Bugaboos / n / a nemesis; a real or imagined obstacle that cannot be overcome; something that always causes failure or bad luck.
Associated Names: Named after the Red Line group of mines at the head of the creek. The Red Line (1898-c.1902) was also known as the McDonald Mines (1902), the Ptarmigan Mines (1903-1920s), and Selkirk Ptarmigan Mines Ltd (1958-1964?)
“There is no doubt that the mine will never be reopened again, and there is also no doubt that a great deal more money was spent on the property than ever its showing of ore warranted.” (Report to the Minister of Mines, 1915)
This prominent peak was the first mountain in the Windermere Valley to be named by a European. It was then renamed, renamed, and renamed again before the powers that be finally decided to return back to that first European name: after a heroic British naval commander who was also known for an extended affair with another woman while both were married.
It is ironic, perhaps, that a man who had such a troubled relationship with the isolation of British Columbia now has a creek, a mountain, and a glacier named after him in one of the more isolated parts of the province.
The origins of the name “Pedley” aren’t recorded, however circumstances suggest that the name came from a man on the run from the law. When a warrant was issued for the arrest of Alfred Pedley he left his family, fled for the hills, and stayed hidden out in the mountains for nearly a year before turning himself in.
George Paulding Farnham was an American jewellery designer and sculptor who worked for Tiffany & Co from the 1880s until 1908, including as head jewellery designer from 1891. His designs won multiple international awards and established Tiffany’s reputation as a world class jewellery house while pushing American jewellery design in entirely new directions.
The steamboat Gwendoline was merely a visitor to the Windermere Valley, having passed through only twice: once on her way up to Golden, and once going back down to the Kootenay River. Nonetheless, she does hold the title for being one of only two steamboats to successfully pass through the canal at Canal Flats.
In The Windermere 