In the local Truro newspaper on October 24 1899 the headline Travelled 4502 Miles, Walked 600 miles accompanied the following published letter from Karl:

“From Fort McLeod, where the Rockies really begin, to this town, it is some 350 miles and I had to keep on the railway track the whole time, except for 30 miles between the Rocky and Selkirk ranges. Up to this great mining camp, I have travelled 4502 miles, and have walked of this distance, nearly 600 miles.

I thought once I would go up to Revelstoke per CPR steamer from Robson, but as the great Railway Company wanted me to load coal for two days, before they would give me a passage, I decided not to bother them, and came to this town.

From this place I will go down into Washington Territory, likely as far as Bossburg, then up through Cascade District and Boundary Country, which will soon be one of the world’s greatest mining camps, to the Penticton, coming out on the mail line again at Kamloops or Speman Bridge. This is the only way out now, as on every other side I am cut off by snow, which is commencing to come down in good style.

I expected to reach the Coast before this, but did not know that I would have to do so much walking all through this mountainous country. The rainy season will now be on in Washington and Oregon, so there is much doubt whether I will be able to wheel through that country to California. I may have to take the steamer from Vancouver to Japan, instead of from the Golden Gate of the Pacific as I expected.

This is a country indeed with a “sea of mountains”. The distances are immense and thousands of mountain peaks rise up on all sides. Rivers there are by the hundreds, teeming with the finest trout and salmon. Game is in abundance; winged game everywhere in countless millions; and in these parts especially can be found such large game as bears, mountain lions, mountain sheep, deer and moose.

I have visited the famous LeRoi mines here and at Moyie I saw the newly discovered lead and silver mines. There is any amount of copper, gold, silver and lead, in nearly every hill in this great country and it will not be long till British Columbia will be the greatest mining country in the whole world.”

I was surprised as I was travelling Karl’s route that in the middle of June I also encountered snow. The following few photos depict when I too was in a sea of mountains, fog and frozen lakes.