area east of the Clearwater River, and north from Spahats Creek to Clearwater Lake. Though hidden, Harkayee’s skull is also in plain view; so no need to dig, turn over logs or otherwise disturb the park”. Actually this isn’t the first time a treasure hunt has taken place in Wells Gray Park. In 1993, Kamloops resident Mike Ritcey launched his

Thunder Bear Treasure Hunt, which continued for six years and attracted hundreds of treasure hunters from around the world. The prize: a solid gold human skull set with ruby eyes, and weighing seven pounds. The golden skull was won by Sandy and Wayne Sunderman of Clearwater, who later sold it to a gold dealer in Montreal for $37,000.

TRU fine arts student Mindy Lunzman for sculpted a clay replica of the bronze skull for the present Harkayee treasure hunt. Clearwater mayor John Harwood commended the organizers for their efforts: “Wells Gray World Heritage Year in general and the Harkayee Treasure Hunt in particular provide an exciting focus on ...continued on page 19

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