KILLARNEY—One of Killarney Provincial Park’s most popular trails was recently vandalized.
The parks staff recently shared photos on its Facebook page that show what appears to be fluorescent paint marking the cliffs of the Crack Trail.
Along with the photos was an “open letter from the LaCloche Mountains.” ‘You know me…you love me, I’m the place you go seek adventure or just get away from it all. You paddle in my lakes and hike through my forests. And you know my sunsets are like no other!”
“But how well do you really know me? I have witnessed things you couldn’t begin to imagine! The creation and destruction of entire continents. The rise and fall of dinosaurs. Life is growing from a handful of single celled organisms to the complex and messy tapestry it is today.”
“The very air you breathe is younger than me. And never in all my two billion years have I seen something like this,” the July 3 post on the park’s Facebook page reads. “In my younger years I let people record their history on my sides. But this is different.”
“I understand the desire to leave your mark. To say, ‘I was here’,” the letter continues. “After all, I’ve been here longer than any of you-but do you have to leave your mark on me?! You know what makes a great memory for future generations? A photo…or a video…or a journal entry. Really anything that doesn’t involved dressing me up in colours that I just can’t pull off.”
“You could use that little rectangle you always have in your pocket to show the whole world that you saw me, the one and only La Cloche Mountain Range. Everyone will be so impressed that you met a real-life rock star. Treating me like a colouring book doesn’t impress anyone. It just makes me, and everyone who loves me, sad. So next time, do us all a favour and keep the paint on the canvas.”
Those who are fans of the park have been outraged, with more than 100 comments on their Facebook post about the vandalism. “Killarney Provincial Park is quite possibly one of the most beautiful parks in all of Canada,” wrote one person. “For people who choose to spend time in this magnificent park this is a great insult to all that Mother Nature created. This vandalism has no place in the natural world.”
The Expositor could not reach anyone at the park for a comment prior to this week’s press deadline.
